Wednesday 20 April 2011

Vision and Mission


We believe that the Clown exists in every person!
That creativity and imagination are important needs of every human being. That when we liberate our capacities to take creative and imaginary stances to the state of our lives, we can also be more critical and find new ways of seeing things.

We do street clown performances, going to all audiences all places. Where ever we go we bring simple everyday objects that we transform in unexpected ways, to music and images. And we transform the spaces themselves into a theatre, where we can share laughter, dancing and stories.

We do training in creative group work and drama. We work with children and adults, such as social workers and educators. Through game playing and exercises, we help individuals discover new capacities, and groups work together, to cooperate better, and to share in creative ways, using their own experience, stories, and ideas.
   Our workshops run through a process that stimulates the active participation of all individuals; to create a sense of trust in which all are able to express themselves freely; to emphasise the importance of listening actively to every one; to respect difference; and to build constructively towards a common goal.

Thursday 7 April 2011

Summer 2011 Projects

Preimere for new Clown Play:  Yes Chief !”    (  حاضريا باشا!)
Red Tomato premièred the new play "Yes Chief!" on World Refugee Day, for a 500 audience of fore mostly refugee children & adults from different communities. It was a great day. Big audience and high spirits. The children were very eager to participate, storming onto the stage when we invited to dance to our rhythm orchestra. Afterwards, when we left the stage with our "Samba" parade our small group of 4 was more like a sea of performers, the children drumming away on all kinds of objects they creatively found in the space. 

The event was organised by UNHCR and CRS on Friday 17 June.
Place: Saqyat el-Sawi (Culturewheel), 26 of July Street, Zamalek.

 "Yes Chief!" The basic idea: 
It is a street theatre piece of clownish play with structures of authoritarian power. 
Four clowns arrive in a drumming parade, engaging the audience to come see their circus / clown show. They are a group that enjoys playing together.

But suddenly one of the clowns starts to behave in an authoritarian way, commanding the others on what to do. The others’ reactions vary: there is the opportunist, the coward, and the critical one.

As the show goes on there are attempts at resistance, at negotiation, and … maybe even at staging a coup against the “chief”.

Towards the end, what happens?... To find out the conclusion of the events, come see the play yourself!

Technique:
It uses music, clown theatre, and circus techniques.
It is suitable for children and all audiences.
It is a Clown show of street theatre format – simple in technical requirements and can be performed in any place. (Performance space -- 9 x 7 metres. Audience space – a semi-circle around the performance space wide enough to host the required number. There is no maximum number. Several hundred can easily enjoy it, since it works mainly with visual story telling and not text.)


Drama Workshop for social workers:

Members of Red Tomato gave a Training of Trainers workshop called “Drama for self and group understanding and expression”. The work was conducted as a part of international NGO Ricerca e Cooperazione’s project: “Actions for Vulnerable Children Improving Capacities for Enhancing Intervention”.

Red Tomato wored with social workers from some 20 local NGO’s with the aim of enhancing their sensitivity for and ability to do creative work with children :
 
stimulating active listening and the interest in personal experience; providing group animation and creative workshop techniques; providing basic drama tools.




After conducting the basic training, the second phase of the project aims at supporting the participant NGOs to set up drama workshops with children in their own organizations.



Two groups of social workers have completed their training, and are implementing activities at their NGOs. 
Red Tomato members are assisting them in their localities.

Workshop presentations: In October the first in a series of "open drama days" for and with the children being trained in the NGOs was held. These days serve the children to meet and share with others what they are learning, and what they want to perform. On October 9th some 100 children from different NGOs spent a day getting to know eachother in theatre games workshops. The next meeting will be in February.

History of Red Tomato تاريخ قوطة حمرا

The beginning of the collective dates to June 2009, when its five founding members met in a street-clown performance project with the Clowns Sans Frontiers, France. All five had previous experience of street theatre and performance. Joining together and continuing work together over a year with clowning, street performance, and giving workshops, led the members to the formulation of the idea of Red Tomato. 


Activities & cooperations:

 

November 2011 – ongoing: Project “Drama for Self expression and Creativity”. Drama work in Refugee Community Schools in Cairo. Theatre workshop for 20 refugee children from different countries; Yes chief!” Clown performances in 16 community schools.
    Project Leader: Catholic Relief Services (International NGO)

September 2011– ongoing: Project “Theatre workshop with Street children and Social workers”.  Training social workers and street children from 6 local NGOs developing a theatre play. Performed the first time 27 October in the Children’s Park, Sayida Zeinab. Project Leader: Medincins du Monde (French International NGO)

June 2011- ongoing: Street Clown performance: Yes chief!” (The premier took place for the World Refugee Day in  El-Sawi Culturewheel in front of a 500 capacity audience).


February – October 2011: Project "Actions for Vulnerable Children - Improving Capacities for Intervention". Training social workers from 20 local NGOs working with child labourers and street children. Drama and group creativity workshop, and follow up to start implementing drama work in all NGOs. Project Leader: Ricerca e Cooperazione (Italian international NGO).

June 2009 – Dec 2010: Cooperation with Clowns Sans Frontiers, France. Creation of street shows for children and all audiences. (A total of about 70 performances reaching an audience of roughly 7500 people)

November 2009 – December 2010: Special focus on street-children – cooperation with Clowns Sans Frontiers, Samu Social Egypt, FACE Egypt, National Council for Womanhood & Childhood. Artistic and social interventions for street children in Cairo. Nigh-time performances in localities where street children gather around Cairo; Animation days, game-playing & drama exercises; Performances in “Ahdath” (Juvenile correction institutes) of Cairo & Giza.

June 2010 – ongoing A community theatre creation for awareness building about Refugees in Egypt. Two members participate as actors, and two as project artistic leaders. The troupe involves also  eight refugees from five different countries. Cooperation with the Psycho Social Training Institute of Cairo (PSTIC), AUC. (By June 2011 13 performances done; audience approximately 1600).  Video Report CNN:

October 2010: Circus show creation and performance with Circus Shake of Berlin, Germany. Two performances for 1500 audience. Cooperation with Grenzkultur, Germany; The National Circus of Egypt; El-Sawi Culturewheel.

4 & 5 November 2010: Three performances at the Alexandria Farah el-Bahr Mediterranean festival. One street parade show; two Clown/circus performances. Audience approximately 4000.
1 February 2011: Inter-active samba parade performance on Tahrir square, Cairo on the first “March of Millions”.  
Youtube Links :        Million's March Samba on Tahrir
                                
Million's March Samba on Tahrir 2

Friends & Associates:
-          Clowns Sans Frontiers, Clown Collective, France.
-          Terre des Hommes, NGO Switzerland/Egypt.
-          Grenzkultur, Culture Centre, Germany
-          Psycho Social Training Institute of Cairo – AUC
-          Ricerca e Cooperazione: Italian international NGO
-          Medicines du Monde: French international NGO
-          Catholic Relief Services: International NGO