In association with CLOWNS WITHOUT BORDERS and BOND STREET THEATRE

HAITI: Women say: Enough!

Bon soir de Ayiti!  La tout se yon bon bagay!  N'ap fe bel travay avek fanm Favilek!  And as you can see my Kreyol is coming along nicely.  And good thing since the women tell me "you must learn to speak Kreyol" and are excited when I do.  Both Christina and I can handle basic conversation.  One word we have learned is... 'kadejak.' It means rape. This word may not normally be considered part of daily basic conversation, but sadly, for so many women in Haiti it is. We are working with the group Favilek to create a show about gender violence which is rampant in this country.

These women have such a strong spirit. It is hard to imagine them as victims. (Favilek -- Women Victims Get Up Stand Up -- is an organization of women who are all survivors of sexual violence). But as they expressed in their own words: they may bend us, but they cannot break us; we stumble, but we will not fall. As an assignment after our first meeting and discussion, we told them to prepare something related to the themes we had explored: justice, change, improving life for women.  A piece of text, a song, a movement. The poems they came up with are fierce and their energy passionate, indeed militant: Women say enough!  For a long time we have been walking with our hands hanging. We demand justice! And then they break into song, a rhythmic catchy tune: Men have sowed the seed of violence, but we ask that violence be replaced with love!  We are Favilek: Fanm Viktim Leve Kanpe!

We've been working intensively and things are starting to take shape.  The first days we really focused on building performing skills through workshops -- presence on stage, exploring different levels of energy, grounding the body, character and expression.  And then exploring the theme for the show through movement and storytelling exercises.  We are now sculpting the show.  This is drawn from the various things the women have come up with during the exercises of the week, including their very first assignment.  Our team then brainstorms on all the elements and we make suggestions, inspired by what the women have given us, to shape a composition.

The past week and a half has been amazing.  We have such a wonderful connection with the women of Favilek.  Our return was received with great enthusiasm and joy and we are enjoying a truly lovely camaraderie and mutual appreciation for each other and the work.

We're also going about town and meeting all kinds of interesting people.  While at the street food night market feasting on barbecued chicken, plaintains and spaghetti juice (don't ask), we ran into the legendary Haitian actor Pe Toma.  All thanks to Morlon, our Haitian artist collaborator-translator-social butterfly and great connector, who knows everybody and if he doesn't he soon will.  Petoma came to visit our rehearsals and all the women were very excited because he is very famous.  Today we paid a visit to him and appeared on National Haitian Television!   So soon we will be famous too.

That's all for now.  My time here has come to an end.  It's been a short and sweet and intense journey for me. The rest of the team is staying through March 16 to facilitate the performances the Favilek women will do around Port-au-Prince.  Stay tuned!

Na we tale!
Anna

P.S.  Spaghetti juice is a delicious shake procured from a blend of potato, banana, and spaghetti.  Who in the world comes up with such a thing?!  But trusty Morlon swore to us it was really good, so we decided to try it.  Mmm... hmm. Well, it’s not bad for a sip or two, but after a few more gulps, we couldn’t take it any more.  It’s sort of like drinking batter. 

Anna and Bond Street Theatre back in Haiti!

Finally, we return to Haiti to work with the women of FAVILEK again from February 24-March 16, 2012 to create a show about gender violence.  Here is Bond Street Theatre's press release:






b street logo
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
 Contact Olivia Harris Communications Director

Theatre Addresses Gender Violence in Haiti
Bond Street Theatre Returns to Port-au-Prince to Create an Original Show about the Earthquake, its Tragic Aftermath, and the Ongoing Effects on Women and Girls
New York, NY, February 20, 2012 - Bond Street Theatre returns to Haiti this Friday to continue their partnership with Haitian women's group FAVILEK. The program uses theatre to spread information about the violence women still face in the tent camps more than two years after the earthquake.

