Our performance in Aley was staged with the backdrop of old ruins near the town's local library, sharing a building with the town's black belt academy. It was a very picturesque environment with some of the young children in traditional Druze garb (white scarfs/hats). Overall it was a very intriguing mix of traditional and modern, domestic and foreign: Some of the the children we spoke to while giving out stickers were actually from Indiana, USA!

This show took an increasingly interactive turn for this staging, with more children being pulled in for slightly longer periods than before and also several children being called up together rather than individually...even Denise was selected to make a stage appearance (see photos). Improv was rife and real; we had refurbished Tanbouri's 'new' pair of shoes (originally simply spray painted gold) with gold glitter and chose not to tell the actor who plays Tanbouri prior to the show, effectively revealing them for the first time during the performance.

In all, our trip to Aley was memorable for its eclectic audience, beautiful natural setting and the various expansions within the plays themselves.