Al-Bassam at the 33rd Cairo Experimental Festival: Workshop and Award Ceremony

The Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre, in its 33rd edition, honors writer and director Sulaiman Al-Bassam, and will host a workshop titled “From Text to Actor.” This initiative reflects the festival’s commitment to providing training opportunities that integrate theory and practice, opening new horizons for theatre practitioners.

The festival, under the presidency of Dr. Samah Mehanna, has announced the opening of applications for the “From Text to Actor” workshop, led by Al-Bassam, one of the most prominent figures in contemporary Arab theatre. The workshop aims to offer training that bridges intellectual inquiry and practical application, thereby expanding opportunities for those engaged in the theatrical arts.

The three-day workshop focuses on the relationship between writing and directing as a unified creative act in the production of a theatrical performance. Drawing on Al-Bassam’s extensive experience in reinterpreting classical texts and presenting them within contemporary contexts, the sessions will explore how a text transitions from the page to the stage, transforming into a living language embodied through imagery, rhythm, and actor performance.

The workshop will cover several practical themes, including text analysis, theatrical reconstruction, actor direction techniques, the creation of collective rhythm, and methods for adapting classical texts into contemporary productions capable of engaging audiences from diverse cultural and background contexts. It will also highlight a key feature of Sulaiman Al-Bassam’s artistic practice: working with actors from different nationalities, cultures, and languages, and leveraging this diversity as a creative element that fosters a shared theatrical vision and endows the production with aesthetic energy that transcends geographical and cultural boundaries.

Combining applied lectures with practical exercises, the workshop will allow participants to closely examine the creative methodology that characterizes Al-Bassam’s work and benefit from his expertise in integrating writing and directing to transform text into a cohesive performative act.

The workshop targets professional playwrights, directors, and actors, as well as anyone seeking to enhance their skills in playwriting and directing. Participation is limited to 15 trainees to ensure a high level of interaction and hands-on engagement during the training sessions.