By Samah Sabawi Education Pack

THEM by Samah Sabawi Education Pack

Production Photography by Justyn Koh 2

WHAT YOU’LL FIND IN THIS PACK

About the play ...... 3 Classroom Management Suggestions For Drama……………………………………………………………………………….8

Before you see the show ...... 9 Promotional Materials ...... 9 Contextualising the World of the Play ...... 10 POST-SHOW ACTIVITIES AND DISCUSSION ...... 11 Themes and Reflection ...... 11 Context ...... 12 The Actor ...... 13 Music and Songs ...... 13 Design Elements ...... 15 Technical Theatre and the Production Team ...... 16 TOUR DATES AND LOCATIONS ...... 16 REVIEWS AND FURTHER READING……………………………………………………………………………………………………17

CURRICULUM LINKS ...... 18 VICTORIA ...... 19 NEW SOUTH WALES ...... 19

Production Photography by Justyn Koh 3

ABOUT THE PLAY

THEM By Jane Bodie

A critically acclaimed work by Samah Sabawi, THEM is based on the real life stories of people displaced by conflict, THEM follows one young family as they face the decision whether to flee their war-torn city. Omar, Leila and their young child are counting down the days. Their friends enjoy fantasies of escape and the arrival of Omar’s sister brings a real chance to get out – but at what cost?

“THEM is a tragicomedy about love, honour and sacrifice in times of violence and war. It follows the lives of five young people and explores the impossible decisions they have to make in the days before a refugee boat sails from their shores to Europe,” says Samah Sabawi.

“I wrote the first draft for this play in a hotel room in Finland 2015. At the time, there were protests in the streets of Helsinki by members of the far right - who took the opportunity of marking Finland’s’ National day to demand tighter immigration measures against what they viewed as the wave of invasion of asylum seekers into their country.”

“The divisive ‘us’ and ‘them’ dehumanizing discourse espoused in that protest is also prevalent in many western liberal nations including here in Australia where during the last several years, I’ve witnessed the rise of similar rhetoric.”

Seeking refuge and coming to terms with the effects of displacement is a subject that is deeply relevant to Sabawi as the award-winning Palestinian playwright and her family were exiled in the aftermath of the Six Day War in 1967. Her experience connects her with the rest of the cast who hail from a range of countries that have been affected by political turmoil.

“I sat down and started imagining what life would have been like for the asylum seekers before they boarded the boats. I was already familiar with the impact of war on ordinary people, especially on women and children in Palestine and in Syria, but when I started writing, my characters refused to be bound to a specific region, added Sabawi.

“I believe this is because people react to war and violence almost in the same way, the same bravery, the same heroism, the same brutal need to survive no matter where they are, what colour their skin is or what ethnicity they belong to. From here the title of the play was born. Simply ‘THEM’."

Director Bagryana Popov Dramaturgs Set & Costume Design Lara Week Lighting Design Shane Grant Sound Design Elissa Goodrich Prop Design Lara Chamas Cast Includes Taj Aldeeb, Nahed Elrayes, Claudia Greenstone, Adeeb Razzouk, Osamah Sami, Mehran Tajbakhsh Production and Stage Manager Haley Fox and Shane Grant Company Manager Lara Week

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Co-Produced by La Mama, Critical Stages Touring and Lara Week

PLAYWRIGHT | SAMAH SABAWI Samah Sabawi is an author, playwright, scholar, commentator and poet who wages ‘beautiful resistance’ through her art and work. A recipient of multiple awards both nationally and internationally, Dr Sabawi’s theatre credits include the critically acclaimed plays Tales of a City by the Sea and THEM. She is co-editor of Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas, winner of the Patrick O’Neill award and co-author of I Remember My Name: Poetry by Samah Sabawi, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso, winner of the Palestine Book Award. Her poems are published in magazines and books including West End Press’s With Our Eyes Wide Open: Poems of the New American Century and Just World Books’ Gaza Unsilenced! Dr Sabawi is host of the webinar/podcast series The Book Room. She received her PhD from Victoria University for her thesis titled Inheriting Exile, transgenerational trauma and the Palestinian Australian Identity.