Ten survivors of domestic and political violence founded FAVILEK (Women Victims Get Up, Stand Up) in 1991 with a theatrical response to the political coup: Ochan Pou Tout Fanm Yo Obliye (Tribute To All Forgotten Women). Bond Street Theatre met Maricia Jean, a FAVILEK co-founder, in New York City on the first anniversary of the earthquake. She requested the company's help to create a new piece about the current issues faced by Haitian women in the tent camps. 
Maricia stands tall, 2011
Maricia stands tall at a 2011 workshop.


When asked why the group chose theatre, Bazelais, another founding member of FAVILEK replied, "to have an outlet for our feelings of what we have endured."

The Bond Street Theatre Haiti team spent a month in Port-au-Prince last spring performing The Flying Head (La Tet San Ko) in the tent camps and presenting workshops for women and children, thanks to the support of the American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. The team and FAVILEK began work on a new performance to bring information about women's rights and the disasters of gender violence to the Haitian community.
  
The Haiti team - Anna Zastrow, Christina Pinnell, and Joshua Wynter - returns to Port-au-Prince on February 24, again thanks to the American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, to teach theatrical skills to the women of FAVILEK and develop the new show for performing in tent camps and other locations in Haiti to raise awareness about ongoing violence against women. The two groups intend to bring the performance to tour the USA.

The Haiti Project will also facilitate partnerships between FAVILEK and local governmental and non-governmental organizations that need their services and performances to build the sustainability of FAVILEK and ensure more opportunities to alert community stakeholders to this pressing issue.

Josh teaches stilts at KOFAVIV
Josh teaches stilt walking.
 Two years after the earthquake in Haiti, half a million displaced people still live in tent camps and in increasingly difficult and volatile conditions.  Women in the camps face many challenges: lack of income, little to no security, supporting children alone, forced prostitution, and disease.

Theatre provides a mouthpiece for Haitian women who are silenced in national and international discourse. The theatre arts serve as an effective means to ease the traumatic effects of disaster and poverty by providing a voice to the voiceless, a safe space to explore the issues, and stimulating creative problem solving and self-expression.

The women of FAVILEK were enthusiastic about the 2011 project with Bond Street Theatre:"We feel so much stronger now!" "Now we feel like we can do anything!"

Bond Street Theatre has a long history of creating successful theatre projects that promote community development and local capacity building, particularly in communities suffering from conflict, disaster or poverty. The ensemble returned February 14 from a month-long project in Myanmar, and will continue their Theatre for Social Development project in Afghanistan this March.   
   
The Haiti Project is made possible by a generous grant from the American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, an organization that provides relief and development in some of the most crucial areas around the world, a grant from the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince, and contributions from individual donors.

For more information or to schedule an interview in the US or Haiti, please contact Olivia Harris at 212-254-4614 or olivia@bondst.org. 

Bond Street Theatre, founded in 1978, creates theatre that crosses cultural borders and initiates theatre-based projects for education, conflict resolution and healing in areas of conflict and poverty globally. The company collaborates with local artists to enjoy the benefits of artistic exchange and promotes the value of the arts in shaping a peaceful future.  Recipient of a MacArthur Award, the company has also received support from the Trust for Mutual Understanding, ArtsLink, the Theatre Communications Group, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Association for Performing Arts Presenters, Asian Cultural Council, US Institute for Peace, US Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs, NEA, US Embassies, and others, and performs in theatres and festivals worldwide.

Bond Street Theatre is a non-profit organization, and an NGO in association with the UN-DPI. 
Artistic Director: Joanna Sherman     
Managing Director: Michael McGuigan
Communications Director: Olivia Harris 

Bond Street Theatre -- 2 Bond Street,  
New York, NY 10012 USA

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION and STORIES: 
American Theatre article about Bond Street Theatre in Afghanistan.
American Theatre article about Burma: "Can Laughter Set You Free?" by Michael McGuigan
Video: Theatre project: Herat, Afghanistan 
Video: Theatre project with women in Haiti
Video: Theatre collaboration in Burma
Video: Beyond the Mirror: NYC performance