1

EDITORIAL

Everything has a start and as everything else we started, we start now filled with strength and determination to continue to provide meaningful theatrical and dramatic programs that serve the community, first 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 first edition starts energetically to reach a larger segment of theater-loving audiences, and to inform of the latest activi-ties, events, programs and plays that Yes Theatre produces for adults and children. With this edition, Yes Theatre inaugu-

rates 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 univer-sity 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 sensi-tive 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 MASRAHSTAFF

EditorRaed Shyoukhi

Preparation byIhab Zahda, Muhammed Titi and Sevtap Oezkutlu

Coordinator

Mohammad Issa

TranslatorRuba Sunokrot and Anas Ashkar

Design and Printing

PIXEL Design (Shadi Abu Ajamieh)

2

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 financial levels. At the same time, WFD works in-

tensely 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 fields of civil conflict management, human rights, women’s rights and economic development, edu-

cation 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 find 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 women’s embroidery collective in Kfar Na’me near the West Bank village of Bil’in. While this partnership still continues to date,

WFD now focuses on strengthening Palestinian civil society through supporting Palestinian NGO’s that provide arts-based and

psychosocial intervention.

3

WHO ARE WE?

Yes Theatre is a Palestinian non-governmental, non-profit or-

ganization, established at the end of 2007, by a group of Pales-

tinian 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.

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 A’inwan” (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 Zah-

deh and performed by Raed Shyoukhi, Abdul Razzaq Abu Meiz-

er 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 con-

versation 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 follow-ing:

Journey in the Sun1. – Produced and directed by Raed Shyoukhi.

The Yard2. and Reem’s Dreams – Produced and directed by Ihab Zahdeh.The Treasure3. – Produced and directed by Mohammed Titi.

20 performances of The Swing in cooperation with “Theatre • Day Productions”, performed by Raed Shyoukhi, Moham-med Titi and Ihab Zahdeh13 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, in-•

cluding: “Yousef Said -Shibr Hurr Theatre”, “Wonderland-Sanabel Theatre”, “Puppet Show-Tantura Theatre”, “Magic Show -George Hazina”, “On the Footsteps of Hamlet - Na-

tional Theater /Hakawati”.

Currently,• Yes Theatre is preparing for the year 2010 ac-

tivities, 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.

4

FICTIONMY FRIEND

He is my friend, my companion, keeper of my secrets, accompanies me everywhere, sees everything but doesn’t 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 first time imprisoned in a glass cage in one of the shoe shops, sitting melancholically in an elegant

place. I loved him at first sight, his color, design, the flowing 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 difficult 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

She’s 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 doesn’t 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 find 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 Theatre’s Kids 4 Kids program

5

MY CELL IS MY GARDEN

He was in an Israeli prison. He loves nature and its charm, but strangely, he didn’t

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 flashed 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 flowers. But all he saw was a huge build-

ing. Neighborhoods crowded with houses like matchboxes. He saws no trees, nor

flowers, 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 doesn’t reach. He saw cold and dirty alleyways, and people fighting 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... I’d rather take two steps back instead of another one forward…”

Shirin Ed'eis

14 years, participant in the Yes Theatre’s Kids 4 Kids program

Hassoun is not just a bird that twitters in a cage. When I saw him for the first 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 reflected 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. Every-

one 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 he’d

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, he’s 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 play-

ing 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 didn’t 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 fly and continue twittering.

Norah Abdul-Mahdi Salah

Participant in the First School Theater Festival 2008 The use of drama in education

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

6

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 difficult for me sometimes. In the sum-

mer 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 confidence 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 first time I learnt about drama was when I participated in a drama workshop organized by Yes Theatre at my school with Heyam Al Talbeeshi. Because of the exciting experience in the workshop, I decided to partici-pate in the Kids 4 Kids project at the Yes Theatre. In the proj-

ect workshops I have learnt how to face life problems and daily pressures, and so I have become happier in my life and more comfortable with myself."

