EDITORIAL

Everything has a start and as everything else we started, we start now lled with strength and determination to continue to provide meaningful theatrical and dramatic programs that serve the community, rst with the help of God Almighty, and then with the support of our friends, our fans and those who love us wherever they are. Yes, just as Yes Theatre started like a little child who is bursting with energy, Yalla Masrah with its rst edition starts energetically to reach a larger segment of theater-loving audiences, and to inform of the latest activities, events, programs and plays that Yes Theatre produces for adults and children. With this edition, Yes Theatre inaugurates a new project to add to its established program of drama workshops for students and teachers: the Yes 4 Youth project, which is implemented in cooperation with the German NGO WFD, offers training in theater-based tools to recent university graduates and young professionals working with children. Through this new training program, the Yes Theatre seeks to equip those who are dealing with the most important and sensitive segments of Palestinian society with proven and creative techniques and games. This newsletter, which will initially be published semi-annually, will include posts by the staff of the Yes Theatre as well as by its trainees and friends. In addition, your contributions are very welcome, whether they come in the form of poetry, prose, thoughts, stories, or theatrical texts, pictures, cartoons, jokes, or more general information.

YALLA MASRAH
STAFF
Editor Raed Shyoukhi Preparation by Ihab Zahda, Muhammed Titi and Sevtap Oezkutlu Coordinator Mohammad Issa Translator Ruba Sunokrot and Anas Ashkar Design and Printing PIXEL Design (Shadi Abu Ajamieh)

WFD WORDS
WFD, the German World Peace Service (En: Weltfriedensdienst) is a non-governmental grassroots-organization which supports grassroots projects in Africa, Latin America and Palestine through strong partnerships based on the concepts of solidarity. WFD also provides consultancy to its partners at all technical, administrative and nancial levels. At the same time, WFD works intensely within Germany itself so as to raise awareness of the extremely unequal distribution of social and economical resources and of the injustices these facilitate in the countries and regions which the WFD supports. Inside of Germany, WFD further lobbies on various levels towards more equal distribution of power and resources in the world. In Africa, Latin America, and Palestine, WFD supports partner organizations and initiatives that unite people who strive to improve their own living standards and environmental conditions in an active and self-determined manner. Through its international partner projects, WFD engages in the elds of civil conict management, human rights, womens rights and economic development, education and training, and agricultural activities which preserve natural resources. WFD typically provides long-term consultancy to projects that seek to encourage victims of injustices to nd ways to express the suffering they experienced and thus move towards healing and reconciliation. WFD has a long-standing relationship of solidarity with Palestine, which started in 1968 when the organization started to support a womens embroidery collective in Kfar Name near the West Bank village of Bilin. While this partnership still continues to date, WFD now focuses on strengthening Palestinian civil society through supporting Palestinian NGOs that provide arts-based and psychosocial intervention.

NEWS
As promised to its fans and loved ones, Yes Theatre works around the clock to offer the best to its audience. Recently, Yes Theatre completed a round of forty performances of its new play Bila Ainwan (En: Untitled) for around 5000 students at forty primary and secondary schools including UNRWA schools in the entire Hebron district. Untitled was produced by Ihab Zahdeh and performed by Raed Shyoukhi, Abdul Razzaq Abu Meizer and Mohammad Titi. The play is about a father who is buried under the rubble of his house after his village was shelled, and his son who is trying in vain to get him out. The ensuing conversation covers love, community, hope and despair, and the humanitarian side of the Palestinians daily experiences. Overview of activities in 2009: 12 drama workshops for around 180 students at 12 schools and non-governmental organizations. Four Kids 4 Kids plays with 60 female and male students from different schools. The resulting plays are the following: 1. Journey in the Sun Produced and directed by Raed Shyoukhi. 2. The Yard and Reems Dreams Produced and directed by Ihab Zahdeh. 3. The Treasure Produced and directed by Mohammed Titi. 20 performances of The Swing in cooperation with Theatre Day Productions, performed by Raed Shyoukhi, Mohammed Titi and Ihab Zahdeh 13 performances of In the Place in the framework of the in celebration of Jerusalem as the Cultural Capital of the Arab World 2009. Three performances of In the Place in Algeria. (The same play will be performed in the festival Days of the Amman International Theatre in 2010 in Jordan.) Participation at the Palestine Theatre Festival with In the Place Hosting of performances by other Palestinian theatres, including: Yousef Said -Shibr Hurr Theatre, WonderlandSanabel Theatre, Puppet Show-Tantura Theatre, Magic Show -George Hazina, On the Footsteps of Hamlet - National Theater /Hakawati. Currently, Yes Theatre is preparing for the year 2010 activities, including three Kids 4 Kids plays, one Play 4 Kids, a number of drama workshops, and a training of trainers (TOT) course for young adults working with children that will equip trainees with innovative theater- and play-based tools.

