Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1508267
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 SEPTEMBER 2023 8 CULTURE THIS weekend Improvizza Festival is proud to present WE ARE ALL SABIR at Spazju Kreattiv a weekend long inten- sive featuring a workshop and a show which will tackle polit- ical, social and current issues in a spirit of understanding and dialogue between dif- ferent cultures through im- provisational theatre. Here we speak to Sabir Project director Enrico D'Agata as he divulges more about this interesting project and the art of improv ... 1) What is the Sabir Project and how are you involved? The Sabir Project is an artis- tic collective for improvisors hailing from all over the Med- iterranean. I'm the artistic di- rector and the aim of the pro- ject is to show how personal feelings and personal cultural backgrounds can come togeth- er in one show in an attempt to tackle social problems that are commons for all Europe- ans through the art of imrov- isation. 2) What lead to your collabo- ration with Improvizza? Simone Ellul is the Maltese representative for Malta in the Sabir project. She is al- so the leader and founder of Improvizza Festival which is why we worked together to bring the Sabir collective to Malta after our work together in Tolfama last year, none of which would have been possi- ble without the support of the Effea who were instrumental in financially helping us get back on our feet after Covid abruptly halted our plans. 3) What can we expect from this weekend's workshop and show? You can expect and extraor- dinary show that will totally change the way you look at improvisation theatre as well as (we hope) your perception on specific social issues that we experience on a daily basis. Through the workshop, I hope to underline a specific part of the Improvisation the- ory that is very usuful to us ac- tors on stage as well as to us all in everyday life with the hopes that workshop attendees apply what they've learnt not just to their practice but to their daily lives. 4) Tell us more abut the participating artists, who are they, and why have you brought them together? This all began with me and Martina in Instanbul, after the shock of the Bataclan attack in 2015, a venue which is very close to the heart of the Im- provisational theatre commu- nity in Paris. Then new mem- bers continued to join, not just because of their love of improv but because of their humanity. As a collective of artists that come from an array of differ- ent cultural backgrounds, who have to use their differences to unite for the purpose of the project, one needs to be able to connect to an inner human- ity in order to seek solutions through art. We're constantly on the look out for interna- tional improvisational thea- tre practioners, which is why we're so lucky to have formed the multicultural group we're here in Malta with today. All SABIR partners will par- ticipate in a Residency at SPAZJU KREATTIV from the 21st to the 24th September, as part of a significant collabora- tion agreement underwritten by the project. Additionally, on Sunday, 24th September, from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm, members of the collective will conduct the workshop "Active Re-acting: Improv for Life, Business, and Arts," designed to explore the enchanting world of improvisation from different aspects. For more in- formation please visit https:// www.improvizza.com/ Sabir Project director Enrico D'Agata WE ARE ALL SABIR at Spazju Kreattiv a weekend long intensive