Announcing the artists selected within Kawalis Zoukak - Mentorship Program – 6th Edition of the year 2023
Announcing the artists selected within Kawalis Zoukak - Mentorship Program in its 6th Edition of the year 2023
In February 2023, Zoukak Theatre launched the 6th edition of its Mentorship Program.
We are happy to announce the 6 projects selected to benefit from the program this year: Hanna Yazbeck, Hassan Aqqoul, Marie Thérèse Ghosn, Hashem Hashem, Jana Mghames, Mhammad Swed & Sharbel Bahry .
Within this program, the artists will be supported throughout the development of their projects over the course of 9 months, each accompanied by a Zoukak mentor. Zoukak will also provide the selected artists with technical, administrative, financial and production support, through group sessions and individual follow up with Zoukak’s team. Additionally, each artist will receive a grant to support the production.
The final performances or work-in-progress presentations will take place in October/November 2023.
Read more about the selected artists and their projects:
Hanna Yazbeck
Hanna Yazbeck is a Lebanese 27-year-old writer and poet. His poetry has been published on a few online platforms such as “The Poetryhood Magazine”. He has pursued studies in both Theater and English Literature at the Lebanese University and has participated in many senior projects. He also participated in a few Theater workshops in the year 2022, including Beirut Summer School of Theater (BSSTP), “Directing for the Stage” with Omar Abi Azar, and Zoukak’s Directing workshop with Matthias Gehrt.
Project: Black Shoe
Tony, Antoine and Tanios are stuck in a space that keeps shifting between reality and the imaginary. They are forced to face the individual and collective traumas they tried to suppress as they struggle to coexist and get "unstuck”.
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Hassan Aqqoul
Hassan Aqqoul is an actor, writer and theater coach. He participated in several theatrical, television and cinematic productions. He is a member of the Laban theater group. He authored a theatrical script entitled "Umm Al-Ghaith" with the support of Ettijahat.
Project: Foolish place
When violence becomes part of the daily routine of a place, it turns it into a cold and meaningless place, its characters are indifferent and eccentric, in short, everything becomes foolish.
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Marie Thérèse Ghosn
Marie Thérèse Ghosn is an actress and dancer based in Beirut. She holds a BA in acting and a master's degree in actor training from the Lebanese University. She took part in various theatrical productions as an actress and dancer. In addition to her work as a dance teacher, Marie Thérèse is currently realizing and performing her first theatrical project. She is currently studying Psychology at the Lebanese University.
Project: Daffodils
"Daffodils" is a dance performance that shares the story of a soul struggling with trauma, trapped in a body that can't seem to rest. Through the lens of insomnia, we explore the journey of this being.
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Hashem Hashem
Hashem Hashem is a poet, writer and performer based in Beirut. He holds an MA in Gender Studies from SOAS, University of London. His work explores the themes of the human body in transition, the physical city, and the individual identity vis-à-vis the collective one(s). He has presented his work at Hammana Artist House, Zoukak Theatre, Station Beirut, Ashkal Alwan, Mansion and Sursock Museum. Hashem has also participated in festivals abroad, including Mexico City, Tunisia, Kathmandu, Belfast and Brussels. His works include a solo performance titled “I am the same, yet so different” (2021) with Patricia Nammour, and a duo with Baladi dancer Alexandre Paulikevitch titled “The Last Distance” (2018).
Project: The Sun Thief
Zayzafouneh and her partner live in a place somewhere in no particular city. It is a city they both know very well, but it no longer knows itself. Nor does it know them. Zayzafouneh's partner will go to great lengths to keep her with him. But when the unthinkable happens, everything changes, although it was never the same in the first place. Is love enough to save ourselves and those we love? Is dreaming enough? The questions are big and many, but the room is very small.
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Jana Mghames
Jana Mghames, 23 years of age, is a self-taught singer, guitarist, and pianist. She has a BA in acting and directing from the Lebanese University. She had worked as a director, an actress, a clown, a dubbing artist, a light and sound designer, a light and sound operator, and an acting coach in both theater and cinema.
Project: Chain-Reaction
Reactions are a consequence of actions, and reactions become actions, hence a chain of reactions. The play is a flashback that shows different outcomes to the concepts of Man fear power life & death. The audience will travel with the main character “A” through their life, hence giving the audience the opportunity to meet the revolution “C” (a chorus).
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Mhammad Swed & Sharbel Bahry
Mhammad Swed is a Theatre Practitioner with a Bachelor's degree in Theatre from the Lebanese University, currently pursuing a Master's degree in Actor Training. His experience extends over various aspects of Theatre-making, both onstage and backstage, and he recently wrote his first play. Passionate about movement, writing, and the human experience, Mhammad practices Theatre to challenge the concept of norms, and to create a space for individual and collective reflection.
Sharbel Bahry is a Theater practitioner, currently pursuing a Master's degree in Actor Training from the Lebanese University. He has worked as a performer, a trainer, a puppeteer, a voice actor, and a director — having written and directed his first family play "Santos" in 2022, as his first step to redefine Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) in Lebanon. Sharbel practices theater for human connection, sharing experiences, and the growth of individuals and communities.
Project: The Reject (Working Title)
The Reject is a play that tackles the woman within every man. It explores the broken relationship between Man and his own notion of identity — an inner chasm forged by a binary system, resulting in the displacement of the man's Anima, and causing Him to resist Her, as she seeks to manifest beyond his conscious barriers.