WHO ARE WE?

Yes Theatre is a Palestinian non-governmental, non-prot organization, established at the end of 2007, by a group of Palestinian playwrights who seek to raise the quality of Palestinian theater and address topics on Palestinian culture and identity. YT Vision: Create a theatre that expresses the Palestinian's identity and culture. YT Mission: YT is working on producing and developing a vital and dynamic program of theatre, and other live performances and projects, for all the people of Hebron and those living in the surrounding areas.

FICTION
MY FRIEND

He is my friend, my companion, keeper of my secrets, accompanies me everywhere, sees everything but doesnt say or disclose a secret. I trust him with everything I do, he eases my burden as I travel and gives me strength to overcome all obstacles that I face in my way. I met him the rst time imprisoned in a glass cage in one of the shoe shops, sitting melancholically in an elegant place. I loved him at rst sight, his color, design, the owing lines on both sides ... I bought him and did not argue with the price ... We have now been together for over a year, and he accompanied me to many places, cities and countries. I know now that after all this time he feels tired, but it is difcult for me to set him aside or throw him in the garbage. I thought of getting him repaired but I'm afraid his shape might change. I love my friend as he is without restoration, makeup or other changes neither to his appearance nor to his essence. By Raed Shyoukhi

LIFE AND I
Shes a normal, innocent and beautiful girl, she lived with her family but she was alone. ... Happiness and joy have abandoned her and allowed grief to nest inside her, you look at her and speak with her of happiness or sadness, but her facial expressions do not change for the better. She doesnt change. All you see when you look at her are tears that barely manage to squeeze out of the eyeballs due to the severity of her crying over the miserable years. She used to think that all people were angels but her imagination was the cause of the death of her dreams. A girl cannot nd beautiful memories to extend her hand to and shake. She lives among human wolves who have lost compassion, love, warmth, everything. All that is left to her is a pen and scattered paper, and a guitar that plays her sorrows. She is a diamond, though what is left from her glitter is a dim light that struggles to survive. But she will persist and stubbornly mock this mortal life because she is too small to allow sadness to take over her face forever. This is me. Life challenged me early, and was harsh with me, seeking to break me eventually, but I laughed at life, and I lived against its will and I continue to live all over every day. This is because I love life and I hate the dry branches when they become weak in the face of the wind. Asalah Salhab

