Kayhan Irani

October 3, 2010

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed

October Highlights

Kayhan Irani

October 3, 2010

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed

I am back in New York City, feeling energized and refreshed, after my month-long residency at the Blue Mountain Center in the gorgeous Adirondack Mountains. I took full advantage of an entire month of serenity and wide open space and have started a new play which deals with themes of national borders, identity and cultural repression, and family history in modern-day Iran. I will keep you up to date as it unfolds and develops. Here are some things I am working on during the month of October. I hope to see you around!

Kayhan Irani

September 24, 2010

Civic Engagement, Social Change

Indigenous Arts and Survival

Kayhan Irani

September 24, 2010

Civic Engagement, Social Change

I posted a note abo ut Lisandro a few weeks ago. His family and community need our help to run a full page ad in a Guatemalan newspaper calling for a full investigation into the murder of an extraordinary artist and human being, Lisandro Guarax. Lisandro was an innovator of cultural work the likes of which had not been seen in living memory. Lisandro and his companions in Sotz’il are credited with energizing a new movement of Maya youth with pride in their culture and way of life, through investigating and developing ancestral expressions of Maya art.

Kayhan Irani

September 4, 2010

Social Change

On the road again...

Kayhan Irani

September 4, 2010

Social Change

Yes, I’ve only been home for one month and I am taking off again! This time I am going to the gorgeous Adirondack mountains, in upstate New York, for a month-long playwrighting residency. I am staying at the Blue Mountain Center and will be putting down my thoughts for a brand new play! Wish me luck and see you in October!

Kayhan Irani

September 1, 2010

Social Change

Telling Stories to Change the World

Kayhan Irani

September 1, 2010

Social Change

Telling Stories to Change the World is the title of a book I edited about amazing culture workers and artists around the world who are using their talents to make change in their communities. I received news today that one of those artists was assassinated for his leadership within the Maya community in Guatemala.

Kayhan Irani

August 28, 2010

Social Change

Being the Change...

Kayhan Irani

August 28, 2010

Social Change

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was deeply inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent civil disobedience movement that helped win India’s independence from England. Gandhi’s mantra, or guiding slogan, was “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. That meant not colluding and obeying oppressive and unjust laws. That meant speaking the truth even when it made others uncomfortable. It meant not being socially proper, but proper towards all human beings – having a strong sense of ethics and connection to all living things.

Kayhan Irani

August 19, 2010

Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed

Another Example of Theater of the Oppressed

Kayhan Irani

August 19, 2010

Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed

Another Example of Theater of the Oppressed

Here is an article about an Israeli/Palestinian group using Theater of the Oppressed for community building and cooperation. http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2010/aug/01/israel-palestinians-combatants-for-peace

Kayhan Irani

August 12, 2010

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Video

Streets of Kabul

Kayhan Irani

August 12, 2010

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Video

Some video from the working class neighborhood that I drove through every day. You see people walking, working, living life. You’ll hear the car radio in the background. Sorry for the glare, I had to take this with the window up – didn’t want to hang out of the car with a camera! You may have to watch this a couple of times to see some of the details.

Kayhan Irani

August 12, 2010

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change

Making News

Kayhan Irani

August 12, 2010

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change

Before I left for Kabul my niece Leah and nephew Garrison (both 8 years-old) were very concerned and asked me why I wanted to go. I told them that we always hear bad news, but we don’t often hear the good news and I was going to work with people who were doing really good things. Mema, (my granny-in-law) sitting behind them, nodded and said, “that’s right”. Leah and Garrison seemed to accept that idea, though their little faces still registered concern. We all know that there is more out there – that the world is a good place – but we are constantly bombarded with information and images that replay the negative, the painful, and the depressing.

Kayhan Irani

August 3, 2010

Afghanistan, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed, Video

Things I am missing about Kabul...

Kayhan Irani

August 3, 2010

Afghanistan, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed, Video

So, today I am really missing my friends and colleagues in Kabul after two aggravating incidents. Yesterday an entitled and aggressive man sat next to me on the subway and expected/demanded I move over so his companion could sit where I was sitting. I was confused and wanted to move away from him, so I moved. Then today, I am walking down the street and another man rams into me and shoves me over with his shoulder. (This is in Queens, too!)

Kayhan Irani

July 21, 2010

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed

Final Performance

Kayhan Irani

July 21, 2010

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed

Just a quick note before I head off to bed. I’ve been up since 6am and at the office since 7:30 preparing for our final presentation. We had an amazing performance today with much discussion and a brave intervention into the play! Forum theater has begun! (Yes, I did get video of it!)

Afterwards, we had a party for the participants and all our emotions came pouring out … well, Afghan style. Which meant we basically were all on the verge of tears and some small tears, but I was really about to lose it. The men and women said such kind and sincere things to me, about the work and about their experience.

I was so touched that many of them went so far as to buy me a gift. Everything from chocolates, to Afghan sweets, to a beautiful Afghan outfit, and outfits for my future children!

I have learned so much and am so moved by the heart and spirit of my new friends and colleagues. I can’t wait to see the work they do! And, yes, I am definitely changed.

Here’s a photo of the creation of the image of our future success!

In a place where one of our artists has his name tatooed on his forearm so his family can identify him in case he’s dismembered in a bomb blast, I am proud and honored to have shared ideas and practices of liberation with a few committed souls. I told them all, that we will meet again. I mean it.

Kayhan Irani

July 20, 2010

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed

Day Eight

Kayhan Irani

July 20, 2010

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed

“Oh please leave, please just leave!” I’ve been repeating this phrase in my head for the last couple of days. My workshop has been stopped thanks to a high level international conference on aid and development funding for Afghanistan. The office is shut, many roadways are completely closed, and everyone is waiting for Ban Ki Moon and the other international superstars and diplomats to get on their planes and fly out of Kabul.

Kayhan Irani

July 15, 2010

Theatre of the Oppressed, Social Change, Afghanistan, Video

Day THREE AND FOUR – The Stories

Kayhan Irani

July 15, 2010

Theatre of the Oppressed, Social Change, Afghanistan, Video

What’s it like to be a theater artist living in Afghanistan? Over the last 3 days the group shared personal experiences of what it is like to make theater in their provinces. We used their stories and created a “problem tree” – a tool used in popular education to analyze a present problem, what supports this problem, all the way down to the root causes. The problems they presented are somewhat familiar to me: no respect, no resources, and no support. These become the leaves, or fruit of the tree.

Kayhan Irani

July 11, 2010

Social Change

First Night in Kabul

Kayhan Irani

July 11, 2010

Social Change

It’s 9:00pm in Kabul and the sun is down. I hear a cat mewing from my bedroom window which faces the garden at the front of the house. It’s hot and very dry in Kabul today. As we drove to the house, sheets of fine sand drape over me, like the thin cotton scarf gently covering my head and shoulders. The dust seemed to have a life of its own, here – angry kicking up sudden clouds and surprising the passersby who were caught in the momentary tumult; there – calm, gentle trails caressing the buildings.