My name is Asalah Salhab, I am 14 years old. From the first

day, and from the first word, I started, without knowing where

I am and what to do, praising myself, and I was nothing. But

over time, I became more aware, and my knowledge increased

about this fascinating place which helped me break the barri-

ers that used to object my pen. This place enhanced my self

confidence 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.

My name is Asalah Salhab, I am 14 years old. From the first day, and from the first word, I started, without knowing where I am and what to do, praising myself, and I was nothing. But over time, I became more aware, and my knowledge increased about this fascinating place which helped me break the barri-ers that used to object my pen. This place enhanced my self confidence 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.

YES THEATRE AND I

7

Research reveals the positive impact of drama on a student's

Physical, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Development

Self-Confidence: Taking risks in class and performing for an •

audience teach students to trust their ideas and abilities. The

confidence 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, fluency with languages, and persuasive speech. Lis-tening 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 environ-

ment, reducing antisocial behaviors.

Relaxation: Many drama activities reduce stress by re-•

leasing mental, physical, and emotional tension.

Self-Discipline: The process of moving from ideas to ac-•

tions 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 flexibil-•

ity, coordination, balance, and control.

Memory: Rehearsing and performing words, move-•

ments, 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 conflicts 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 sup-ports theatre's place in society.

(from http://www.dramaed.net/benefits.pdf)

THE BENEFITS OF DRAMA EDUCATION

WISDOM OF THE DAY

One day, two brothers were fighting

over a piece of land. The first 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 first 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".

8

CHARACTER OF THE DAY

Saadallah Wannous

Saadallah Wannous (Arabic: سعد اهللا ونوس ), (1997-1941)

is a Syrian playwright. He was born in the village of Hus-

sein al-Bahr, near Tartous. Wannous received his educa-

tion in Latakia’s 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-Safir. 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 infiltration 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 conflict. Later, he wrote Fragments from History (1994), Rituals of Signs and Transformations (1994), Miserable Dreams (1995), A Day of Our Time (1995), and finally 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 Inter-

national Theatre Day on March 27. This was the first 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).• Hanthala’s 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.

9

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 di-

versions from the curriculum, but rather as supplements, increasing

student awareness of problems and ideas fundamental to their intel-

lectual development […]. Theater-game workshops are useful in im-

proving students’ ability to communicate through speech and writing

and in nonverbal ways as well. They are energy sources, helping stu-

dents develop skills in concentration, problem solving, and group in-

teraction.”

“ […] 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 find 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 theater-game 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 Class-room. A Teacher’s Handbook. Illinois: Northwestern University Press.

FOR KIDS ONLY

In this section, we welcome paintings and drawings from readers who are up to ١٠ 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 doesn’t 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 uncle’s 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 doesn’t fly.

- 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 puzzle’s answers (upside down)

the sea, bell, fire, the coffin, my father, Ibrahim’s Oak in Hebron.

10

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 city’s

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 Sanc-

tuary of Abraham and in the area of where the “Tomb of the Patriarchs” are situ-

ated. 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 “Al-

khalil” 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 export-

ed 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 vil-lages 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 A’noun, Beit Ula, Beit A’wa, Edisia, and Ar-roub and Al Fawar refu-gee 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).

11

RIDDLE OF THE DAYYalla Masrah will always contain a riddle that we invite our

readers at the ages from 8-16 to solve. Please, send an-

swers per Email to info@yestheatre.org. Three winners will

be chosen from those who provide correct answers and re-

ceive gifts worth 100 NIS. The correct answer with the win-

ners’ 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 con-

tains ten balls that weigh 2 grams each. Using the scale only

once, how can we find out which bag contains the balls that

weigh 2 grams?

12

Statistics

2009Direct BeneficiariesNumber of projects and

performancesPrograms

48764Kids 4 kids

35412Drama Workshops

250020The Swing Play

156013In the Place Play

500042Untitled

1995External Activities

9959Hosted Activities

15444373Total

www.yestheatre.orgE-mail:info@yestheatre.org / yas.theatre@gmail.com

فلسطني - اخلليل - تلفاكس: 2291559-02 جوال: 914613 0599