14 years, participant in the Yes Theatres Kids 4 Kids program

MY CELL IS MY GARDEN
He was in an Israeli prison. He loves nature and its charm, but strangely, he didnt miss it during his imprisonment. He imagined that his cell was a singing garden. He was drew trees, roses, birds and a shining sun on its walls. He lived in the warmth of this nature, spiting the coldness of the cell. Though alone in the dark cell, he always saw it illuminated with the bright morning sun of his imagination. He woke up every dawn so as not to miss the sunrise that was never absent from his inner eye. He saw the birds and heard their voices, he created them in order to listen to them in his imagination. He sat leaning against his mural tree. He lived freely and solitarily alone in his cold, dark and small cell, where he spent his most beautiful moments. The day of his release came. The day he had awaited for twenty years. He walked out, eager to see the sun of his imagination in reality, and his heart was singing with joy. The door of the prison opened, and the sun ashed his eyes and almost blinded him. He closed his eyes for a moment, and opened it again. He looked right and left, looked for trees and owers. But all he saw was a huge building. Neighborhoods crowded with houses like matchboxes. He saws no trees, nor owers, nor innocent children playing and laughing among the trees. Instead, he saw people rushing madly in the streets, he saw the narrow roads that the sunlight doesnt reach. He saw cold and dirty alleyways, and people ghting each other without a sense of love for goodness or life. He wondered and said to himself: "I take one step out of prison and see this, what will happen if I continue? No... Id rather take two steps back instead of another one forward Shirin Ed'eis 14 years, participant in the Yes Theatres Kids 4 Kids program

HASSOUN (THE NIGHTINGALE OR WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE BULBUL OF PALESTINE)

Hassoun is not just a bird that twitters in a cage. When I saw him for the rst time, I felt weakness and quietness living in his bones. I bought him from a street vendor in the city. The bird was weak, so I made up its cage, and provided him with a swing and some green branches. In this cage, he looked better than in the previous one. I approached him and promised to treat him with sympathy. In return, he delighted me with his twittering every morning. A few months later, the bird had grown and his body was covered with gorgeous feathers that reected all colors of the spectrum. His voice was attractive and touching. The bird comforted me, relieved me from my grief lightly caressing my heart. He never tired. Everyone who saw him loved him. Because he sang lightly and few around energetically, I believed that the bird was happy in his cage. Every time he twittered, I felt my soul rises. I kept looking at him, and in turn, he never stopped singing. I think I was rather harsh on him. I brought him a larger and more beautiful cage so that I might take him to the park with me where he would be able to see the big trees and breathe fresh air. I thought about getting another bird to live with him in the cage so that hed not feel lonely in my absence. But all that did not happen, I caged him in my house and kept him only to myself! The bird got fed up with the cage, the walls of the house tightened on him. He twittered and twittered until he gave up twittering. While he was looking for a new tune, he got lost in his research and forgot his old tune. Then, hes left and left me alone. His twittering was like a lighthouse in the middle of the sea guiding me through time. His twittering in the morning was as clear as water. One morning I did not hear him singing. I thought he was playing with me. I thought if I started twittering, he would respond to me. But there was nothing but a terrible silence. I headed towards the cage to check on him and found him sleeping on a pile of straw. He seemed sad. Hassoun left. Left without saying goodbye. Oh Hassoun, I didnt keep my promise to you. I locked you in a cold cage like the morning you left. I poked him and printed a kiss on his red head, I wiped his golden feathers with my hands. I spread his white wings, and I wished he would y and continue twittering. Norah Abdul-Mahdi Salah Participant in the First School Theater Festival 2008

The use of drama in education

YES THEATRE AND I

My name is Leena I am 13 years old and I am an ordinary girl. My family stick a lot to tradition and old ways of life. They
are overprotective of me since we live in a traditional society. This has only made life difcult for me sometimes. In the summer vacation, I joined the activities organized by Yes Theatre. It is like my second home. My trainers are like my friends. They encourage me and build my condence in myself. They also help me deal with my problems. I always want to participate in more activities.

