Tikhtak

My Research at The Lift Living Archive

Over the past 5 months I have been doing research at LIFT(London International Festival of Theater) as a placement for my MA studies at Goldsmiths college. The LIFT living archive is a record of Lift's work inviting international theater companies to London from 1981 to 2001. As a culmination to this work I have designed an on-line trail comparing two theater productions, Al Kasaba's "Alive from Palestine" production  (2001) and Katona Joszef's Three sisters and The Government Inspector productions from Hungary (1989). Click on Foreign theatre in a foreign land to view the trail

The trail will also be part of a Symposium on Documenting Practices being held this Thursday at the Central School of Speech and Drama. I have copied the splurge on it below.

Documenting Theatre Symposium:

Will sample different approaches to documenting theatre. It questions how and why we document this live art form, and explores the issues, practices and challenges involved. It particularly addresses the use of new technologies in documentation in a digital age. The Exhibition includes material from the National Theatre digital archive, Cameron Mackintosh archive, Rambert archive and the LIFT Living Archive, drawings by Rae Smith for War Horse, technical video storyboards by mesmer, books by Ernst Fischer, rehearsal drawings by Quentin Blake, photographs by Manuel Vason and a range of experimental documentation by Central practitioners.

The Symposium, at 3:00pm on Thursday 6 November, features two round table discussions, with representatives from the V&A's National Video Archive of Performance, the Royal Opera House new media department, the National Theatre Archive, the Musicians' Union and intellectual property law, as well as contributions from theatre practitioners/designers including Rae Smith, Mervyn Millar, Gareth Fry, Gregg Fisher, Sven Ortel and David Harradine. Admission is free

To reserve a place at the Symposium, email cett@cssd.ac.uk or call +44 (0)20 7449 1571
www.cssd.ac.uk
Embassy Theatre and Studio, The Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London, Eton Avenue, London NW3 3HY

Welcome to Hell

I drew the short straw and was asked to do the Alpha talk at Holy Trinity Church Clapham on How to resist evil. I think the talk was received quite well and afterwards we had a really good discussion in our group. But what really stole the show was my intro of Rowan Atkinson's skit "Welcome to Hell". He first performed it at the policemans ball in the early eighties but it contains some timeless truths. Check it out here on youtube.

Green shoes Theatre Website

Four friends from my Ma Applied drama course at Goldsmiths college have got together to start up a theatre company called Green Shoes. Apart from working on their own performance work they are looking to facilitate others to create Arts projects. Check out their new website.

Ghana schools link trip

Last year around this time we went to Sierra Leone on our CMS Free For All tour to perform a play about the abolition of the slave trade bill with children from local schools. As a follow up to that trip over the next week a group of teachers from schools in the Uk will be visiting and connecting with schools in Ghana. We hope that they will make links that will continue for many years to come. Mark Berry is also going to represent CMS and  Telford united FC and look at ways of developing a football connection. This trip will be followed up again for schools from the UK next year with a trip to Kashmir in India. Thankfully Anita Matthews from our Youth team at CMS will be leading this one and she and others will be contributing from a blog that you can follow by clicking on Ghana schools link blog

Open spaces - Ngugi Wa Thiongi

As part of my MA study this term I have elected a course on African Theatre. It asks the big question of What is African Theatre or Literature? Nearly all written books and plays in circulation have been influenced by Europe through colonisation and so are better discribed as EuroAfrican literature. in fact the rich oral traditions of Africa were completely degraded in colonialisation in favour of European literature and languages. One writer Ngugi Wa Thiongi, who himself was educated under this system, has made a stand against this history for some 20 years now by only now writing his plays and literature in Gikuyu a Kenyan language. In his book "Decolonising the mind" he talks about how Theatre in pre colonial Africa was part of the expression of the community. Drama, dance, song retolled stories of heroism or was used in ceremonies and ritual on a daily basis. It also happened, not in buildings but in the open spaces. When Europian nations colonised Africa for fear of revolution any gatherings in open spaces were banned which had a devastating effect on African community life. The education system put people in class rooms and all of this oral tradition was ignored in favour of Shakespeare and other English or European lietrature. On my trip to Sierra Leone last as I waited for the helicopter to take us to Lungi Airport an old man was selling as book about Sierra Leone. I bought it because I had seen nothing like it in the 2 weeks I had been in the country. It was a book about the oral tradtions of Sierra Leone and had been translated into English. At the time I bought it as a keep sake and because I liked the pictures. Now I realise what a gem I bought.

