Nemashim Arab-Jewish Theater Community

First Meeting of the 2006-2007 Commune

May 19-20 2006

The Clil Moshav

In the shade of a large white tent that blocked the sun but not the calming view of the distant Mediterranean sea, the five members of this year’s Nemashim workshop series who were selected to participate in the second commune of Nemashim got to know each other’s hopes and fears for the coming year. They also got to know Amina, a visiting student from Germany with whom they have been corresponding during the past month.

The mood of Or, Daniel, Renana, Ahmad and Khaled as they congregated in Nahariya was festive—the smell of the sea and the prospect of a theater workshop put everyone in good spirits. Upon arriving in Clil, they dove straight into an intense program designed to be challenging for them as both artists and as people.

Mirroring exercises served as a warm-up as the air cooled down for sunset—three pairs moved around the workshop space in a beautiful improvisational dance. Every “clap” meant that the leader became the follower, mirroring his or her partner’s every move and expression. At the end of the weekend, several participants would recall this opening activity as one of the most challenging of the meeting. (video 1, video2, leading). In another exercise the group has to care about those who fall, people are walking and falling (video).

After dinner—an excellent vegetarian meal served by the Clil Café—the participants were asked to direct, in the space of ten minutes, short scenes that expressed a fear for the coming year. Personal space and time were common themes, as well as fears about sharing. One participant brought up the cultural differences (between Palestinians and Jews) that were bound to result in clashes about what kind of behavior is appropriate or inappropriate in the commune.

When the participants were asked to portray their fantasies for the year, a variety of worlds emerged. There were dreams of fame, active social lives and deep friendships, and many of the scenes emphasized the role of the commune as a warm and supportive space. Despite the language barrier, Amina participated in this part of the workshop and was able to give and take direction; the other participants were very patient and made an effort to translate for her, as did intern Miriam Asnes.

Co-facilitators Uri Shani and Shadi Fakhr Al-Din sent the participants to bed with a hefty assignment: each pair was responsible for designing a 20-minute workshop for the following morning, on any topic. This assignment was part of a new direction for the group; having participated in many workshops, they were now going to learn how to create and implement workshops of their own. The participants took this assignment very seriously and sat around the common space until the wee hours of the morning planning.

At ten the following morning, full of peanut-butter muffins and fresh eggs and coffee, everyone present participated in the three workshops. Or and Amina wanted to address the theme of alienation, and worked with numbers as well as scenes of familiar situations that were changed drastically in the middle. Uri noted that using numbers instead of words in a scene is similar to jibberish, but does not produce a feeling of alienation; neither does naming people as numbers, as the “facilitators” did in their warm-up. Or and Amina learned that sometimes a new exercise can produce unexpected or contrary results.

Next, Khaled and Daniel gave their six “participants” roles that related to the environment and pollution, and had them act out scenes in the characters of tree, flower, bird, truck, sewage, and trash ( video). Here a video-example of a meeting between tree and trash: video The physical nature of the mini-workshop was wonderful, but participants felt that they didn’t have the agency to change the reality presented. Shadi also warned the pair against starting a discussion they couldn’t finish, as they did at the end of their 20 minutes.

Ahmad and Renana used some of the exercises they had learned during the Nemashim-workshop, such as a trust fall and exercises with closed eyes, to try and build trust in the group. Renana noted that since she had never worked with Ahmad before, she didn’t know whether they would be a good teaching pair; however, they work very well together and were complemented on their obvious teamwork.

Before lunch, Uri and Shadi led a discussion about what each participant hoped to give and get during the coming year. Khaled and Ahmad both expressed a desire to help their peers learn Arabic. Practical concerns came up, such as finding time for studying and finding work, but the participants in general were unwilling to delve too deeply into personal issues. Shadi and Uri encouraged them to take these discussions seriously, as it is important to work through conflicts before they are living in the commune together.

The afternoon was spent on the theatrical technique of transformation and character; Uri led several drills, including one where each participant had to walk the length of the space, changing roles every meter. The longest exercise was an improvised scene in which participants rotated in and out, always introducing a new context and story. Finally, each was charged with the task of trying on different hats and enacting different characters in the hopes of finding the one that would revive their partner from a coma. (2 video-examples: 1 2)

Before the closing discussion, Amina performed a monologue from the new French version of Antigone in German and the group gave feedback. Some had trouble with the language, others could follow and had constructive criticism about vantage point and rhythm. Shadi thought that her willingness to take pauses and take time in the scene was very effective.

The final circle was spent going over the weekend, airing likes and dislikes and discussing “red lights” and “green lights,” things that were worrying or reassuring that the participants had learned about each other. The foray into learning about group facilitation received good reviews, as did the enacting of fears and fantasies. The participants discovered that many of them shared the fear that others wouldn’t want to share and live a truly communal life. Also, cultural differences regarding romantic relationships and appropriate behavior resurfaced, and will clearly be a topic for further discussion. The group acknowledged that the potential inclusion of Amina in the commune would be linguistically difficult, but they expressed how happy they were to have finally met her. “The moment I saw you,” said Renana, “I said to the others, ‘It’s going to be okay.’”

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