{"id":105368,"date":"2015-10-29T09:02:09","date_gmt":"2015-10-29T13:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=105368"},"modified":"2015-12-03T11:54:14","modified_gmt":"2015-12-03T16:54:14","slug":"crts-anonymous-translates-classic-poem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2015\/10\/crts-anonymous-translates-classic-poem\/","title":{"rendered":"CRT’s ANON(YMOUS) Translates Classic Poem"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The cast of CT Repertory Theatre’s ANON(YMOUS) by Naomi Lizuka
onstage in the Studio Theatre from October 29-November 8, 2015. (Gerry Goodstein for UConn).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MFA acting student Emile Saba is on a journey much different from the character he plays in Anon(ymous), the Naomi Iizuka adaptation of Homer\u2019s classic poem The Odyssey presented as part of the Studio Series by the Connecticut Repertory Theatre from Oct. 29 through Nov. 8.<\/p>\n

Saba grew up in the West Bank city of Ramallah and began working as an actor at the age of 10 in the Ashtar Theatre, which trains young Palestinian actors and produces plays in the West Bank and Gaza. He went on to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree in English and business in Palestine.<\/p>\n

As Anon, Saba portrays a young refugee separated from his family who travels through the United States encountering a wide variety of people as he searches for his family. Iizuka\u2019s adaptation of Homer\u2019s work does not make specific reference to the nationality of the central character, but Saba decided to reference the current immigration crisis in Europe by having Anon be a man from Syria with a slight accent.<\/p>\n

Current Events<\/strong><\/p>\n

More than 60 million people have been displaced in recent years by conflicts throughout the Middle East, mostly Syrians.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose to have him come from Syria because of all that\u2019s going on now,\u201d says Saba. \u201cHis mother tongue could be Arabic, but it explains why he has an accent. For an audience that needs to understand every word I\u2019m saying, I need to be clear and articulate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MFA<\/a>
MFA students Emile Saba (Anon) and Adetinpo Thomas (Nemasami) for Connecticut Repertory Theatre\u2019s Anon(ymous) by Naomi Iizuka onstage in the Studio Theatre (Gerry Goodstein for UConn).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Saba says while he is fluent in English and has performed on stage in the language, this is the first time he has the leading role in an English-language production.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been the main character, but it was in Arabic and the cast was smaller,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a big responsibility with 13 actors on stage and you\u2019re in every scene. It\u2019s very poetic, so you\u2019re not just saying words, you have to be true to the words and find the right way to say them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young actor is relying upon tools and techniques he is learning as part of the MFA program in the School of Fine Arts, with guidance from director Vince Tycer, a veteran theater and film director who is Visiting Artist-In-Residence with CRT.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything I need to know is in the text,\u201c says Saba, \u201cI just have to dig deeper. It opens different doors for you. I also use breathing through the whole line so you can deliver the thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

With so many prior roles as part of an ensemble cast, Saba notes that having the responsibility of the leading character brings the opportunity to fully develop the role. \u201cI have to look at a whole character from beginning to the end and see the journey of the character. What does he want? What are his intentions; his relationships with the other characters? It\u2019s lots of work and fun. It\u2019s very fulfilling for an actor.\u201d<\/p>\n

After earning his undergraduate degree and working for two years, Saba decided to pursue a MFA degree. He learned about UConn after speaking with Gary English, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Theatre in Storrs, who has worked with The Freedom Theatre, an independent Palestinian culture center in the West Bank. Initially he thought London would be his destination, but he is adjusting to life in eastern Connecticut.<\/p>\n

\u201cI come from a city. I\u2019m not used to this kind of quietness and trees,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m glad that I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other students in the production include MFA acting candidates Michael Bobenhausen and Sam Kebede. BFA acting students include: Valerie Badjan \u201918, Braley Degenhardt \u201918, Harry Elfenbaum \u201916) Vivienne James \u201918, Lily Ling \u201918, Kirsten Liniger \u201918, Nick Nudler \u201918) Gillian Pardi \u201918 and Jacob Harris Wright \u201918.<\/p>\n

Behind the Scenes<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"L<\/a>
L to R: MFA Actor Emile Saba (Anon), and BFA Actors Gillian Pardi ’18 and Nick Nudler ’18 in ANON(YMOUS) (Gerry Goodstein for UConn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following the performance on Thursday, Nov. 5, there will be a post-show discussion with the cast and creative team about the production and process. Following the 2 p.m. matinee performance on Saturday, Nov. 7, there will be a post-show conversation with CRT artists and guest speakers titled \u201cMigrant Voices on Our Stages and In Our State.\u201d<\/p>\n

The discussion will explore pressing questions about migration and citizenship, from the plight of refugees around the world to the concerns of undocumented students here at home. Guests include Professor Eleni Coundouriotis, director of the Research Program on Humanitarianism at the Human Rights Institute, and students from UConn\u2019s Students Without Borders and the Connecticut Students with a Dream.<\/p>\n

Anon(ymous) will be presented in the Studio Theatre from Oct. 29 through Nov. 8. Evening performances start at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Select matinee performances start at 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The production is production is co-sponsored by the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center and the Human Rights Institute. For more information visit CRT’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CRT puts a new twist on Homer’s classic poem, The Odyssey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":105532,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1711,1914],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[55],"class_list":["post-105368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-sfa"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-18 23:17:10","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105368"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106261,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105368\/revisions\/106261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/105532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105368"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=105368"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=105368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}