Our third-year Theatre School students were given a great challenge as their final project. The assignment, Commands, consisted of four themes: Forbidden, Excellent, In difficult times my heart is my guide, and What do you need. To be.
With these commands as the starting point, the students were free to develop their own projects. They were in charge of everything from storyline, directing, set design and props to marketing.
Commands was presented at The Freedom Theatre on March 16th. Below is a presentation of each individual project.
Forbidden
By Alaa Shehada
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Khawla, married since 9 years, is under severe pressure from her husband who controls every aspect of her life and treats her very bad. He has children from a previous relationship and takes medicine to not have more, although his wife wants to have children. Khawla doesn’t have anyone to talk to.
One day Khawla listens to a radio program that talks about people’s problems – and between the lines, about the problems of society as a whole. Khawla decides to call the radio station to talk about her situation.
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In difficult times my heart is my guide
By Anas Arqawi
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One human body, mind and heart born inside this body… This body is their home, land and – alas, their prison.
The mind and the heart try to escape to freedom but they do not know how. The mind has to convince the heart of the existence of a wall surrounding them and comes up with a plan to break the wall – because the mind believes that to break the wall is a matter of will and force. The heart does not think, it just feels, and it knows that its power is the memory of many people closed inside their prisons.
The mind tries again and again to break the wall, but finally he becomes tired of trying and he sleeps, forever…
The heart understands that before you destroy the wall, you must have patience. You must change your point of view. You must empty your mind from thoughts, and feel with your heart, feel what the land means – and in the same moment the heart understands that there is no wall. The heart finds itself outside the body – the prison – flying towards its land, where it finds freedom, love and life.
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Excellent
By Motaz Malhees
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Azzam works in the ministry where he has a high position. One day someone sends Azzam a photo of his only sister – with a man. Azzam goes home with a gun, and kills his sister. He is arrested but freed after three months. The same day, Majd, the man who was in the photo with Azzam’s sister, comes to his home and beats him with a stick. Azzam faints and when he comes to, he has been taken to the mountain. His hands and legs are chained. Majd starts beating him while he talks about what kind of person Azzam is to have killed his own sister. Then Majd leaves. “Because you have power you are out of prison but I can punish you.”
Azzam knows that nobody can find him, he will die here. This is the place where Majd and Azzam’s sister dreamed of living. Majd has taken her body and buried her in the mountain.
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What do you want. To be.
By Saber Shreim
An angel who lives in the sky, dreams of descending to Earth to be like the humans. He pleads with God: “I want to feel, smell, hear, taste and create like humans!” God tells him: “Don’t go there! It’s not your world. Stay here.” The angel insists and finally God accepts.
The angel descends to Earth and becomes like the humans. He lives with them, experiences everything like humans. But then he starts to see things that are much different than the image he had of human life. He feels that the humans do not respect the minds ands bodies God has given them. He asks God to let him return to the sky, to have everything taken away from him – the ability to feel, smell, taste. To die. God allows the angel to return to the sky.