DIRECTOR | BAGRYANA POPOV Bagryana Popov is an award-winning theatre artist who works in an interdisciplinary way. She has collaborated with acclaimed professional artists, students and communities, working as director, actor, dramaturg and performance maker. Much of her work has examined themes of displacement and trauma as a result of war: Subclass 26A, Studies in Being Human, Cafe Scheherezade, Sarajevo Suite and Of Cows, Women and War, co-created with Ajak Kwai. Internationally, Dr Popov has directed for the National Theatre of Macedonia, presented work in Finland and performed in Bulgaria and Hungary. She completed her PhD in performance through University of Melbourne. Her project Uncle Vanya, a site-specific, durational version of Chekhov’s early environmentalist play transposed to the Australian landscape, was presented as part of the Adelaide Festival 2019 at The Cedars, the estate of artist Hans Heysen. Dr Popov is a lecturer and researcher in theatre at La Trobe University, Melbourne.

PERFORMER | TAJ ALDEEB Taj Aldeeb is a musician and performer. She fell in love with the performing arts in early childhood, taking part in the international Solhi-al- wadi Academy Piano Competition, and training at the National Ballet Academy in her hometown in Syria. In 2014, Taj fled the Syrian war with her family and settled in Melbourne/Narrm. Motivated by her own journey, Taj is committed to telling stories that demonstrate the challenges, triumphs, and diverse experiences of forced migration. She has played lead roles in the short films Nour (2018, dir. Suzy Sainovski) and The Fall (2019, dir. Mert Berdilek), which was a finalist in its category at Sydney and İzmir Kısa Film Festivals. Taj also employs her talents as a storyteller in advocacy work for human rights, leading multiple projects for not-for-profit organisations Road to Refuge and Red Cross, and giving talks for the community.

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PERFORMER | NAHED ELRAYES Nahed Elrayes is an emerging Palestinian-Australian composer and writer. Through the competitive Margaret Schofield Prize in Composition, Nahed attended the ANU School of Music, writing for various ensembles and co-founding Limited Express and Azim Zain and His Lovely Bones. After obtaining a BMus and B.PPE (Politics Philosophy and Economics) from the ANU, Nahed went to Cairo in 2018 to study Arabic music theory, which he has since applied to his performance and composition style. Nahed's 2020 thesis on Lebanese historical sociology won the University of Melbourne's W.M. Ball Prize for best graduate essay in International Relations. Nahed is currently working on his first piano concerto, a novel called The Crossing, and a music video based on Mahmoud Darwish's "Ashiq Min Filastin” in collaboration with dozens of musicians and crew from Melbourne to Gaza.

PERFORMER | CLAUDIA GREENSTONE Claudia Greenstone is a theatre and film actress passionate about projects that give voice to stories of marginalised people in society. Over the years, Claudia has been blessed to work with some of Australia’s best and most exciting directors. Television credits include her recurring role as Victoria Lamb on Neighbours and roles on Seven Types of Ambiguity, Upper Middle Bogan, Wentworth, Offspring, Killing Time and Satisfaction. Some of Claudia’s favourite theatre roles include Salma in THEM, Anna in Closer, Helena in Look Back in Anger and Dove in Features of Blown Youth. One of her most memorable film roles was playing a Serbian refugee, Antonija in the short SBS film Continental Drift, set in Croatia. Another was playing the lead, Ana, an Argentinian single mum, in the multiple award-winning short film, El Niño, seen at many local and international festivals.

PERFORMER | ADEEB RAZZOUK Originally from Syria, now based in Sydney, Adeeb Razzouk is an actor, voice-over artist, and content creator. He graduated with a Bachelor in Theatrical Acting from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Syria in 2016, trained in Interactive Theatre (based on Theatre of the Oppressed) in Lebanon in 2017, and is currently training as an Intimacy Coordinator with Key Intimate Scenes, Australia. He has facilitated Interactive Theatre workshops in Syria, Lebanon and Australia, and developed the original- concept interactive theatre and video series Light Room Show. He has numerous credits in theatre, film, radio, voiceover and dubbing in Syria, Lebanon and Australia, with his most recent credits including Hamlet at The Thomas Mann Theatre, Sydney and Good Grief at The Chippen Street Theatre, Sydney.

