Special Report
SHAKING UP SHAKESPEARE
Photo shows Kuwaiti drama student Hunter Abal-Sadeq. Hunter won first place in a regional English-Speaking Union (ESU) Shakespeare Competition in California, thus giving him the opportunity to compete in the national competition at the Lincoln Center in New York on May 1, 2017.
He had previously visited his mother’s native California many times and after a few days he had already formed the bonds of lasting friendships with some of his fellow students. Those attending the arts academy put in long hours as they study all the standard high school subjects during a regular school day and then attend arts classes in the evening.
Hunter describes his drama instructor as a physical theatre actor who broadened him as a person and pushed the boundaries of what he could do as an actor. He became particularly attracted to experimental theatre, an unorthodox, avant-garde art form that challenges the norms of conventional theatre. It introduces a different use of language and especially the body to alter the mode of perception and to create a new, more active relationship with the audience.
“Experimental theatre strives to create theatre that is universal and gives actors the opportunity to be extremely creative,” Hunter remarked.
“For instance, these days people are always on their phones. They have a decreased attention span. When I found someone on their phone while I was performing, I went over to them and scared the living daylights out of them. In experimental theatre, you can change theatre to better suit the contemporary community.”
As with experimental theatre, Hunter also found he had a natural talent for performing Shakespeare. “I had no real knowledge of Shakespeare, but I discovered that I could read it and understand it. It’s not hard to understand if you put yourself into the emotions of the piece and just relate to it. In Shakespeare’s work there is no sub-text, everything that needs to be said is there.”
Hunter loves the combination of Shakespeare’s work and experimental theatre. He explained, “Hamlet, for instance, is a three-hour long play and many people don’t want to sit through the traditional performance. We performed Hamlet as experimental theatre and broke all the rules. The audience was part of the play, interacting with the actors, and we were very physical, jumping off ladders and sitting up in the rafters. It was something completely different and it worked.”
But when competing in the upcoming ESU National Shakespeare Competition in New York, Hunter will be performing classical Shakespeare, including a monologue and a sonnet. “The monologue will be a ‘cold read’ meaning that you’ve never seen it before and you have just five minutes to read and analyse it and decide how it should be performed. It means you have to think on your feet,” Hunter explained. Competitors are judged on articulation and pronunciation, on the authenticity and emotional connection to each piece, and on their understanding of their selected texts and their ability to communicate that understanding to the audience. The first place award is an all-expenses-paid scholarship to attend the American Shakespeare Center’s Summer Theatre Camp in Staunton, Virginia.
Hunter will graduate from Idyllwild Arts Academy in June and then will pursue a degree in experimental theatre at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts. After that this dedicated and ambitious young man has big plans for his return to Kuwait.
“I want to come back and be an advocate for the local artistic community. I feel there’s a huge untapped source of artistic talent here but people are restricted because the social norms prevent them from fulfilling their potential. There is a stigma surrounding acting, people who want to become actors are looked down upon, and this is very sad for people who want to develop their art.”
According to Hunter, theatre is a reflection of society and what we create shows what we are as a people and as a community. “The style of theatre in Kuwait is mostly very conventional and reserved. People are afraid to leave their comfort zone.”
“Yet Kuwaitis have a natural knack for improvisation. They have a great sense of humor that can be both dark and eye opening, and they can turn something serious into a joke in an instant,” he continued. “Kuwait needs to take ownership of its artistic self, Kuwait needs the ability to say, ‘It’s OK to do this, you can do this, if you want.’”
Eventually, Hunter’s ultimate goal is to create a world-class arts institute in Kuwait that will serve as a bridge between the artistic community abroad and in Kuwait, so that local actors can go above and beyond the limited possibilities that are now available.
“Art is about celebrating what it means to be alive,” Hunter concluded. “We all have an innate ability to create and express beautiful, funny, sad, or scary things but we’re afraid of what might happen if we do. But if we can get around the social limitations that restrict our creativity we can connect with others and celebrate this universal, driving force that we all share.”
‘ I want to come back and
be an advocate for the local artistic community. I feel there’s a huge untapped source of artistic
talent here but people are restricted because the social norms prevent them
from fulfilling their potential. There is a stigma surrounding acting, people who want to become
actors are looked down upon, and this is very sad for people who want to
develop their art.