Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/204636
29 maltatoday, OSTENTATIOUS OYSTERS pgs 36, 37 HAMMER HERO pg 34 me, to home SUNDAY, 3 NOVEMBER 2013 LUSCIOUS LUMPUR pg 38 The lure of love and its disastrous aftermath TEODOR RELJIC speaks to American playwright Kenyetta Lethridge about the upcoming Maltese production of her human trafficking drama, Innocent Flesh, adapted for the local stage by TAC Theatre under the direction of Marc Cabourdin – in what will be the hard-hitting play's first venture out of the US How does it feel to take this play to Malta? What do you imagine a foreign culture like Malta would bring to the play? It is my understanding that Malta is currently being used as a hub for trafficking children throughout Europe. It is currently considered both a transit and destination country. I think that Innocent Flesh will bring a greater awareness of what's going on in Malta's backyard. As well as having written the play, you've also directed it back in the US. How does it feel to now hand over this project to another director? Yes, I directed the off-Broadway production as well as the Los Angeles run. It's hard giving up the piece to another director, but I know that if I want my vision for Innocent Flesh realised then I have to allow other directors to put their creative touch on it. At this point having as many people hear my words and understand its message is more important to me than who directs. Adrian Gauci ally, and then back to paper. Technology helped me do stuff faster and cheaper. "The process for creating a Jien u d-Dar was quite straightforward. I already had some experience of modular typography while working on my dissertation project Nocturn-e. At first the design of the typeface look simple but let me tell you, it's not as easy as tracing some tiles and moving them together. There are certain local websites which make this look easy as pie. These were designed for actual floor-patternmaking. However I specifically needed a typeface, and the way to do is by studying attentively, and sketching and failing for a number of times until you succeed. This was done on paper and on Adobe Illustrator at the same time because yes, computers exist now and there is no rule that keeps you from using them for traditional media. "Test pieces on the actual printing process were complicated too. Originally I planned to work with linoleum, but with the amount of detail I needed they would have never worked. Commercial rubber stamps were the best solution for my situation, however, be warned: although they look tiny and made of rubber, they are expensive. I needed 20 different designs, 2 by 2 cm each. If I made a mistake on the design, it would be impractical to reproduce them. I couldn't afford making mistakes; that is why working everything out on a computer helped. "The planning involved was big. The paper was scored line by line, forming a grid. This helped me place everything in the designated place. The guidelines also are reminiscent of the tile grooves, making the piece more faithful to traditional Maltese tiles. "Handles for stamps had to be custom designed and perfectly aligned to the rubber part. If you are familiar to the old art typesetting, the process works similarly. I would have been easier to just print the pieces digitally, but as I said earlier, the effect wouldn't be as good." Human trafficking is both universal – as an emotional subject – and culturally specific (in that the stories concerning individual victims, from different and specific cultures, are bound to differ in significant ways). While writing the script, what kind of work did you have to do to ensure that the story retains its maximum emotional impact? While writing Innocent Flesh I made sure that the stories remained universal by focusing on the one thing we want it life. Love. I wanted the audience to understand that these young Kenyetta Lethridge girls are seduced into this life not because of money, poverty, or drugs. But because many times they seek what they are not being given at home, love. Is it a false sense of love, yes. However, it's enough. How do you feel about the play being performed in two different languages (English and Maltese)? Was this something you imagined happening when you first sat down to write the play? When I first sat down to write the play my vision was to have it run in the From left: Sarah Jane Mallia, Nadia Vella and Tina Rizzo during rehearsals for the TAC Theatre's production of Innocent Flesh major cities in the US and to have international exposure. Malta is it's first international run, and I'm elated. Innocent Flesh will be playing at The Vault Theatre, Valletta Waterfront on November 9, 10 and 15-17. Cast includes Nadia Vella, Tina Rizzo, Simone Alamango and Sarah Jane Mallia. Tickets for premiere are at €10, €15 for remaining performances. Bookings: ticketline.com.mt; info@tactheatre. com or at the Embassy Cinemas Box Office, Valletta. All shows start at 20:00. The play is rated 18