Culture shock back home in Blighty

Since arriving back from Manila last week I have had more than a few moments of  reverse culture shock. The first was receiving yet another Lambeth parking ticket for no apparent reason. AAaaaahg! However they have not all been negative. I attended the funeral of my Auntie Edna in Doncaster, which was really a celebration of her life and her faith. Also a good chance to meet and see family I hadn't met or seen for a long time. Over the weekend Holy Trinity Church in Clapham had a kind of Harvest Weekend  away (except we stayed in Clapham) The highlights of this was a good old barn dance in the evening, where Irfana took to the "up to the middle with a Cowboy yell" like a duck to water. (see pic top left) And on Sunday morning a number of young people performed an extract from our Greenbelt CMS 3D performance in the service. With two girls in particular Witt and Patricia stealing the show dressed as plastic bags. Check out more pics on Flickr. I definitely feel I am now back home.

Manila day 9 - Farewells to Jigsaw

Today was quite an emotional day as we said goodbye to all the children and staff at Jigsaw. At lunchtime we all met up and took everybody to KFC as a thank you to everybody. We had a lot of fun and we were presented with a t shirt each and a card from the children.

We have been really impressed by the commitment of Jigsaw staff to the work with the children.They really are one big family and perhaps a better expression of church than most around. The children themselves are amazing and have a faith that has transformed them, whilst difficulties around them still remain.

Tim Lee (CMS and Jigsaw staff worker) put into perspective the value of a project like Jigsaw, which doesn't lift these children out of their community but helps them to transform it themselves. Talking about the boys we have worked with he said " They will grow up to be good fathers, Uncles and Husbands." What a great legacy that is.

This evening we went out with Tim and Kate Lee and their 3 children for a Chinese meal. We had managed to find a photo shop to blow up and frame 3 pictures which we had taken that afternoon and we gave it to them as a parting gift.  We have an early flight tomorrow morning and then a 16 hour journey back to the UK. Check out our latest pics on dave's flickr and the CMS flickr.

Manila day 8

Today was our last day of filming and it was made a little more challenging with the tail end of a typhoon causing constant down pours. In spight of this the GV's (General Views) of Manila went on and in some ways they were more desperate with children having to huddle for shelter under trees and bridges. It also felt quite a cold and detached exercise as we filmed them in their plight. I know that the Dvd will be a tool to educate and challenge schools in Britain to these issues, but the camera couldn't filter out the fact that these are fellow human beings.

For much of the day we were based at Jigsaw and worked with the teenagers filming them going about  their business. Some played on a "Track and Field" consul game that I was hooked to myself at their age, while the girls played pictionary and did craft. Obviously the trick was allowing them to relax and not be too thrown by the camera and lights. At the end of the filming we got them together for a pose giving us their best Filipino look. It has been very special to get to know this group and they have been so welcoming and loving to us.

So we finally filmed the last shot outside a pizza hut where some of the children guided in cars to parking bays, which is a common way for children to get money here. As we made our way back through a traffic jam it was time to reflect a bit about the week and what we have achieved. One thing is for certain that we are all very tired and have crammed in a challenging project in to a short space of time. Superlatives can't be used enough for Tim and Kate Lee and their willingness and flexibility to enable us to film and interview both children and staff at Jigsaw. They are remarkable people working in a very difficult and yet blessed environment, with a real love and passion for both God and children. Check out our latest pics on Dave's Flickr or CMS Flickr.

Day 7

This morning we attended the worship time with all the jigsaw staff. It was special to see the fuel that fires their work with the children who come from the streets and the sqautter dwellings. The first song was sung in Tegalo, but it was a great one to mix everyone up as we swung arms with someone, then pointed to the ground, stamped our feet and turned around. We then had to find a new partner. By the end of the song we had danced and laughed with everyone in the room. There was also a time given for staff to ask us any questions and we were positioned in hot seats at the front of the room.

