Oasis- Everything you ever wanted to know about the Middle East but were afraid to dance
nytheatre.com q&a preview by Nejla Y. Yatkin
July 16, 2012
What is your job on this show?
Creator/Director/Choreographer.
When did you know you wanted to work in the theater, and why?
When I danced in and choreographed my first Brecht and Weill musical in High School in Berlin, Germany.
Complete this sentence: My show is the only one in FringeNYC that...?
moves you through love, torture, rape, veiling, dancing boys, spirituality and education in the Middle East though combining dance, theater, animation, multimedia. It's like a Middle Eastern Shakespeare..
Do you think the audience will talk about your show for 5 minutes, an hour, or way into the wee hours of the night?
I think the audience will talk about it way into the wee hours of the night. Show is about humanity and the constant search for it's missing part through a Middle Eastern lens. It has very moving, very raw, brutal, very magical or tender section. Like magical realism the piece exists in multiple realities. There is a lot the audience can take away from.
Which “S” word best describes your show: SMOOTH, SEXY, SMART, SURPRISING?
Surprising
Can theatre bring about societal change? Why or why not?
I think theater is a great tool for social change as well as educating people or challenging them but it depends on who is doing it and for whom it's done. I think Oasis- Everything you ever wanted to know about the Middle East but were afraid to dance is tackling an interesting, engaging, topical as well as challenging subject that many throughout the US are grappling with in some way. Hardly a day goes by without some reference to the topic. On the contrary, very few dance pieces address the subject. This invites interaction and allows audience members to engage in a dialogue about the Middle East after experiencing the piece. We witnessed some of this already by sharing parts of the piece with audiences and it was amazing to see how people responded in a very emotional, yet thoughtful way.
