3 powerful ways to tell a story
And how they change the lives of both the audience and creator
It’s mid-November. In northern Germany, where I live, the leaves have changed, the air is cold and damp, and the days are getting (much) shorter. It’s a gloomy month — but a great opportunity to hide inside and absorb some culture. Art can be much more than just entertainment. It’s the expression and application of human creative skill and imagination, something that can change the lives of both audience and creator.
In Vancouver, Canada, a burlesque collective is blending indigenous art with sexually empowering performances. By tackling themes of culture, colonization, and identity, the women reclaim their sexuality. “My impression of indigenous sexuality has always been characterized by the worst most racist stereotypes this settler-colonial culture has given us and that was exactly why we started this group because those weren’t enough options for us,” says one of the artists.
In New York, theater performances are teaching incarcerated people the skills they need to thrive in the outside world. The program by a non-profit called Rehabilitation Through the Arts’ (RTA) is more than a recreational exercise — it’s a program that encourages introspection. For many, that means unearthing emotions they’ve hidden or suppressed for years. “In prison, you got a mask on all day,” says one of the participants in the program. “In [RTA], you need to actually be vulnerable — take the mask off. Be silly. Laugh. Roll around on the floor. Sing.”
“Hakawati” means storyteller in Arabic, and they’ve long been a tradition in middle eastern culture. Back in the days, the practice was passed down through families, with each storyteller leaving their own unique mark on the stories. The old tales still resonate with people. Still, the media mostly replaced this oral tradition. But in Lebanon, contemporary storytellers are trying to keep the practice alive — adapting stories from the past to engage a modern audience. “Narratives today are so divisive,” says a Lebanese communications professor. “The hakawati is a reminder of the shared customs that used to unite communities.”
Lisa Urlbauer
Curator of The Response
“The Burlesque Group Reclaiming Indigenous Sexuality”
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Dan Lytwyn
BBC
[3-minute video]
A Canadian burlesque collective wants to change the stereotypes surrounding sexuality for indigenous women.
“The Power of a Theater Performance in Prison”
New York, New York, United States
Lisa Armstrong
Rolling Stone
[2,500 words]
Theatrical performances staged at a New York prison help prepare people for a life after incarceration.
“Forget Game of Thrones: The master of the cliffhanger is back”
Beirut, Lebanon
Olivia Cuthbert
Middle East Eye
[1,500 Words]
One of the oldest forms of entertainment is resurging in Lebanon.
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