Call for Applications: Zoukak Behind the Curtains - Cycle 2

Call for Applications: Zoukak Behind the Curtains
June - July 2022

Deadline for Applications: 15th of May 2022 before midnight, Beirut time.

Fill in the application form in your preferred language and submit it along with the supporting document.

Download the full call in English / Arabic.

Zoukak Behind the Curtains is a series of training courses covering various aspects of theatre-making: from acting to devising, writing, directing, production management, and theatre as a psychosocial mediation tool.

Fees:  Free of charge; contributions are welcome.

Training Courses available in June and July 2022:

Writing for Theatre
With Maya Zbib

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8th of June - 27th of July 2022 (10 sessions) - Every Wednesday from 4:30pm until 8:30pm.
Additional two sessions on Monday 18th and Monday 25th of July from 4:30pm until 8:30pm

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Through this workshop participants will follow a process of playwriting from conception and until the start of a first draft of a play. Writing for theatre is about writing the present, writing through the body and mind of the actors, their emotions, their actions and the images of the stage. In this workshop, writers will be guided to find out what themes and ideas are important for them, and how that connects to the reality of the world today. The workshop will provide creative and analytical tools for writers wishing to begin a new script. Through writing exercises the sessions will help the writer develop their story, and their characters, refine their writing and get to the heart of the play; all-the-while connecting with what is urgent for them to reflect on, and what story they wish to tell. The writer will be able to practice finding their own voice while learning form peers, and experimenting through some direct stage work with actors. While presenting some basic story-telling principles and more traditional techniques, the workshop is also open to various forms of writing for the stage, and encourages participants to adapt all the tools made available in order to find the best way that fits the specific needs of their story and their writing style.

Learning objectives:

Through this workshop participants will:

- Acquire tools to write and develop a full-length play;
- Experience how to overcome lack of inspiration and the myth of the writer’s block;
- Develop a writing routine;
- Learn writing tools and techniques;
- Develop their own voice, what really matters to them and how they wish to say it;
- Be able to define what they want to say and to connect with their own feelings/desires in order to create;
- Notice and defy self-censorship;
- Make this practice less lonely.

Directing for The Stage
With Omar Abi Azar
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This training course consists of two phases:
Phase 1:  30th of June - 28th of July 2022 (5 sessions) - Thursdays from 4:30pm to 8:30pm
Phase 2:  4th - 18th of October 2022 (3 sessions) - Tuesdays from 4:30pm to 8:30pm
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Through a variation of texts from Greek antiquity to contemporary and postmodern works, this training aims to be a platform for aspiring and emerging theatre directors to experiment, develop and reflect on their practice and their role in the creation process, while acquiring skills related to the role of the actor, and the roles of scenography and light design in directing.

During this training, participants get the chance to develop their own projects, in addition to other practicing exercises based on the texts they will choose to work on. The training tackles theatre directing on both theoretical and practical levels. Learning objectives:

- Gain skills to stage a production based on an existing text or an adaptation, or on an idea 
- Acquire the means to direct actors, light designers, and scenographers;

Prerequisites:

- A minimum knowledge in directing plays is required from participants, and a willingness to challenge their own practices with an open mind.
- Participants should commit to attend all the sessions without any exception.

Collaborative Communication
With Mohamad Hamdan
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This training will take place in the fall of 2022 over the course of 3 sessions with dates to be defined at a later stage.
Once a participant is selected for any of the previously mention training courses, they will be required to attend the “Collaborative Communication” training, which is a prerequisite for the entire program.
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Our beliefs shape our behaviors. Believing in the importance of fair collaboration and reflecting this in our act is important for any social organization. Theatre is one of the most ancient forms of collective expression and action. In that sense, collaborative communication is key for the creation process as much as any other element of the devising process such as writing, acting, directing, and scenography etc.  This training is an invitation to practice fairness from the lens of our communication capacity.

Using nonviolent communication, social organizing, and theatre, it poses integration as a flow of energy that holds together the space of action with stories and dreams.

Learning objectives:

- Practice empathy to build rapport with others;
- Collaborate positively with others;
- Act in a responsive and reliable manner.

Prerequisites:
- Participants should commit to attend all the training sessions without any exception.