After this we interviewed two of the staff members and asked them specifically about their faith and  their work. Jo Ge pointed to Jesus putting the disciples straight when they tried to stop the children from coming close. "Let the children come unto me"  She shared how working at Jigsaw had shown that no matter how smelly, dirty or broken the children are it was her and Jigsaws job to allow the children to come to Jesus through them.

This afternoon all the boys came over to our guest house to use the swimming pool and play basketball. While this went on we re-interviewed a few of them. We all had a great afternoon and it was nice to just to relax and then play basketball together. They of course were much better than us although my height is always a not so secret weapon. 

From tomorrow we will start the GV's (general views) around the city. This will involve filming anything that relates to the interviews we have chosen for the dvd. It really does feel like we are running down the back straight now with just 3 days to go. Check out both CMS flickr and Dave's flickr for all the recent pics.

Weekend in Manila (Day 5 & 6)

On Saturday we arranged to meet the girls at Jigsaw to interview them. With the exception of one they were a little younger than the boys and so it was an unknown as to how they would take to being interviewed. They appeared all smiles and joking, giggling and hanging off each other just like girls in the UK. The youngest was 10 and the oldest 18 with stories of begging and sleeping on the streets, and the abuse that often goes with that. While Tim Dendy and Mike filmed each one of them Anita and I stayed with the rest of the girls and played circle games and pictionary. We had a real laugh together which again reflected in the magic of what Jigsaw has achieved in this community. The girls spoke less in interview and were less willing to  talk about their hardships, partly due to shame and perhaps just like any other child, they didn't want to have been seen to be in trouble. There was also a fair bit of pain and as one girl replied   "I don't wish to look to the past there is no use, just to the future."

For this reason Tim Lee (CMS and Jigsaw staff) carried out the interviews as he has a good relationship with them all and a knowledge of their past, which meant his questions stayed in areas where they could answer and he knew what to avoid.

We finished Saturday in the knowledge we had now footage of 6 boys and 4 girls, but little did we realise that we were only at the beginning. All morning today we have spent looking at their stories, seeing what places we need to film around the city and in the squatter dwellings to illustrate what they have said. Never mind finding translators and voice overs to link the interviews and video. This week  we also hope to film them playing basketball in their neighbourhood, doing chores as well as visiting them in their community. This has also meant that we have needed to pull together the basic outline of the Dvd, which Mike North has stepped up to the plate to lead like a fish to water. We now have four days left to shoot the film. It  has been a bit like writing an essay where you spend all your time on the preparation and the last two days on writing it up. We know what we want, it is just a case of getting it done.

Check out CMS flickr and Dave's Flickr for pics. We will be uploading the most recent ones there soon

Manila day 4

We started the day off by going into the central business district of Manila hunting for a film equipment hire shop. Believe it or not we found one and with state of the art equipment. The city could have been any western city in the world but even more had the feel of an American city with massive advertising billboards everywhere.

So, the reason we're here is to make a DVD resource for children in the UK to explore  the rights of the child, and to do that by comparing their lives with those of young people who have lived on the streets in Manila

Today, we started filming. It struck me that we weren't here to film some street kids anymore - but to meet some young people whose lives have met more challenges than mine probably ever will, and to hear how they find hope and meaning.

These boys are all connected to the project we're here with - Jigsaw.  They are being sponsored to go to school and learn skills that will give them opportunities and possibilities in the future.  Hearing their stories today into camera was both heart-moving and amazing.  When asked the question, "Where was God while you were living on the streets and your family were so ill?" - Raymond replied, through tears, that God was with him the whole time.  And you knew it was more than words.

One after another, the stories came out about how they found hope in a project that believed in them.  Where family members have died through ill health, where homelessness had forced them to beg on the streets and dig through rubbish on the sides of roads.  One of the guys told us that he only thinks of today and tomorrow - because yesterday might be too hard to take in.