PERFORMER | OSAMAH SAMI Osamah Sami is the star and writer behind the hit Australian film Ali’s Wedding, co-written with Andrew Knight (Hacksaw Ridge, The Water Diviner), under the helm of award-winning director Jeffrey Walker. For his portrayal of the titular character, Osamah received AACTA Award, FCCA Award and AFCA Award nominations for Best Lead Actor. On stage, Osamah performed in sold-out seasons of Good Muslim Boy, his adaptation of his NSW Premier’s Literary Award-winning memoir of the same name, at Malthouse Theatre and Queensland Theatre. He has also performed at Belvoir St. Theatre Company Sydney, Browns Mart Theatre Darwin, Heath

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Ledger Theatre Perth, La Mama Theatre, Playhouse Theatre, and Melbourne Theatre Company. His role as Amor in Swedish playwright’s Jonas Khmeiri’s I Call My Brothers at the MTC earned him a Green Room Award nomination for Best Lead Actor.

PERFORMER | MEHRAN TAJBAKHSH Mehran Tajbakhsh was born in Iran and came to Australia with his family in 2015. He settled into Australian life in rural NSW and moved to Melbourne by himself after a year of hard work. While studying Business, he developed a love for performing and telling stories. Mehran’s passion for theatre and film was developed further over recent years by being surrounded by the arts of Melbourne. He began his formal training at Federation University in 2018, where he was fortunate to work with Peta Hanrahan on Twelve Angry Jurors (Juror 7), Everyman directed by Kellie Tori, Embers (Politician 2 and CFA Vol) directed by Kim Durban, and Out of Joint (Claudius) directed by Melanie Beddie. Mehran looks forward to expanding his acting career, creating his own movie company, and becoming a film director. Mehran speaks fluent Persian and plays the piano.

ABOUT THE CO-PRODUCERS

LA MAMA With a rich history spanning over 50 years and a national profile, La Mama is Australia’s home of independent Theatre. It plays a critical role in the Australian cultural landscape, as a place for responsive, new, risk-taking work to occur. La Mama has a distinct artist focus, and provides a unique audience experience. Treasured for its advocacy for those seeking to explore beyond the mainstream, La Mama champions artistic individuality and freedom, prioritises accessibility, and celebrates a diverse community of artists and audiences alike. Providing the integral foundational resources and support for both new and experienced theatre makers, La Mama ensures artist remuneration, celebrates creative risk, and elevates the development of new Australian work.

CRITICAL STAGES TOURING Critical Stages Touring is Australia’s national touring theatre company – discovering and developing outstanding independent theatre for audiences everywhere. We create outstanding live performing arts experiences that can travel, connecting these with diverse regional communities, and fostering a sustainable and diverse national independent theatre sector. The company has been supporting artists and audiences around Australia for the past 15 years, extending the life of great independent theatre productions through touring and audience development. Over that time, we have partnered with a strong and ambitious pool of independent artists and earned a reputation for excellent service with presenters. Our work was recognised by the Australia Council, with the company one of only four nationally to be awarded National Touring Status from 2018-2021. We were awarded the highly prestigious Touring Legend Drover's Award by Performing Arts Connections (PAC) Australia in 2019. We contribute to building a strong and vibrant theatre culture through supporting theatre makers and creatives in their own development, We produce regular forums and industry initiatives that bring them together, start and continue vital conversations, and provide opportunity to connect with each other and share knowledge and resources. Critical Stages Touring brings together people from across the country to connect with original Australian stories and theatrical works in the venues and places they hold dear. Through touring to an ever-expanding network of locations in regional, remote and rural Australia, and now also throughout New Zealand. We ensure that audiences can experience diverse & innovative professional live performance where they live. With the launch of our digital theatre platform, the

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CST Screening Room, we can now bring these same outstanding artists and shows into the homes and devices of audiences anywhere.

