AANGEDRAGEN VOOR FOLDER
Location: Thimpu - Bhutan - Asia
Ambassador: Caroline van Leerdam
Galem gi lu
In November 2009 Caroline van Leerdam was sent out in behalf of Theatre Embassy for a group of young people to become The New Theatre Group of Bhutan. Being interim director and theatre Ambassador, the mission was to integrate this group in the network of Theatre Embassy that works in three continents, Asia, Africa and Latin America and also to develop a structural base for cultural exchange and guarding cultural heritage.
Tshering Gyeltsen was initiator to formulate this new movement, and came up with the idea to tell the traditional story of Singye and Galem, which all people of Bhutan know by heart.
Caroline van Leerdam started to exchange all thoughts of what function theatre should have and offered multi disciplinal skills to look at this story through the glasses of the social issues of the society of Bhutan, that are present …her and now.
Old traditions are about to fade away. Traditional wear becomes jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers. Bhutanese music becomes rap and the gap between old and new generations becomes bigger. Youth is about to lose identity, elders are about to lose their basic traditions. This story is told from the vision, that it is possible to keep connected with cultural roots and old traditions can develop through time.
Caroline:
It is not a challenge to tell the story…it is a question to show a different side of the aspects that the story tells. Truth is not told by words. For that…there is no truth. Truth can be questioned…not only expressed through words, but through another language..one that tells another story…with art as an universal instrument
My experience working with this people was eye opening. I have never seen such a great dedication, loyalty and love for the country. At first, I asked myself how people can be so afraid of losing traditions…wearing traditional Gho’s and Kira’s in daily life, singing Bhutanese songs, eating chillies every day. On the other hand, everybody speaks English and reacted very positive on my jeans …being relieved when they could wear theirs during rehearsals. Theatre needs direct and assertive communication. “If you show your light, you permit me to show mine” , was the content of my directory. Exchange can only be done if you come out for your opinions…may be NOT agreeing with me…only then you can be authentic and autonomic as an artist should be. The cultural crash, that every cultural exchange contains, was the difference between my direct and individual manifestations of my thoughts…against the group mentality where individuality can be a threat.
This exchange was a handshake in the middle…a meeting that taught me a lot and gave me wisdom to achieve a progress through workshops…so that the new movement started to develop it self. That is why I call this progress: a work in progress.
