Stage Warriors

This is a non-fiction book that consists of fourteen chapters, each of which is an interview with women dramatists from a different part of the world. Featured in these chapters: Dah Teatar: Belgrade, Serbia; ASHTAR Theatre: Palestine; VOICETheatre: Paris and New York; ISÔKO Theatre: Rwanda; Teatro PASMI: Chile; Sina Chhon: Cambodia; Catharsis: Lebanon; AHRDO Theatre: Afghanistan; Simorgh Film & Theatre: Afghanistan; Dalia Basiouny: Egypt; Ajoka Theatre: Pakistan; Rafiki Theatre: Uganda; The River and the Mountain: Uganda; FAVILEK and the Bond Street Theatre: Haiti and New York. The Stage Warriors are women from around the world who use theater to talk about war, politics, crime, abuse, and violence in nations where these subjects are taboo. The interviews in this book explain how these women came to use theater to enact change, who they help, and the importance of their work. Beyond the boundaries of poverty, religion, and intolerance, these women use theater to broaden citizen participation, bring focus and energy, and reshape national identity. Through the shows and workshops they create, the Warriors are finding ways to help the disenfranchised exert power in education, politics, the economy, and the home. The Stage Warriors have faced stiff resistance. Some have seen their offices consumed in flames. Others have found their cars destroyed. Still others have been physically assaulted. Yet nothing stops these women from making a space where their voices can be heard. These theater practitioners display the resourcefulness, strength, and promise that characterise women across the globe who are steadily bringing stability and justice to conflicted regions.