My name is Rifqa and I am 14 years old. Before joining the activities of Yes Theatre, I spent most of my time between home and school because of local tradition which says that girls should not go out a lot. At the theatre, I felt that I have more space and freedom for myself. So the theatre is not only a place for training, but it is like another home. There, I feel that I am respected and receive attention. I also learn how to be humble and how to deal with others. I have made new friends too. When I act in front of my classmates and friends at school, I feel really proud of myself, and I feel that I have given something useful to my society. Thank you Yes Theatre! My name is Reem I am 13 years old. and I go to Tayseer
Maswadeh Girls School in Hebron. The rst time I learnt about drama was when I participated in a drama workshop organized My name is Asalah Salhab, I am 14 years old. From the rst by Yes Theatre at my school with Heyam Al Talbeeshi. Because day, and from the rst word, I started, without knowing where of the exciting experience in the workshop, I decided to particiI am and what to do, praising myself, and I was nothing. But pate in the Kids 4 Kids project at the Yes Theatre. In the projover time, I became more aware, and my knowledge increased ect workshops I have learnt how to face life problems and daily about this fascinating place which helped me break the barri- pressures, and so I have become happier in my life and more ers that used to object my pen. This place enhanced my self comfortable with myself." condence and gave me the biggest opportunity to express it freely and boldly. It taught me to respect and listen to others and it strengthened my values. In this place, I met many wonderful and creative people who changed my life for the better. Some of them were diplomatic, others were spontaneous and funny, and yet others were rational and honest. I herewith bow down in front of these people who have all my respect. One day, I hope to become like them, to be creative as they are, and to follow in their footsteps.

THE BENEFITS OF DRAMA EDUCATION

Research reveals the positive impact of drama on a student's Physical, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Development Self-Condence: Taking risks in class and performing for an audience teach students to trust their ideas and abilities. The condence gained in drama applies to school, career, and life. Imagination: Making creative choices, thinking of new ideas, and interpreting familiar material in new ways are essential to drama. Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge". Empathy: Acting roles from different situations, time periods, and cultures promotes compassion and tolerance of others' feeling and viewpoints. Cooperation/Collaboration: Theatre combines the creative ideas and abilities of its participants. This cooperative process includes discussing, negotiating, rehearsing, and performing. Concentration: Playing, participating, and performing develop a sustained focus of mind, body, and voice, which also helps in other school subjects and life. Communication Skills: Drama enhances verbal and nonverbal expression of ideas. It improves voice projection, articulation of words, uency with languages, and persuasive speech. Listening and observation skills develop by playing drama games, being an audience, rehearsing and performing. Problem Solving: Students learn how to communicate the who, what, where, and why to the audience. Improvisation fosters quick-thinking solutions, which leads to greater adaptability in life. Fun: Drama brings play, humor, and laughter to learning; this improves motivation and reduces stress. Emotional Outlet: Pretend play and drama games allow students to express a range of emotions. Aggression and tension are released in a safe, controlled environment, reducing antisocial behaviors. Relaxation: Many drama activities reduce stress by releasing mental, physical, and emotional tension. Self-Discipline: The process of moving from ideas to actions to performances teaches the value of practice and perseverance. Drama games and creative movement improve self-control. Trust: The social interaction and risk taking in drama develop trust in self, others, and the process. Physical Fitness: Movement in drama improves exibility, coordination, balance, and control. Memory: Rehearsing and performing words, movements, and cues strengthen this skill like a muscle. Social Awareness: Legends, myths, poems, stories, and plays used in drama teach students about social issues and conicts form cultures, past and present, all over the world. Aesthetic Appreciation: Participating in and viewing theatre raise appreciation for the art form. It is important to raise a generation that understands, values, and supports theatre's place in society. (from http://www.dramaed.net/benets.pdf)

WISDOM OF THE DAY

One day, two brothers were ghting over a piece of land. The rst one shouted "This land is mine," and the other shouted "This land is mine," and no one was able to help them come to an agreement. After a long dispute, they decided to seek the advice of a wise man who was known for his integrity in judgment matters. The wise man asked the rst brother: "Whose land is this?" Mine, replied he. The wise man asked the second brother: "Whose land is?" Mine, of course, replied this one. I asked both of you about the ownership of the land and now the land itself has the right to be asked."So he bend down and asked: "Oh land, who owns you?" He listened as if he heard it whispering to him, and then he stood and said: "The land says: both of you are mine".

