No Summary: Ashtar Theatre of Ramallah

Our 2024 virtual artist conversation series embarks on a tour of four Palestinian cities to offer audiences in the Bay Area and beyond a taste of the Palestinian theatre scene today. Each episode will spotlight a different theatre, showcasing its history, notable performances, challenges, and life behind the scenes through interviews with its artists and community members. Theatremakers, audiences, professors, and students are all invited to join in these stimulating conversations.

Episode 1: ASHTAR Theatre of Ramallah, Palestine

Golden Thread invites multidisciplinary documentarian Ash Marinaccio to facilitate a conversation with Iman Aoun and Emile Saba of ASHTAR Theatre, of Ramallah, Palestine. ASHTAR Theatre is a non-profit organization that was established in 1991 in Jerusalem as the first theatre training organization for youth in Palestine by Edward Muallem and Iman Aoun, two Palestinian prominent actors who worked in theatre since 1977. Watch the conversation to learn more about ASHTAR and hear directly from its lead artists about making theatre under occupation and during times of mass atrocities and genocide.

Iman Aoun (Panelist) co-founder and executive director of ASHTAR Theatre (actress, director, producer), and an award-winning actress who works in theatre, TV series, and films. Holds a Bachelor Degree in Social Studies and a diploma in psychodrama. Started her acting career with El-Hakawati Theatre Company in Jerusalem in 1984 and co-founder ASHTAR for Theatre Productions and Training in 1991. Ms. Aoun received various notifications for her work from different countries and international organizations and festivals. In 2020 was a finalist at the Gilder/Coigney Award – NYC. She has run ASHTAR International Youth Theatre Festival since 2012. Written and published several articles on the subject of theatre in Palestine, and co-written two books on theatre training. She was panelist in a number of international conferences and World Summits, and participated at the UNESCO Arts Lab. An internationally recognized theatre trainer specialized in Theatre of the Oppressed. She is the initiator of various international projects, most notable: “One Hundred Artist for Palestine” in 2003 with IETM, “The Gaza Monologues” in 2010, and "The Syrian Monologues" in 2015.

Emile Saba (Panelist) is a Palestinian theatermaker and actor. Saba joined Ashtar Theatre in 2001 as a theatre student, graduating later from it with a diploma in theatre and working at it as an actor and trainer till 2014. Alongside theatre, Saba has a bachelor degree in English Literature and in Business from Birzeit University. By twenty-seven, Saba graduated with an MFA in Acting from the University of Connecticut (UConn). Returning back to Palestine, Saba persued a career in stage directing and acting, teaching acting, casting directing, and acting for film and television. Saba is interested in self and collective awareness, the supernatural, the monster, the goddess, mythology, politics, comedy, the impact of art on life, and the importance of imagination. The world of his work lives in magical–realism roams.

Ash Marinaccio (facilitator), PhD, is a multidisciplinary documentarian working in theatre, photography, and film. She is dedicated to storytelling, highlighting the socio-political issues defining our times, and regularly works throughout the United States and internationally. For her work, Ash has received the Lucille Lortel Visionary Award from the League of Professional Theatre Women, a Drama League Residency, fellowships from the Mellon Foundation, NY Public Humanities, and National Endowment for the Humanities, been listed as one of Culture Trip’s “50 Women in Theatre You Should Know,” and is a two-time TEDx Speaker. Ash is the founding artistic director of the United Nations recognized NGO Girl Be Heard and founder of Docbloc (docbloc.org), which is dedicated to bringing artists across documentary genres together for live performance collaborations.

About HowlRound TV

HowlRound TV is a global, commons-based, peer-produced, open-access livestreaming and video archive project stewarded by the nonprofit HowlRound. HowlRound TV is a free and shared resource for live conversations and performances relevant to the world’s performing-arts and cultural fields. Its mission is to break geographic isolation, promote resource sharing, and develop our knowledge commons collectively. Anyone can participate in a community of peer organizations revolutionizing the flow of information, knowledge, and access in our field by becoming a producer and co-producing with us. Learn more by going to our participate page. For any other queries, email [email protected] or call Vijay Mathew at +1 917.686.3185 Signal. View the video archive of past events.