In April, 2011, I completed 6 Seconds in Ramallah in Palestine, a project that involved fifteen artists from Japan and the US, who traveled over several borders to Ramallah, where our work took place. We all felt tremendous excitement and thrill through this experience. In Palestine, we made more than a preconceived notion of theater or dance work.
Since then, this project Love Story, Palestine is becoming more vital to me. I feel I am framing a theater work with barbed wire, making a mosaic of segments whose contents pertain to pain. Although each part of the work does not reveal the whole, each element is necessary to my experience. I am fermenting the work, like bringing yeast to various places in order to convey the excitement and thrill we felt in Palestine.
The process of bringing Palestinian artists to New York for this production has been challenging because, as you may know, travel for Palestinians can be compromised. The issue is politically and emotionally charged for many institutions and individuals. Because of the extreme difficulty in getting work visas for the artists, our production will be free to the public.
I believe in this project with all my heart. The production might be able to offer an important message about the reality in Palestine.
Yoshiko Chuma, Director of The School of Hard Knocks