LARA WEEK Lara Week is a designer for performance and creative producer. From 2011, Lara was associate producer for Tribal Soul Arts, working with Patrice Naiambana to produce decolonial arts programs and performances in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, the Netherlands, UK, and Australia. In 2019 she produced and designed the sell-out premiere season of THEM at La Mama Courthouse. Other design credits include The Cane (Red Stitch Actors Theatre), ANNA (La Mama Courthouse), Make Me A Houri (La Mama Courthouse), Caliban (Western Edge Youth Arts, Malthouse Theatre), 3 Sisters (Metanoia Theatre), South Sudan Voice (Free Theatre), Night Sings Its Songs (La Mama Theatre), and two seasons of Samah Sabawi’s award-winning play Tales Of A City By The Sea (La Mama Courthouse) which she co-produced in 2016 with Daniel Clark and toured to Adelaide, Sydney, and Kuala Lumpur.

ABOUT ACM SCHOOLS

Arts Centre Melbourne’s Schools Program is dedicated to fostering the arts by giving schools the opportunity to see a diverse range of excellent theatre in fully produced form.

These education resources have been created for students in Years 11 & 12.

The content is designed so teachers can adapt and develop the discussion and activities according to their students’ learning needs, existing programs and school contexts.

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CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT SUGGESTIONS FOR DRAMA

Drama in the classroom can be used to support learning in a variety of key learning areas, giving students the opportunity to explore ideas and issues in a meaningful and realistic manner. Drama has been considered to assist with the development of self-esteem, communication skills, problem- solving abilities and in the development of focus and team building through fun activities.

Incorporating drama in a primary school classroom presents a number of challenges for teachers but reaps many rewards for all involved when attempted. The following suggestions are designed to provide some food for thought in relation to doing drama in the classroom and are intended as a guideline only.

When doing drama in the classroom ensure:

• A clear workspace is available for the drama activity. If desks cannot be moved in the classroom, try to use the hall or outside open area.

• You talk to the students about the creation of a ‘safe space’. In this space students don’t laugh at each other, but support and encourage (forming a circle at the beginning and end of a session or sitting with eyes closed are simple ways to focus students for a drama session)

• Incorporate a reflection session at the end of every drama activity. This allows the students to consider what has been done and take more meaning away from the activity than it just being fun (which it will be!)

• Be firm with the students. If a student does not follow instructions, they should be removed from the activity. This will allow the other students to see that you as the teacher are assisting in maintaining the safe space for them to work.

• Always begin every drama session with a warm-up. This could include a focus activity, drama game or pure physical warm-up. There are good books and websites available with suggestions of warm-up activities and drama games.

• Don’t be afraid to participate in the activities yourself. The students like to see you as the teacher taking a role in an activity. This can also allow you to help any improvisations or role plays flow and move forward more easily. (Dorothy Heathcote’s work on Mantle of the Expert and Teacher in Role discusses this in more detail)

Rachel Perry (2010)

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BEFORE YOU SEE THE SHOW

Please Note: The following pages have been written as inquiry based learning guides for students. Please feel free to adjust questions, activities, expand upon ideas etc. to suit your students and class needs.

Promotional Materials

Before seeing THEM, take a look at the promotional materials for the show and discuss your students’ expectations for the show. Consider the image, the font, the colours, and the text.

Discussion points • What are your expectations of the show after seeing the poster? • What do you think might happen in the play? • Who are the people on the poster and what do we assume about them from this picture? • What can we guess about the setting of the play? It’s themes? • If you’ve seen or read work by Samah Sabawi before, how does the shape your assumptions about this work?

