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We are an ensemble of International and Lebanese artists who create free, site specific, theatrical performances across Lebanon.

7.03.2009






Traveling Theatre Festival Brings Lebanese Literature to the Public Through Free Street Performances

Street theatre initiative Books in Motion will tour Lebanon this summer performing for in outdoor spaces, bringing an innovative and enriching & cultural experience that is widely accessible.

Beirut, Lebanon (Books in Motion) July 3, 2009 -- On July 11th an early evening theatre performance at the Gemmal Corniche in Tyre will launch Books in Motion, an exciting and avant-garde initiative exploring Lebanese literature through free street performance. “The principal mission is to create free, street theatre in order to explore Lebanese literature,” said Denise Maroney, producer of Books in Motion. Two extraordinary works of youth literature by Lebanese authors were selected by the dynamic creative team behind Books in Motion, adapted into plays in Arabic and will now come to life on stage.

What is the Color of the Sea by Nadine Touma and The Slippers of Tanbouri by Fatima Charafeddine will be performed across Lebanon, directed by the critically acclaimed Lucien Bourjeilly.† The Books in Motion company of actors are mostly university students and under Bourjeilly’s direction will explore methods of improvisation and circus techniques to create playful and interactive theatre. Beginning in Tyre, this traveling theatre festival will tour the country, performing these remarkable plays free of charge in outdoor and public venues. Books in Motion will move across Bint Jbeil, Kobayet, Aley, Aimoun and Hermel, before ending the tour with performances on Beirut’s Corniche Al-Manara on the 23rd of August. While Lebanon has no shortage of artistic festivals and initiatives, rarely are these cultural events equally accessible to the entire population.

“Often these events require tickets and tickets are expensive. The reality is that performance then becomes accessible only to a small group of people,” Maroney explained. By contrast, Books in Motion renders quality theatre accessible to a much wider stratum of the Lebanese population, allowing the general public to partake in this enriching experience. This first of its kind traveling theatre festival is collaboration between the UNESCO World Book Capital City Festival, La Maison du Livre in partnership with the NYC Children’s Theatre Company and the generous support of the Theatre Communications Group. †

About Books in Motion:
During the summer of 2008 Denise Maroney became interested in the idea of creating a theatre festival open to the general public in Lebanon, free of charge. After mentioning this to friends and colleagues one evening, the group’s dynamic discussion produced the initial concept of Books in Motion.

Maroney received a grant from the Theatre Communications Group in New York to work on a theatre project in Beirut, and used the opportunity to collaborate with Lebanese artists and create Books in Motion; a festival truly for the public. Maroney and Yasmina Jraissati, Literary Director of Books in Motion, read every book written by Lebanese authors in the Centre National de la Literature pour la Jeunesse in Paris, before selecting what they felt were the most appropriate works for the project.


Cast: Rauf Khelifa, Anas Al Saleh, Sarah Berjawi, Lama Dawood, Jessy Daou and Mohammad Hamzi
Production Design: Yasmine Agha, Nicolas Khattar, Ahmad Mahfouz, Laura Pharaon
Stage Manager: Ingrid Tautal
Production Management: Alexandra Schneider, Roy Baladi
Assistant Producer: Aline Sara
Logo Design: Edwin Baladi

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
Tyre: 11/7/09, 12/7/09 at 7 PM on the Gemmel Corniche of the Old City
Bint Jbeil:18/7/09, 6:30 PM on Main Street Sidewalk
Kobayet: 25/7/09, 6:30 PM in Local Courtyard
Aley: 30/7/09, 31/7/09 at 7 PM, in the ruins of an old Lebanese home near the public library
Amioun: 7/8/09, 7 PM, in a courtyard in the center of the old city
Jezzine: 8/8/09, 7 pm, Main street in front of the municipality
Hermel: 15/8/09, 7 PM, Courtyard and fountain of the local Serail
Downtown Beirut: 16/08/09, 7 pm Place d'Etoile, in front of the clocktower
Becharre: 29/8/09, 7pm , public street , site of local festival
Beirut: 23/8/09, 7 PM, Corniche Al Manara







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