Abud Alrahaman | Youth Theatre participant
Abud Alrahman joined Seenaryo’s Youth Theatre in Autumn 2016. As the tallest (and often loudest) member of the group he was incredibly conspicuous – always ready with a joke or comment that was often more disruptive than useful. Beneath his bravado was an incredibly self-conscious boy afraid that he might get something wrong or not be good enough. As the weeks progressed he was slowly able to let go of his insecurities and offered incredibly thoughtful contributions to the devising process. In the days coming up to the performance he insisted that he wouldn’t be able to perform, and said he would only go onstage if he were allowed to wear a mask so that no one could see his face. However on the day of the performance, although nervous, he was so excited to showcase what he had created that he went onstage without any prompting. Abud Alrahman was incredibly happy with his achievement, proudly introducing his mother to everyone involved in the production, and saying “even the tall one can succeed”.
Here’s what he shared with our communications manager, Tamara Salhab, in November 2016:
Q: How old are you?
A: Fourteen.
Q: What’s your favourite subject at school?
A: Arabic because it’s the subject I understand the best. We read books in school and do grammar. I like studying grammar but I’m not very good at it.
Q: Who is your favourite actor?
A: Hmmm, I like Samer Al-Masri. He’s in a TV show in Syria called ‘Bab al-Hara’. Everyone knows it.
Q: Where is the nicest place you have ever been?
A: Jordan because it’s got lots of nice places to visit like Petra.
Q: Which football team do you support?
A: Real Madrid.
Q: What have you learned so far in the Weekly Workshop?
A: Everything! It’s the first time I’ve ever tried physical theatre or any of that stuff.
Q: What has been the biggest challenge for you?
A: ‘The Ship’ dance because it has lots of hard dance moves and I can’t always remember them.
Q: What do you want to do when you’re older?
A: Oh I don’t know, I haven’t really thought about it!
Q: If you could score today out of ten, with one being the worst and ten being the best, what would you give it?
A: I’d give it a nine.