Talk Nation Radio: The Risks and Benefits of Political Theater in the West Bank
September 12, 2012
The Freedom Theater in the Jenin Refugee Camp in the West Bank produces politically engaged theater and is under assault
by both the Israeli military and the Palestinian Authority. We speak about theater as therapy and theater as an
alternative to violence with Gary English and Laura Wilson.
Gary English is a Stage Director and Designer with credits that include over 100 productions at many of America’s major
repertory theaters. He is a Distinguished Professor of Drama at the University of Connecticut and a member of the Human
Rights Institute Faculty at Connecticut. He has been to the Middle East five times in the last two years and will spend
the next year on leave from Connecticut when he will serve as Artistic Manager of The Freedom Theatre in the Jenin
Refugee Camp in the West Bank.
Laura Wilson is a professional Stage and Event Manager based in New York City with credits on Broadway and regional
theatres who has been involved with active research and development for Freedom Theatre activities in the United States
for the past year and a half. She is working with Gary English as Editor on a book project entitled Theatre and Human Rights: The Israeli/Palestinian Conflict.
Read: "The Freedom Theatre Under Assault; Building a Cultural Institution Under Military Occupation" by Gary M. English
and Laura L. Wilson -- PDF.
Total run time: 29:00
Host: David Swanson.
Producer: David Swanson.
Engineer: Christiane Brown.
Music by Duke Ellington.
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Past Talk Nation Radio shows are all available free and complete at http://davidswanson.org/talknationradio
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David Swanson's books include "War Is A Lie." He blogs at http://davidswanson.org and http://warisacrime.org and works as Campaign Coordinator for the online activist organization http://rootsaction.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @davidcnswanson and FaceBook.