CHARACTER OF THE DAY

Saadallah Wannous Saadallah Wannous (Arabic: ) , (1941-1997) is a Syrian playwright. He was born in the village of Hussein al-Bahr, near Tartous. Wannous received his education in Latakias schools. Then he received a scholarship to study journalism in Cairo, Egypt. He served as editor of the art and cultural sections of the Syrian newspaper Al Thawra and Lebanese newspaper As-Sar. He headed the General Committee for Music and Theatre in Syria. In the late sixties, he traveled to Paris where he studied theatre and encountered different currents, trends, and schools of European theater. His career as a playwright began in the early sixties with several short plays which were characterized by his fundamental theme: the relationship between the individual, society and the authorities. The Arab defeat in the 1967 war against Israel gave birth to political Arabic theatre. The defeat created a new level of awareness among artists and intellectuals, particularly of the government-controlled press and its inltration of popular culture. In 1969, joined by a group of playwrights, Wannous called for an Arab Festival for Theatre Arts to be hosted in Damascus, which was later lead and attended by dramatists from all over the Arab world. In this festival, he introduced his new project, theater of politicization, to replace the traditional "political theatre" He intended theatre to play a more positive role in the process of social and political change. His powerful plays include Elephant: The King of All Times (1969), The King is the King (1977) and Hanthala's Journey from Slumber to Consciousness (1978). In the late seventies, Wannous helped establish and later taught at The High Institute for Theatre Arts in Damascus. He also created the Theatre Life magazine, and ran it as editor-in-chief for several years. The shock of the Israeli invasion of Beirut in 1982 shocked Wannus deeply and left him unable to write for a decade. In the early nineties, Wannous began writing again and presented the Arabic theatre with a series of plays that were no less political than their predecessors, starting with The Rape (1990), a play about the Arab-Israeli conict. Later, he wrote Fragments from History (1994), Rituals of Signs and Transformations (1994), Miserable Dreams (1995), A Day of Our Time (1995), and nally Mirage Epic (1996). In 1996, he was selected by UNESCO and the International Institute of Theatre as key-note speaker at the celebrations of the International Theatre Day on March 27. This was the rst time an Arab writer was selected since the organization started this tradition in 1963. On May 15, 1997, Wannus died of cancer, a disease he had resisted for 5 years.

Plays:

Elephant, the King of All Times, (1969). The King is the King, (1977). Hanthalas Journey from Slumber to Consciousness, (1978). The Rape, (1990). Fragments from History, (1994). Rituals of Signs and Transformations, (1994). Miserable Dreams, (1995). A Day of Our Time, (1995). Mirage Epic, (1996).

The assistant staff of the Yes Theatre helped produce and performed in two of Saadallah Wannous plays: Glass Cafe which was performed at the Amman International Theatre Festival 1998, and The King is the King in 2006.

WHY BRING THEATRE GAMES INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Playing theater games with your students will bring refreshment, vitality, and more. Theater-game workshops are designed not as diversions from the curriculum, but rather as supplements, increasing student awareness of problems and ideas fundamental to their intellectual development []. Theater-game workshops are useful in improving students ability to communicate through speech and writing and in nonverbal ways as well. They are energy sources, helping students develop skills in concentration, problem solving, and group interaction. [] Many of the skills learned in playing are social skills. Most games worth playing are highly social and have a problem that needs solving within them an objective point in which each individual must become involved with others while attempting to reach a goal. Outside of play there are few places where children can contribute to the world in which they nd themselves. Their world, controlled by adults who tell them what to do and when to do it, offers them little opportunity to act or to accept community responsibility. The theatergame workshop is designed to offer students the opportunity for equal freedom, respect, and responsibility within their community of the schoolroom. Exctracts from Spolin, Viola (1986). Theater Games For The Classroom. A Teachers Handbook. Illinois: Northwestern University Press.

