From Page to Stage: Creating Original Theatre in Kuwait

Writer Craig Loomis, Assoc. Prof. of English at the American University of Kuwait, published a book in 2013 called The Salmiya Collection. In it, he described the diverse experiences of everyday life in a part of the world not clearly known or understood by outsiders: Salmiya, Kuwait. His tales chro...

وصف كامل

محفوظ في:
التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
المؤلف الرئيسي: Downs, Kathleen (author)
مؤلفون آخرون: Downs, Kendall (author)
منشور في: 2015
الوصول للمادة أونلاين:http://hdl.handle.net/11675/887
http://www.athensjournals.gr/humanities/Cover-2015-01.pdf
الوسوم: إضافة وسم
لا توجد وسوم, كن أول من يضع وسما على هذه التسجيلة!
_version_ 1870679727055831040
author Downs, Kathleen
author2 Downs, Kendall
author2_role author
author_facet Downs, Kathleen
Downs, Kendall
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Downs, Kathleen
Downs, Kendall
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2015
2016-04-07T08:38:31Z
2016-04-07T08:38:31Z
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11675/887
http://www.athensjournals.gr/humanities/Cover-2015-01.pdf
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Athens Journal of Humanities and Arts
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv From Page to Stage: Creating Original Theatre in Kuwait
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Journal Article
Peer-Reviewed
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
description Writer Craig Loomis, Assoc. Prof. of English at the American University of Kuwait, published a book in 2013 called The Salmiya Collection. In it, he described the diverse experiences of everyday life in a part of the world not clearly known or understood by outsiders: Salmiya, Kuwait. His tales chronicle ordinary Kuwaitis, expatriate professionals, local students, parents, and children as they struggle to make their way in a complex and changing world. The collection’s complex group of characters and situations resonated with me on a universal level, rather than just speaking to a specific time and place. I became convinced that the stories’ themes of change and transition, and the tensions they cause, would resonate with a larger audience in our ever-changing world. First, however, Dr. Loomis’ short stories had to be adapted to fit the theatrical structure of short plays. Writer Ken Downs, a former newspaper editor and current teacher, transformed the short stories into staged vignettes about daily life in the Middle East and, in particular, Salmiya, Kuwait. Several revisions later, the collection of short stories has emerged as nine one-act plays woven together as the fulllength play, Long Ago and not so Fay Away. Bringing this project together was not easy. Casting, rehearsals, rewrites, and weaving together both the pieces and the ensemble posed special challenges. This paper discusses how these challenges were overcome in our quest to create an original theatre experience about the Middle East—and life in general—that would be reflective without being alienating, and remain true to Dr. Loomis’ vision and voice
id AUKR_a8daa84e897b48453411b1bf032ad774
network_acronym_str AUKR
network_name_str AU Kuwait Rep
oai_identifier_str oai:dspace.auk.edu.kw:11675/887
publishDate 2015
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository_id_str
spelling From Page to Stage: Creating Original Theatre in KuwaitDowns, KathleenDowns, KendallWriter Craig Loomis, Assoc. Prof. of English at the American University of Kuwait, published a book in 2013 called The Salmiya Collection. In it, he described the diverse experiences of everyday life in a part of the world not clearly known or understood by outsiders: Salmiya, Kuwait. His tales chronicle ordinary Kuwaitis, expatriate professionals, local students, parents, and children as they struggle to make their way in a complex and changing world. The collection’s complex group of characters and situations resonated with me on a universal level, rather than just speaking to a specific time and place. I became convinced that the stories’ themes of change and transition, and the tensions they cause, would resonate with a larger audience in our ever-changing world. First, however, Dr. Loomis’ short stories had to be adapted to fit the theatrical structure of short plays. Writer Ken Downs, a former newspaper editor and current teacher, transformed the short stories into staged vignettes about daily life in the Middle East and, in particular, Salmiya, Kuwait. Several revisions later, the collection of short stories has emerged as nine one-act plays woven together as the fulllength play, Long Ago and not so Fay Away. Bringing this project together was not easy. Casting, rehearsals, rewrites, and weaving together both the pieces and the ensemble posed special challenges. This paper discusses how these challenges were overcome in our quest to create an original theatre experience about the Middle East—and life in general—that would be reflective without being alienating, and remain true to Dr. Loomis’ vision and voice2016-04-07T08:38:31Z2016-04-07T08:38:31Z2015Journal ArticlePeer-Reviewedinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://hdl.handle.net/11675/887http://www.athensjournals.gr/humanities/Cover-2015-01.pdfAthens Journal of Humanities and Artsoai:dspace.auk.edu.kw:11675/8872022-01-13T09:22:00Z
spellingShingle From Page to Stage: Creating Original Theatre in Kuwait
Downs, Kathleen
status_str publishedVersion
title From Page to Stage: Creating Original Theatre in Kuwait
title_full From Page to Stage: Creating Original Theatre in Kuwait
title_fullStr From Page to Stage: Creating Original Theatre in Kuwait
title_full_unstemmed From Page to Stage: Creating Original Theatre in Kuwait
title_short From Page to Stage: Creating Original Theatre in Kuwait
title_sort From Page to Stage: Creating Original Theatre in Kuwait
url http://hdl.handle.net/11675/887
http://www.athensjournals.gr/humanities/Cover-2015-01.pdf