I was not feeling so great about this project during the week. It seemed that the ensemble was stuck in our explorations. I felt the inspiration that we had a month ago was vanishing. Perhaps it was the hiatus to learn about shadows, or something else, but whatever the cause it didn't feel as if we were getting any closer to a story that we could begin working with. And I was worrying, for in two weeks, I am taking a week away from school for family reasons and I hoped to use some of that time to write. This is a tough part of Devising work for me, for I am a storyteller and I believe that theatre should only exist because there is no other way to tell a particular story. I was beginning to feel that the Hagia Sophia was holding us back, and ready to simply explore themes of sacredness. But, something happened today that I am seemed to unlock a narrative well. I took one of my regular drama classes to a special student showing of films that will be part of the upcoming Arab Film Festival in Berkeley and San Francisco later this month. There was a program of 5 short films representing different Arab countries--films that hopefully would blow our American students stereotypes of the Arab world out of the water. And they did. They were fantastic films in their own right, but one, opened up a whole idea for our own project.
It was a film called Habibti.The blurb attached to the film describes it as such: "Iman, a woman steeped in tradition, journeys to London to visit her estranged daughter Amira only to find her living with her artist boyfriend. Iman tries her best to bite her tongue but she has no idea how to handle Marlon and soon they end up clashing. As the dust settles an unlikely friendship develops between them, and we discover Iman’s reasons for visiting are more than they seem". What struck me was the image at the end, an image of reconciliation and possibilities: Iman, who had previously upset the artist by ruining a piece of art he had created, and by cleaning his art studio without his permission, and by taking over his cooking, comes to him with a blank canvas, and then she sits. It is clear she wants him to paint her portrait. And that was it. And it conveyed so much.
I wrote many notes as the film was showing but here are a few: how different cultures, and people in them miscommunicate, even when they are trying to help each other; and that there are possibilities of communication even if we don't speak the same language.
Just these ideas, with the particular image of Iman handing a blank canvas to Marlon, and sitting down prompted a story idea:
The simplest way to understand it is as a “Night in the Museum” concept, where a group of young people who are touring the Hagia Sophia, get locked inside. During that night, shadows and historical episodes unfold.
Some other details emerged as I was thinking-- The kids that get locked into the museum are of different cultures and languages (I am blessed by having native Russian, French, Spanish, a dialect from India, and an African language speakers in the ensemble) and don’t trust each other. They have, in fact hostile views of each other based on prejudices of race/national origin/language and religion. In the museum they are met by two shadows from the past: a young Christian artist, responsible for some of the mosaics of the Hagia Sophia, and a young Islamic artist, responsible for some of the beautiful calligraphy in the museum. These two artists, who have inhabited the Hagia Sophia for hundreds of years, in the shadows, have a great mistrust for each other as well—a relationship that mirrors the modern kids that are trapped in the museum. In fact this strained relationship is what finally bonds our modern kids, as they try to help these two realize they will never get peace until they reconcile and understand each other.(perhaps without those two reconciling our modern kids can't ever get out) Through a variety of interactions (and this is where the ensemble will come in over the next few weeks developing these ideas)—with episodes that are both historic (i.e. a re-inaction of the covering of the mosaics by order of Leo III) and more abstract ideas influenced by the museum’s past (i.e. stories of ours like the death of silence), our modern kids realize how much they actually have in common (they can save each other now and again from disaster if needed….) and grow to appreciate and respect each other. In the process they also help the two “shadows” come to terms. As a final showing of this, the Christian artist will paint the Islamic artists portrait (the Islamic child will give him a canvas like the scene from the movie) and the Islamic artist will create a beautiful Caligraphic design based on the name of the Other artists.
I discussed this idea with a few students today who were hanging around after school and they seemed to like it enough for us to move forward. I will present it to the ensemble Monday and the kids will break up into groups to create these episodes and others that might interest them.
I think the key here is that if you are always thinking of the project, something you'll see or hear or read, like the film I saw today, can open up what has been buried in your subconscious.
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