︎




THE GAZA MONO-LOGUES
A PEOPLE’s MIC PUBLIC INTERVENTION


IN COLLABORATION with ASHTAR THEATRE, RAMALLAH, PALESTINE



---------------------------




MIC CHECK!


As an act of Global Solidarity with the people of Palestine, Autonomous Mechanics Studio is honored to have the support of Ashtar Theatre in Ramallah for a People’s Mic Collective Intervention of their vital GAZA MONO-LOGUES project.

For more on the history of Ashtar Theatre’s GAZA MONO-LOGUES and the call for performances of this work on November 29th, 2023, The International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People, see right (browser) or below (mobile). 

Update:Following the Day of Solidarity (during which there was participation in over 40 countries) Ashtar Theatre has called for continuous production and amplification of the GAZA MONO-LOGUES as well as continued translation from the international community. You are invited to join a growing Whatsapp Community around the project, to assist in translation efforts, and to support Ashtar’s critical psycho-social programs. See information on how to give to Ashtar in the ABOUT section and find more on all of these ways to engage on their IG account.



HOW TO PARTICIPATE in A PEOPLE’s MIC GAZA MONO-LOGUES:


When we use the people’s mic as a protest tool, the voice of a speaker is amplified via the people, as the echo of the crowd carries their words. 

Sometimes we use the people’s mic to get around the ways our voices are being silenced and our presence and resistance repressed -- when loudspeakers or megaphones is not allowed, or when we have not been given a permit for our protest.

In this way, it can become a symbol for all the ways we speak up for and amplify each others voices, especially when those voices are being systemically censored or erased. 
Here, we take up a symbolic “people’s mic” to spread visibility of and engagement in Ashtar Theatre’s GAZA MONO-LOGUES project, by taking the invitation to the theatre of everyday life: by asking the public to read and record a monologue on November 29th, 2023, on the International Day of Solidarity, and to post and share your monologue via whatever platforms or channels you have.

This extends the call to all people, of any age, of any background -- you don’t have to be an artist, an actor, a poet, to use the people’s mic to amplify the voices of the GAZA MONO-LOGUES. 

While it’s exciting to see the project being supported by theatre companies and collections of performers around the globe, this call is one that celebrates all the ways in which change-work asks us to let go of our attachment to perfection, hierarchy, and mastery -- art is for all of us, resistance is for all of us, the people’s mic is for all of us. And no one is free until everyone is free -- change-work is for all of us to do, in all its forms. 

----------------------------------------------------

GUIDELINES: 


- Record video of your reading or performing one or more of the GAZA MONO-LOGUES in any number of the languages available, using the text on the Ashtar Theatre website. 

- Post your video on November 29, 2023 (if possible).

- Add and/or read information about / attribution for the project from the Ashtar Theatre website and this site -- including the NAME and AGE of the monologue’s writer where given.

- Find an IMAGE of the monologue’s writer here and an update on their 2023 status here to add to your post. This project is a very personal one -- it makes a difference when we can name and picture those who wrote these words, and share their faces and stories publicly, to counter the continued, widespread dehumanization of Palestinians.

- Add the following hashtags #AshtarTheatre #GazaMonologues #PeoplesMic and tag @AshtarTheatre and @thetroublewithbartleby on Instagram or @imaginaldisco on TikTok so that we can reshare and archive your recording. 

- Note: There are back-up files of the texts as well as new additional monologues, and other information in this google drive folder.

----------------------------------------------------

FAQ / NOTES / RESOURCES:



- What if I don’t have social media? 

If you don’t have media platforms on which to post, we can upload media on your behalf. Please use this form to upload your information and media. You can make a video on your phone or computer, or make an audio file which we can attach to a tile for the project. 

- It’s unsafe for me to post publicly, can I still participate?

If you are concerned about doxxing / or at risk if you use your channels, we can share media made by you in which you obscure your identity or only record your voice. You can remain anonymous. You can still use this form, only adding the information that is safe for you to share. 

- Can I share this call? Can I translate it into other languages? 

Please do! There is also a plain text /printable version of the call, FAQ’s, and full project guidelines here.

There are TILES for social media and text within the character limit for Instagram posts here.

In fact! If you’re a TRANSLATOR please contact Ashtar Theatre if you can translate the monologues into other languages for this call or future use! They are actively looking for translators.

Tiles for sharing this call on social media can be found here.

**Contact project facilitator Elæ Moss here or via moss [at] theoperatingsystem [dot] org with questions, and/or contact info [at] ashtar-theatre [dot] org for more information. 




ABOUT THE GAZA MONO-LOGUES:

The GAZA MONO-LOGUES is a collection of personal stories from a group of children in Gaza originally produced by Ashtar Theatre in Ramallah, Palestine, first performed worldwide in 2010, following the violence in the Gaza Strip in 2008-2009. 

A performance by 30 international youth in different languages was staged at the UN in New York on November 29th, 2010 - the UN’s International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

Following bouts of violence in 2014 and now again in 2023, Ashtar Theatre calls on global participants of all ages -- from the theatre community and beyond -- to participate in the reading and sharing of these stories on this year’s International Day of Solidarity. 

Read more about the history of the project here, on the Ashtar Theatre website.

STREAM ASHTAR THEATRE’s DAY of SOLIDARITY PERFORMANCE:

5 pm Ramallah / 10 am EST live on Ashtar’s FB page


GAZA MONO-LOGUE RESOURCES:


SUPPORT ASHTAR’s IMPORTANT WORK!

The Ashtar Theatre team has generously made these Monologues available free of charge in the interest of public solidarity and visibility, allowing people everywhere to bear witness to the voices of Gaza -- however, they are very much in need (and deserving) of support.

In substitute of copyrights purchase of the Gaza Monologues, please support Ashtar’s psycho-social program in the West Bank via Global Giving!