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Contextualising the World of the Play

Discussion points

• What is fear? How would you represent fear on stage? • What is an asylum seeker? Why do you think people seek asylum? • With your classmate think about history and society. Do you think storytelling is important? Why? Why not? • Can you remember a time where you felt you really belonged? Discuss with your classmate why you had this sense of belonging. • Discuss what you would miss from your home if you had to seek asylum?

Tasks: • Read the “About the Play” section of this education kit and write a letter to Samah Sabawi with any questions you may have about the performance. Think about the narrative and why she wrote this play. • Research task: Research a conflict throughout history that resulted in displaced peoples. This could involve any region of the world. Who was displaced and by whom? Where did they go? How did external communities respond? • Politics and Humanity Part One*: Research Australia’s current refugee and asylum seeker policy. Have a facilitated class discussion about how the students would currently approach, analyse or change it. (Part Two of this activity will be discussed in the post-show activities).

*Teacher discretion is advised with this activity. Cultural safety takes priority. Rather than a group discussion, it could also be completed as an individual self- reflection if the teacher deems it more culturally safe for their class of students.

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POST-SHOW ACTIVITIES AND DISCUSSION

Themes and Reflection

Tasks: • Brainstorm the themes and ideas that you remember from the play. • Select one of the themes of the play and make some notes about how this theme is explored in the production. Think about the script, staging, design areas, and performance. • Discuss as a group how the story came to life on stage. Draw up a table with four sections (as below) and identify with your class how these interconnect:

Images or Activity Symbols

Music Storyline

Discussion:

• As a group, discuss the themes of identity, belonging and displacement. Do you think Omar and Leila struggled with their decision to leave their home? • What moment do you remember the most in the performance? Why do you think this stood out for you?

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Context

Discussion:

• THEM will be performed in both metro and regional Australia to a range of audiences. How might the show be received differently by communities with lived experiences of displacement and warfare compared to those who do not have the same experience? • Thinking about the creators of THEM, why was it important that many lived experiences of people living in conflict zones was included in the development of the play? • Discuss with your class what you think are the impacts of migration are on your community. Consider food and art, laws and the environment.

Tasks: • Politics and Humanity Part Two*: How did seeing the play impact your pre-show views on Australia’s current refugee and asylum seeker policy? What would you amend and change? Why? Have a facilitated class discussion or class debate.

*Teacher discretion is advised with this activity. Cultural safety takes priority. Rather than a group discussion or debate, it could also be completed as an individual self- reflection if the teacher deems it more culturally safe for their class of students.

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The Actor

Discussion:

• What type of actor/audience relationships were established by the performers? Did you feel you were observing? Were you directly addressed? Was there a fourth wall? Were the performers addressing the audience or were we observing their private thoughts? Did you encounter any sight line issues?

Tasks:

• Do a detailed analysis of a character of your choice. Consider elements of performance – voice, accent, movement, gesture – as well as aspects of the character we learn from the text. • Consider how we may have seen the events of the play differently if they had been told from your chosen character’s point of view. How might we have viewed the character differently? Pick a character and write a monologue based on their perspective - based on a moment from the play. • Construct a timeline of your chosen characters life combining both the information you received from the play and your imagination. What was their life like one year prior to the events of the play? What do you hope for them one year post the events of the play? • What moment do you remember the most in the performance? Why do you think this stood out for you? Describe the elements of staging, costume, music, and design.

Characters you may want to consider: Leila, Salma, Omar, Mohamed or Majid.

Music and Songs

Discussion:

• THEM is a play with music, but it is not a musical. What do you think is the difference between the two? • Songs allow soul and truth of characters to reveal things that we otherwise wouldn’t know. How did the music in THEM change your perspective on a particular character or situation? • Samah Sabawi introduces the Prologue with the following direction:

As the audience comes into the theatre, the piano man is sitting at the piano and playing a lively tune while Majid, Omar and Mohamed stand next to him, casually singing along or dancing. Once the audience is seated, a sound of an explosion interrupts the music. The men run off stage in a panic. The piano man pushes his piano off stage. Lights go out as the sound of bombing ensues and continues into the next scene.

Discuss as a class the juxtaposition of music and sound in this scene.

