Tebere Arts Foundation presented the conversation Collaborative Theatre-Makingwith The Stories Women Carry: Creative Practice of African Women from the Continent livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 30 November 2020 at 9 a.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 12 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EAT (Nairobi, UTC +3).
“Collaborative Theatre-Making”
Aleya Kassam says that in African storytelling, no one owns the story. How do Aleya, along with her team members, Laura and Anne, apply that within their writing process? What does collaborative theatre-making look like in the Kenyan context? How is collective leadership employed in the creation process?
Guests: The LAM Sisterhood (Aleya Kassam, Laura Ekumbo, Anne Moraa)
Aleya Kassam is a Kenyan feminist, storyteller, writer and performer, whose work explores narratives from the margins. She is widely experimental with form, from page to stage, screen to speaker, micro fiction to memory poems, docu theatre to participatory filmmaking, blogs to twitter threads - she loves to play with the ways people experience story. Her first writing home was www.chanyado.wordpress.com which was described by Nanjala Nyabola as 'shuffling between personal narrative and political observation, the blog allows you to take a step back and think about the real impact of political or social issues on the individual.’ That initial exploration, fed her passion for sharing stories that explore divergent truths and enable people in the margins to feel seen.Her writing has been published and performed on multiple platforms and stages around the world, from Nairobi to Kampala, Kigali to Stuttgart. Aleya is also the ‘A’ in The LAM Sisterhood, a story company that fills the world with stories that make African women feel seen, heard and beloved, such as the award-winning stage show Brazen.
Anne Moraa is a Kenyan feminist writer, editor, and performer. She is the 'M' in the LAM Sisterhood, an award-winning story company that fills the world with stories for African women to feel seen, heard, and beloved. Her writing can be found in Catapult, The Meridians Journal, The Elephant, The Wide Margin and so on, while her performances have taken her from Kenya through to South Korea and Scotland. A lead editor at Jalada Africa, she is at work on her debut novel all while eating copious amount of chilli-lemon crisps
Laura Ekumbo is a Kenyan born, Nairobi based performing artist and writer. She has performed poetry, acted, sang, danced, spoken, and hosted events on over 30 stages in 4 countries around the world. Co-founder of The LAM Sisterhood, Laura Aleya and Moraa fill the world with stories that make African women feel seen, heard, and beloved. With Wanja Wohoro, we’re telling the story of Field Marshal Muthoni wa Kirima of The Land and Freedom Army, a Brazen woman, and it’s a musical. Independently, Laura has hosted TEDx Youth, The Vagina Monologues, performed and spoken at festivals including Storymoja Festival, JALADA Mobile Literary and Arts Festival, Ubumutu Arts Festival, and Kampala International Theatre Festival. As an actor, she has played leading roles in critically acclaimed and award winning productions by The Next Folding Theatre Company, Sitawa Namwalie, Pr3vail Stages, Phoenix Players, Story Zetu, STU Black Box Theatre, STU Musical Theatre, JALADA, and more. As a poet, Laura has been a featured guest and performed sets rooted in seeking truth and self-discovery on stages in Kenya and Canada. She is a Cafe Ngoma Award Nominee, and her work has been featured on multiple platforms globally. Her poetry lives on www.lauraekumbo.wordpress.com.
“The Stories Women Carry: Creative Practice of African Women from the Continent”
The Stories Women Carry is a Web Series that highlights the work of African women in different fields of theatre on the continent. The 6-episode season features leading writers, poets, directors, producers and interdisciplinary theatre-makers who will share their artistic practices and methodologies. There is an increase in conversations about non-Western methods of theatre-making across the continent and beyond. In the spirit of uncovering an African dramaturgy and its application in various fields of theatre from the creation of new work to arts management, these leading practitioners from Uganda and Kenya will share their insights in each episode.
Each episode will invite one female guest, or a collective to speak on a specific topic, related to their personal practice. American Sign Language and Kenyan Sign Language interpretation will be available for this series.
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