FOR KIDS ONLY

In this section, we welcome paintings and drawings from readers who are up to years old and who love theater. In each issue, the three winning paintings will be published with the names of its creator. For the next edition, we welcome paintings and drawings around the topic of winter.

Puzzles
- What carries tons of wood but doesnt carry a nail? - What screams when you touch it? - What eats everything, but dies if you water it? - If you see it, you don't buy it. If you buy it, you don't use it and if you use it, you don't see it. What is it? - He is my uncles brother, but he is not my uncle. Who is he? - Where is the oldest oak tree in history?

Did you know?

- A bat is a mammal. - A penguin is a bird that doesnt y. - The highest peak in the world is Mount Everest peak. - Sea turtles live for over a hundred years. - Glass is made from sand and paper is made from wood. - The oldest and lowest city in history is the city of Jericho. The puzzles answers (upside down) the sea, bell, re, the cofn, my father, Ibrahims Oak in Hebron.

HEBRON
Hebron is a Palestinian city located 35 km south of Jerusalem in the West bank, and is considered the largest Palestinian city in terms of population and area. The citys name (al-Khalil) comes from the prophet Abraham El Khalil, father of the prophets, because it is believed that lived in Hebron in what became later known as the Sanctuary of Abraham and in the area of where the Tomb of the Patriarchs are situated. Hebron is famous for its vineyards and limestone, pottery and glass and for its commercial industries. Hebron used to be called the village of Arba, referring to a Canaanite king called Arba. The city was then called before it became know as Alkhalil in Arabic, which means the friend. The population of Hebron city is 700,000. The inhabitants of Hebron speak their own dialect of Arabic, which resembles the Syrian dialect, but remains unique. Hebron is also famous for many local goods which are produced in large quantities and exported abroad, especially to European markets. Examples of these products are glass, pottery, garment and leather used in the shoe industry where it is largely exported to several countries, such as: Italy, Spain, Jordan and the Gulf. Hebron is also famous for its concrete products, saws, stones, marbles and tiles, which are exported to most European and Arab states. In addition to that, Hebron is famous for producing nylon, old and new scales, dairy, and food products. Hebron hosts two of the most important dairy and food companies in the Middle East, Al - Jibrini and Al Juneidi. It is worth mentioning that the biggest hand-made Palestinian dress in the world is kept in the city of Hebron. Hebron district has more than 100 Palestinian villages and towns. It is stated that most residents of the city are Muslims. The villages in Hebron district include: Dura, Yatta, Halhoul, Beit Kahil, Beit Omar, Dahriya, Edna, Surif, Bani Naim, Shoyyokh, Tafouh, Seir, Rihiya, Kharas, Samu, Deir Samit, Nuba, Tarqoumiya, Beit Anoun, Beit Ula, Beit Awa, Edisia, and Ar-roub and Al Fawar refugee camps, and among others. The religious monuments and archaeological sites in the city include: the Sanctuary of Abraham, Haram Rama well, Masqubia Church, Balouta and Abraham Tikia (Shelter).

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RIDDLE OF THE DAY

Yalla Masrah will always contain a riddle that we invite our
readers at the ages from 8-16 to solve. Please, send answers per Email to info@yestheatre.org. Three winners will be chosen from those who provide correct answers and receive gifts worth 100 NIS. The correct answer with the winners names will be announced in the next edition.

The riddle is:

We have ten bags of marble balls, containing each ten balls. Each ball weighs 1 gram only, but one of these bags contains ten balls that weigh 2 grams each. Using the scale only once, how can we nd out which bag contains the balls that weigh 2 grams?

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Statistics 2009
Programs
Kids 4 kids Drama Workshops The Swing Play In the Place Play Untitled External Activities Hosted Activities Total

Number of projects and performances

4 12 20 13 42 5 9

Direct Beneciaries
4876 354 2500 1560 5000 199 995

373

15444

www.yestheatre.org E-mail:info@yestheatre.org / yas.theatre@gmail.com 0599 914613 : 02-2291559 : - -

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