Tim Lee helped us greatly in framing the questions to ask them and it was really touching to see the affection he has for the children and that they have for him. He too was hearing them talk openly about their past for the first time. Once we had finished everyone was in high spirits and it really felt that we had bonded closer together through hearing their stories. Afterwards we headed into the downtown area and had food at the hard rock cafe. The contrast couldn't have been greater with lots of young brightly dressed Filipinos chilling out in Mega malls and listening to asian rock and reggae bands.Tomorrow we will continue our filming with a group of girls. It's funny that if I was given the choice between the bright lights of the city or hanging out with the children at Jigsaw, the city wouldn't stand a chance. Check out all our latest pics on Dave's Flickr and to get Mikes go to the CMS flickr.

Manila day 3

Having seen Manila yesterday from a far, today we had the chance to get up close to areas we would almost certainly avoid .The privilege of working here with Jigsaw means we not only get to travel to these areas but we are welcomed by the local people and join in with their lives. We started by visiting one project in a squatter dwelling (Shanty town area). The building was bustling with 50 or 60 toddlers playing with toys scattered everywhere. I imagined Zara my daughter being there, she would have loved it. The group was run by a team of about 6 Jigsaw workers, themselves from the squatter area. After open play the children played in  circle games and sang Christian songs with actions. Everyone was then seated on the floor and a white sheet appeared held by two helpers across the room. We were suddenly the audience of a puppet show. The children absolutely loved it and so did Mike and I. After all the children had gone we prayed with the staff for the children and then visited their homes. Everybody knows everybody here so we were welcomed by all we came into contact with. After lunch back at he Jigsaw offices we joined a street children's group and relaxed with them. Mike and I played table football with some of the children there while Anita and Tim met with a few boys we will be interviewing and asking to film for us. They had a very special time together and the boys shared some of their stories in an informal way. Late afternoon we planned our timetable for the rest of our stay. We have slotted in time for interviews with Children and staff and have had to allocate time to get shots of some of the things they are talking about. Each day we will also need to look at all our footage for the same reason. So tomorrow we begin our interviews and this is the real reason for our visit. Everyone is excited at the prospect of the dvd, but perhaps God will surprise us in other ways too? Check out the most recent photo's on flickr

Manila day 2

Today we have spent getting to know the city. This morning we were taken to the Bam Bam bridge to catch a ferry that took us up the river Pasig all the way into the city. It was a great way to get to know Manila, not just because we were seeing the contrast of business offices and shanty towns but by the welcome we were getting from everybody waving to us from the river bank and the river. It was also good to visit the Spanish quartre, which is the old walled part of the city. Lendl our guide and jigsaw worker explained all the history to us. We also had time to see the bay of Manila where our camera attracted a lot of attention! Mind you Tim Dendy did look magnificent as he filmed out to sea .This is a quick fire entry but to see more of what we got up to today have a look at our flickr pics. Tomorrow we will spend the day at Jigsaw.

Arrival in Manila

We have arrived in a wet and humid Manila after a 16 hour flight. Tim Lee, CMS mission partner and Jigsaw staff worker met us off the plane, Tim Dendy our freelance film maker and the youth and children's team from CMS. On our journey to the Mission guest house, Tim gave us a brief glimpse into a culture where mobiles are so common that Nokia uses Manila as a testing ground but where many of the children that Jigsaw work with are invisible and voiceless in the urban culture. Having quickly unpacked our things we had an evening meal with both Tim and Kate Lee and their 3 children, who created this banner for us all (In pic) as a welcome gift. In spite of our tiredness we began a discussion about how we will shoot the Dvd, Tim shared with us that when they first started to work with Jigsaw their aim was to put shoes on every child. However the children would keep coming back to the project in bare feet. They quickly learnt to focus on their real needs rather than on what they thought they needed. I think as we meet the children and learn about jigsaw's work we will need to apply the same observational skills to see what the children's stories really are about rather than what we think they should be. I think these 10 days will be a big learning curve for us all.

Manila blog

Tomorrow I will be flying out to Manila with the youth team to join the Jigsaw project. We will learning about Jigsaw and their outreach work to street children. We will also be making a short Dvd to use as an educational resource for our World To Rights tour in 2009. You can follow all our news on our World To Rights Manila blog.