HowlRound: Golden Thread Productions is devoted to plays from or about the Middle East. From the beginning, providing space for conversation was an integral part of our mission. Theatre is an art form that by its nature elicits empathy. This is particularly important to our work because our communities are marginalized and demonized in the US. Audiences seek Golden Thread because they are looking for alternative perspectives on the Middle East.
5 comments:
I think that it is incredibly important in the line of work that we do to have and create a space where people can be their bravest selves. People become very vulnerable while they are creating any kind of art. Most of the time I feel like we only think about creating this safe space only for the performers, but I would argue that this is equally important for technicians and other people work on the project. If someone is working in an uncomfortable environment than they are simply going to unproductive, and then the project goes no where. One of the easiest ways that I have found to achieve creating a comfortable working environment is to work in what I would categorize as a semi-public setting. This is a venue that is in public but still private limiting distractions. Through creating a safe space you are allowing people to be comfortable and create the best art possible.
This is the kind of theatre that is absolutely vital. This is theatre engaged in its highest calling: the healing of human fractures through the generation of empathy and the cultivation of understanding. This is theatre comforting and challenging and making us closer to each other.
It’s important that this work is being done by Middle Eastern Americans. They are telling their stories (rather than having them told for them,) in way that reaches out to a wider public, who potentially have little to no exposure to their culture, while also supporting their own artists and local community of Middle Eastern Americans.
Americans everywhere desperately need to hear these stories, especially in the current climate of increased suspicion, hatred of what is incorrectly viewed as “the other,” and violence. They need to see art that introduces them to “the multiplicity of [Middle Eastern] perspectives and identities” (from Golden Thread’s website.) I only wish there were other theatres doing this kind of work all across the states with audiences interested enough to support them.
It is so important that companies begin to produce theatre that truly reflects the diversity of cultures represented in their community. I think what really makes Golden Theatre Productions unique is that not only do they program for their target audience to reach an underrepresented minority group, but also they ensure that their performances reflect the specific culture of the show. It is infrequent that you see a show reach out to representatives of the community being presented onstage to act as consultants on the show.
This ability to draw in the neighborhoods and make the shows truly authentic will create a better experience for the entire design and production team as well as the audience. When the audience is able to see an genuine production with real people representing, they are better able to question the reality of the situation presented in contrast to their stereotypical ideas of the characters being portrayed onstage.
I love this! I reminds me of the all-black productions that I have seen, where some way or another religion played a big part of the play and the actors lives (I have seen my sister act in a lot of them). And what I saw in those productions was not necessarily a preaching, but rather a display of their humanity and their reality. And that is why I love how the article described the Golden Thread to do exactly that, display their actors and people humanity, their love, fears, moral struggles, and complexity: everything that makes us who we are, and not just skin deep. Our stereotypes and really fear of Middle Eastern people is a tremendous problem within the U.S. As stereotypes usually do, we don’t seem them for their own individual humanity, but as a clump of stereotypes, which makes us into cruel and rash people, who only perpetuate the problem. So a company doing something like this, giving people a safe space to be truly who they are, discuss the good and bad things, and share it with others, give me hope that, in some places at least, we are moving in the right direction. I would really love to go to one of the performances, and see for myself the people and their true selves.
I think this is great. It is very true that vulnerability is so present when showcasing new art. The fact that Golden thread Productions has created a safe space for Middle Eastern plays, is very important. Like the article says, a lot of the Middle East and the communities around, are marginalized and demonized by the U.S. Having that different perspective onstage gives the playwrights, directors, designers, and actors the ability to open minds, hearts, and ultimately educate on what many people THINK they know about and already have preconditioned notions on. Especially right now in the US, there is a lot of talk specifically about cultural theater, film, and television. I believe that creating spaces where people from other countries and cultures are able to produce their work in an environment where they can be brave about their art, brings us forward in the arts.
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