Reading the Gaza Monologues
One by one all together, we read:
“Gaza is a matchbox … and we’re the matches inside it.”
“The crisis is the whole world is watching us as if there’s nothing going on and they’re still making speeches.”
“I feel like running, running, running in the streets till my headscarf flies in the sky and I fly after it.”
“Before the war, I was a child … But after the war, I discovered I’m not a child anymore, and that Gaza, unlike all cities of the world, doesn’t have children in it.”
OPEN MIC READING OF THE GAZA MONOLOGUES AT THE OLD SCHOOL GALLERY
El Morro, NM - An OPEN MIC READING of THE GAZA MONOLOGUES will be held at the OLD SCHOOL GALLERY (4009 Ice Caves Rd, Ramah, NM 87321) on Sunday, February 23 from 2pm to 4pm. (Flyer attached)
Each monologue was written by a Gazan teenager as part of a healing and creativity project in 2010 and in 2024, organized by Ashtar Theatre, in Ramallah Palestine.
“Before the war I was a child… But after the war I discovered I’m not a child any more, and that Gaza, unlike all cities of the world, doesn’t have children in it. - Mahmud El Turk, Born 1994, Al Jalaa' Street
The Monologues are “a living expression of hope in the face of pain,” writes Iman Aoun, the co-founder of Ashtar Theatre. Since October 2010, more than 2000 people from around the globe in more than 80 cities in 40 countries have presented these monologues in 18 languages. They have also been presented at the UN. More info: www.gazamonologues.com
Join us for a contemplative, participatory reading woven with meditations and movement. English copies of The Gaza Monologues will be available for participants. You can choose a monologue and read it out loud. The event will be facilitated by writer/performer Shebana Coelho who has worked with Ashtar Theatre on the project, Land Out Loud. Coelho is the founder of Faraway is Close, “cross-cultural creative encounters for self-expression and healing.” (shebanacoelho.com)
The February 23 reading will culminate with participants making small paper boats and sending them symbolically into freedom and peace. This reflects a similar gesture by the teenage writers of the Monologues who first presented the play in Gaza itself on October 17, 2010. But since the region was under blockade, they couldn't leave to perform it elsewhere. Instead, that morning of October 17, the writers gathered on the beach in Gaza. They recited their monologues and sent small paper boats onto the waves and out into the world.
The Old School Gallery in El Morro, NM is home of EMAAC - The El Morro Area Arts Council, a vibrant, non-profit organization which celebrates diversity, thrives on the sharing of creative ideas through programs, exhibitions, and workshops, and supports a community-centered activity hub for traditional and contemporary arts. Visit elmorroareaartscouncil.org
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 two Palestinian prominent actors; Edward Muallem and Iman Aoun, who worked in theatre since 1977. ASHTAR offers intensive theatre training programs for local students throughout the year, often resulting in performances on stage, but also equipping young Palestinians with essential skills that go beyond acting. Apart from an increased level of self-awareness and confidence, additional qualifications resulting from our training methodology are leadership, communication, and team work skills. LINK TO MORE INFO & TO SUPPORT THEIR WORK,
