Omar Abusaada is a Syrian director and playwright whose vision is to build a politically and socially conscious theatre. A co-founder of Studio Theatre in Damascus, Abusaada has taken his work to Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Lebanon, and Jordan, as well as major international festivals. SDC Journal asked Abusaada to share a little about his work and life in Syria and beyond.
Describe yourself in two words.
Theatre writer and director.
Why did you choose to make theatre? Why directing?
Theatre came into my life by accident. I started out studying electric engineering, then I realized gradually that I wanted to do something more artistic. I decided to study theatre, and from my first day in the theatre institute, I knew that I’d spend my life in the theatre.
Where do you live? What does home mean to you?
I’m still living in Damascus; my family lives in Egypt. Since 2011, I’ve been traveling all the time with my theatre works, so gradually I’ve started to think of theatre as home for me.
What are some of the joys and struggles of maintaining an active international career?
Most of the joys come from meeting new people and discovering new places, which teach me a lot about life. At the same time, the lack of stability creates pressure that can be very hard sometimes.
How central is Syria to your work? Do you feel a sense of responsibility as you try to represent Syria in your work?
Most of the works I have directed are centered around Syria in a social and political way. Especially after the revolution in Syria in 2011, I felt that I wanted to support the principles that I believed in, to build a new country on the basis of freedom and equality. I believed that theatre could be an ex cellent way to express these ideas and also to give a real look at the situation in Syria that is different from the view that we see in the Western media. I think theatre can be an excellent tool of resistance for artists all around the world.
You studied at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus. What made that program unique?
I studied in the institute between the years 1998 and 2001. At that time, I was so lucky to have excellent teachers who created a space for us to study and explore in a free and creative way—very different from the way of teaching in most Syrian universities, which deal with their students in a very conservative way.
Tell us about your process working with playwright Mohammad Al Attar. How many projects have you worked on together? Are they all documentary pieces?
Mohammad has been my colleague and friend since we studied in the same theatre institute in Damascus. Our relationship in the work grew steadily year by year. We have made more than 10 projects together; some of them were documentary theatre, and others were fiction. The work is built initially through a deep collaboration during the first phase, which is working on the idea of the project. After that, Mohammad starts to write the first draft alone, then he gives it to me for feedback, and then he develops the text further. Most of the time, he comes to rehearsals and gives his feedback, then he makes a final draft of the text.
What does the director/writer collaboration look like in documentary theatre?
I think in principle the collaboration is not different from documentary theatre to fiction works. The relation between the writer and director is complicated and can be very different depending on the character of the artists themselves. Sometimes it can be very tough, and other times it’s very easy and productive.
How long does it take you to make a piece?
From starting to work on the idea till the premiere, usually it takes around one year. And usually I have six to seven weeks for rehearsals.
When your production of While I Was Waiting played at the Avignon Festival in 2016, you described it as a metaphor for the state of your country—“neither alive nor dead, this gray zone somewhere between hope and despair”—and also for your dreams of a political theatre there. Do you see theatre as an act of resistance? What do you hope for in your political theatremaking?
Theatre has always been a great tool of resistance for artists, and I think nowadays this tool has become even more important. In my works, I hope to open discussion about the subject among the audience members— this is the most important element for me.
What sources do you draw upon to make your work?
The sources of my work depend on the nature of the subject itself: sometimes it comes from a very personal story, like what we did in While I Was Waiting; other times, it comes from a story in the newspapers, like when I examined the Lafarge Cement factory in Syria in my performance The Factory. So it can be very different and could come from anywhere.
Tell us about your daily routine. We understand you don’t have a cell phone.
Yes, I don’t like to use the cell phone that much, but sometimes I find myself forced to use it. I think cell phones take a lot from the intimacy of our meetings. My daily routine is very different between Damascus and Europe. I stopped working in Damascus in 2011. Now, I’m going there just to keep my relationship with my city, so usually I have more time for myself in Damascus that I like to spend walking, going to my favorite coffee shop, reading, and meeting friends. In Europe, mostly I’m very busy with work, so usually I’m in rehearsals for around eight hours, then I’m back home to prepare for the next day’s rehearsal.
You were at Lincoln Center in 2017 with While I Was Waiting, which was banned in Syria. Can you talk about that experience?
My experience there was amazing. We were touring in Europe with this work, but the audience in New York was very different— they caught the humor in the play, and we felt they were connected to the story from the first minutes of the performance. Many audience members came to talk to us after the play, and they had been touched deeply. I really enjoyed this experience a lot, and it is still with me.
What are your impressions of the system that supports American theatremakers?
I don’t know a lot about the system of production in American theatre. But this year I had the chance to participate in the Sundance directors’ retreat in France, and I got to be among American theatremakers and to understand more about the production system in the USA.
Are you interested in directing in the US?
Yes, sure—this has been a dream for me since my student years in Damascus. I still remember how impressed I was the first time I read Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night. This was one of the best texts I had ever read, and it led me to discover more texts from American theatre. Later on, when I visited the US in 2010 through a Kennedy Center program for international directors, I felt very connected to the people I met during the trip.
Which theatre directors do you admire?
This changes with the growing of my knowledge in theatre. I can give some names like Peter Brook, Patrice Chéreau, Krystian Lupa, the Wooster Group, and Fahdel Jaibi, among others.
What are you reading right now?
I’m reading a book about the history of Damascus in the 1930s by Syrian historian Sami Moubayed. And the play The Abyss by young Syrian writer Ghiath Mohethawi.
You work in Europe a lot and you tour— what are your observations about the producing models and funding sources for theatre in Europe and the Middle East? Are there lessons the US can learn from these models?
I think the theatre production models everywhere need to focus more on the needs of the artists and the specific project they are making. Each project is different, and the system needs to adapt with it, not adapt the artistic project to the system, because this can kill the original character of the project itself. Sometimes I have been very lucky to work with producers who understand this need and struggle with the system to create the best circumstances for the work, but unfortunately, this is not the case in general.
What are you currently working on?
Last year, I worked on a play about Damascus in 2045, and next year we’re planning to show it in Freiburg, Germany, so right now I’m working to develop this project. Also, I’m developing a text based on the biography ofa Syrian actress who I have known for a long time.
What would you like to explore next?
I want to work on the theme of absence. In the last few years as a Syrian, I lost friends, relatives, places. And I want to reflect more on this experience.
PHOTO CREDITS: The Factory by Mohammed Al Aattar. Directed by Omar Abusaada. Scenic design + costumes: Bissane Al Charif; lighting: Denise Potratz; projections: Rami Farah. | Damascus 2045 by Mohammed Al Aattar. Directed by Omar Abusaada. Scenic design + costumes: Bissane Al Charif; lighting: Piotr Pieczyński; projections: Szymon Rogiński.