Tasks and Analysis:

• Discuss the use of sound and music in the production. What mood and tone did it establish? How did it work aesthetically? How did it work in a functional way? What particular moments do you recall and why? Was music linked to characters, ideas, thematic motifs? Was music or sound used symbolically? Give examples.

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Design Elements

Discussion:

• When you first walked into the theatre and saw the set and the theatre space, what did you expect? • Where and when did you imagine the play was set? • Why do you think Samah Sabawi chose this setting? • How was the set realised onstage through the set, costume, lighting and sounds designs?

Tasks and Analysis:

• Imagine you are one of the designers of THEM – Set Designer, Costume Designer, Lighting Designer, Sound Designer or Prop Designer. What might you have done differently? • Analyse the set design: How did the design provide the performers with a space to create their characters? What were essential set pieces? What were excessive? What set pieces were practical? How realistic was the set? How did the set transform to create different locations? • Invent an alternative setting for the production and draw your design. Present your idea to the class and explain - Why have you chosen this setting? How have you represented it in your set design? What theatrical styles influenced your design? Why did you choose this style/s?

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Technical Theatre and the Production Team

Discussion:

• THEM is a touring production, travelling to 5 venues across Victoria and New South Wales (the tour venues listed on the following page). What things might the director, the designers and the production crew need to think about (compared to a production that performs in just one venue)?

Tasks:

• The touring party for our production of THEM is 8 people – six Actors, one Production/Stage Manager, and one Company Manager. Pick one of these roles and answer the following questions:

o What are the responsibilities and general tasks performed by this role? o How might this role be different on a touring production (compared to on a production that performs in one venue)? What additional tasks might they need to do? o What challenges might this role face on a tour where they are constantly working in different workplaces and with difference venue staff?

• Identify potential risks or hazards – these could include risks during bump in and bump out (e.g. when the crew is unloading the truck, rigging lights, installing the set, etc), as well as during the performance. What things might the crew have put in place to manage these risks?

Resources that may give you some ideas:

Safety Guidelines for the Live Entertainment and Events Industries 2018: General Operational Hazard Guide: https://liveperformance.com.au/wp- content/uploads/2019/03/General-Operational-Hazard-Guide-1.pdf

Performer Hazard Guide: https://liveperformance.com.au/wp- content/uploads/2019/03/Performer-Hazard-Guide-1.pdf

TOUR DATES AND LOCATIONS

27 July Arts Centre Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3 August Riverlinks Westside, Shepparton, VIC 5 August Bunjil Place, Narre Warren, VIC 9 August Capitol Theatre, Bendigo, VIC 12 August Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Casula, NSW

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REVIEWS AND FURTHER READING

REVIEWS & FURTHER READING

• Tailored and holistic mental health support for 12-25 year olds, Headspace: https://headspace.org.au/ • Australia’s largest human rights organisation providing support to people seeking asylum, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre: https://asrc.org.au/ • Not-for-profit arts organisation dedicated to cultivating a vibrant human rights community, culture and conversation in Australia, The Human Rights Arts & Film Festival: https://www.hraff.org.au/

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CURRICULUM LINKS

VICTORIA

Drama o Explore and Express Ideas o Respond and Interpret English o Writing o Speaking and Listening The Humanities o Civics and Citizenship ▪ Citizenship, Diversity, and Identity o History ▪ Personal Histories: The Making of the Modern World ▪ Community Histories: The Modern World and Australia

NEW SOUTH WALES

Drama, Stage 6 Preliminary course: Elements of Production in Performance Theatrical Traditions and Performance Styles

HSC course: Studies in Drama and Theatre

Drama, Years 7-10 Appreciating Elements of Drama Dramatic contexts – scripted drama

Entertainment Industry, Stage 6

Society and Culture, Stage 6 The Social and Cultural World Social and Cultural Continuity and Change

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THEM is supported by La Trobe University, the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative, and the Australia Council for the Arts, the arts funding and advisory body of the Australian Government.

Production Photography by Justyn Koh