You must have tools to help you with the search. That is how the Taghreeda Arts Group was established: through individual efforts and through my work with the team. We are in a matchbox crammed full of artists, each of us awaiting the opportunity to be removed from the box and lit up. That is what my short trip to Egypt did for me.
Ashraf told me that there was a chance to travel and learn something new about theatre, and which could support the troupe. There was to be training in Physical Theatre and Performance with Steve Tiller and Rachel Griffiths. Although travel is not something new to me because I have visited Holland, Belgium, Sweden and Norway, I was excited to take part in the training, nonetheless.
The initial plan was to travel to London for the training, but we were not granted visas. So, we resorted to plan B: to travel to Egypt and participate in the training during the D-CAF Festival. The training ran from 21-26 October, after which we could watch contemporary dance and physical theatre performances that were part of the D-CAF programme.
Although Egypt is closer to Gaza than London, the trip was hard and exhausting. It was made up of iron gates, body inspections, security checks, then waiting. Then stamps and purchasing visas, then waiting again. Then a bus to move you ten metres, then new gates and inspections, then more waiting. Imagine one kilometre of successive iron gates. It was like exiting a maximum-security prison.
I thought at the time that this was not a trip but more of an adventure and a risk. My friends Ashraf Afifi and Mahmoud El-Belbeisi accompanied me. Yet, once we reached the hotel and I took a hot shower, I lay on the bed thinking, “Plan B’s success is a great opportunity”.
Arriving in Cairo was only the beginning. Immediately after arriving, we, as a team from Gaza with some theatre experience, joined Steve, Rachel and a group of Egyptian artists - beginners or with little theatre experience - in an intensive course in physical theatre. They used several schools such as Jacobian, Stanislavski and Gusto Paul.
I had used these schools in the drama workshops that I delivered in Gaza before arriving in Egypt. What was new for me was getting to know them in greater depth and learning new exercises that would help me as a theatre actor and producer.
The state of art that I experienced over the course of twelve days in Cairo, and moving between theatres to watch physical theatre performances, had quite an impact on me, especially the shadow theatre. I remember how astonished I was after the end of the show, and how I went down to the stage to check the technology used in shadow play. The experience of watching performances by artists who are different from you in terms of culture, expertise and technique reinforced the idea that in Gaza we are in a closed place, isolated from the outside world. Therefore, I thought of how to relay this experience to the troupe members who did not get the opportunity to leave Gaza.
During a visit to the Pyramids, I stopped in front of the Sphinx. This statue, standing for thousands of years, is a testament to the strength and determination of humanity to express culture, thoughts and myths through art.
Why, when I returned to Gaza, could we not collaborate to make a work of art to convey our culture, concerns and problems, and share them with people outside the Gaza box? After speaking with artists from other countries, I discovered that they knew nothing about Palestinian life and culture, especially in Gaza. Some of them could not place Gaza on a map.
My travel experience in Egypt changed the nature of my understanding of art and gave me a strong motivation to communicate this new concept to others.
I participated in discussions between donors and artists about the experiences and difficulties in their own countries regarding obtaining licenses, funding, travel or even holding performances. I discovered that they faced similar problems to those we face in Gaza, despite differences in severity.
The Taghreeda Arts Group, in which I am an actor and producer, attempts to distinguish itself from other troupes in Gaza. To be unique, you have to deliver art with innovative styles and techniques in line with global development in this field. That is why this trip will be the cornerstone for launching into the outside world.
Initially, all this acquired knowledge must be disseminated to the remaining members of the troupe through intensive theatre training, and information and experience exchanges between all members.
Murad. N. Almaghari, Gaza – Palestine.