A national discussion on the development of the Moroccan theater in which the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication met in the presence of its minister with various theater actors, institutions of the father of the arts and actors, as well as researchers and journalists.
And in the hotel in the city of Sale today, on Monday, words, comments and suggestions rained down. On the school day, set designer Tarek Rebah said it was “a real starting point for capitalizing on and expressing a wider horizon for the theatre.”
Hassan Hammouche, president of the Moroccan Federation of Professional Theater Groups, said that the future of the theater movement needed “great visions, emerging from suffering and despair, to reform and renew values in our society.”
Hammouche added, “This school day raises questions about the appropriateness and purpose of theater support,” before moving on to talk about the social approach to official theater support, between being a “safety valve” and seeing it as “rents that beneficiaries prevent reform “. He also criticized the “limitation of the statistical approach” when he talked about it.
On behalf of the Alumni Association of the National Institute of Dramatic Arts and Cultural Animation, playwright Amin Nasour spoke of the need to “overcome differences, meetings and pure intentions for the success of our theater today.” The channel of communication between the playwrights and the Preserving Ministry “is the Department of Arts, and if it is violated, it will not reach Our aspirations and expectations.
Tariq Al-Ribh, on behalf of the Street Theater Committee, spoke of street playwrights as “one of the newest categories of the theatrical field, the most important and the most fragile.” which has cultural institutions and interests of the security sector, and participates in the activities of large institutions such as theaters”, which was met with the fragility of the actors in this expressive form.
The same speaker continued: “The cultural sector recognizes these arts, but their support is characterized by some confusion (…), as if we are missing our date with history in order to support these arts and their presence at the National Festival. And we need to appreciate the new manifestations of the progress of this people, so that they naturally integrate into the Moroccan cultural landscape. Committees (supports) should not be a breeding ground for unemployed theatrical people.
Regarding playwright Ezz El-Din Bonnet, playwright Abdel-Majid Fneish laid out his framework for the academic day, in which he said: “Finding the mechanisms of Moroccan theater development between renewal and innovation is a laudable study and it may be a sign of vitality and vigilance, but deeply without constant criticism of practices, plans and programs. To know the strengths and weaknesses, precisely on the basis of accurate grounds, and not impressions and delusions.
Al-Ardia called for “expanding the field of state intervention for the sake of an incubating theatrical environment”, adding: “Artists cannot be held responsible only for the theater project”, and also observed the presence of “a vague perception of the economic model of the theater”, in light of the lack of “theater groups and theater management experience a real support assessment based on a feasibility study, by virtue of their real knowledge in the theater field and creative knowledge.”
The document documented a lack of assessment of public relations, their obstacles and how to develop them after more than two decades of support, as well as the presence of “fruitless administrative decisions that made sense of what was achieved” and projects that were suspended without explanation, such as “support for localization “, and called for “the revival of amateur theatrical dates and the creation of Awards that encourage creativity and innovation in theatrical life”, as well as for the “development of the National Theater Festival, the creation of an institution to manage it.” and development of its official and parallel component”.
Naima Zaitan, on behalf of the Aquarium Theatre, mentioned that the discussion reiterated questions, aspirations and concerns that had been raised since the establishment of the arts department in 1994. She added: “The men and women of the theater need a lot of rehabilitation and motivation. so that the sector can move forward”, adding: “The Moroccan state supports all the Something and supports the sectors despite their failure (…) Then when we get to the stage, we ask questions about returns and freebies. Income is important, but what are we preparing for the population? Does the theater go to comprehensive schools, where is tomorrow’s audience? Students should attend performances in the same way that they attend museums.”
Among the things that the intervention focused on were “the relations of theater groups with trusted institutions such as the National Theater and public TV channels”, and then it was added: “There is a lot of capriciousness and reparation in these relations, without a relationship based on a clear book of tolerance . And there are committees that we appreciate, but they do not appreciate anyone in the choice of television, with no answer about the reason for the rejection. And if we are informed about the existence of an editorial line, while we are the sons of the fatherland and know the forbidden trinity, and honor the shrines of the country, then there is an excess of patriotism and second-hand love for the motherland. Motherland.
Said Abernus for the Tifsuin Amazigh theater troupe demanded “regional institutions, or at least extensions to the Rabat Institute; Because a number of energies of the countryside, the desert, the southeast and the east want to take shape and work in the field in an institutionalized way, but Rabat, unfortunately, is far away.
Abernus continued: “After the 2004 El Hoceima earthquake (…) the movement of civil society and elected councils was accompanied and today we need understanding and assimilation from the elected councils and we need a partnership agreement that strengthens the presence of the Amazigh component, which distinguishes us as Moroccans. He is Moroccan, and part of him is Tamazight, and his cultural diplomacy in the world through what makes him different.
Hajjar Al-Hamidi, representing the Akun Theater, said that the troupe “is created and exists thanks to the support of the Ministry of Culture, and because of this, it also has problems (…) and has no success other than meeting with the general public,” adding : “To this day, despite the coronations, there is no permanent place for the troupe. We thank the Aquarium Theater for accepting it.” ‘, and despite our will and efforts, we cannot be considered a professional troupe.”
The performance introduced the issue of “dividing support between the serious and the non-serious teams”, stating “We are victims of bureaucracy and we know the Arts Administration problem and we thank the theater department that is opening its doors.”
Researcher Saeed Al-Naji stated, for his part, that “support gave rise to practices, including rent seeking with teams, and in one way or another contributed to the dispersal of union work; This is also not enough, does not cover the costs and does not guarantee stability.” strength to protect our interests as a state, and we are weak in this.
Critic Muhammad Bahjaji has pointed to the theater’s association with “the minister, his office and his relationship with the theatre, and this in practice makes leaps in relation to the change of ministers and their dialogue with those who deal with the matter and the nature of their advisory services.” team”. Then he added: “The addressee of the theater is not only the Minister of Culture. The “high council” or “centre” is not only the house of money, but also the body through which we institutionalize public support.
Masoud Busin, head of the Moroccan Syndicate of Dramatic Art Professionals, stated that “support has basic legal determinants that come from international conventions and chapter 26 of the constitution and manifest themselves in legal procedures that must operate properly, without the need for the opinion of so-and-so or the public . There are international agreements and a constitutional mandate.” have a strong structure like now. The rotational government started with theater support and limited initiatives around the cinema, and the concept of the subsidy developed as a subsidy and social-indirect assistance, and this was fixed in the technical and administrative worldview, while the subsidy is not at all.
The same speaker then explained, “Public support is a kind of agreement that grants countries the exception of culture from the exemption, which means that the state should intervene in the cultural sector through subsidies, which is an international measure to protect national culture, pluralism and diversity. , as well as cultural and developmental benefits, but no starting point.” From this privacy at the level of public policy aimed at society, and for people to watch theatre, cinema and television; Support is a means, not an end in itself.
Theater critic Busarkhan Al-Zaytuni, in turn, said that “there is a big difference between talking about strategic perspectives and the nature of this session, in which it is important to decide what should happen now and tomorrow; As for the prospects, they require a real and intense discussion, which is difficult for the state to answer, and in this there is a struggle with the other side or sides and with ourselves, because we are also part of the problem, not only the solution. We must have real dialogue with her; Generations have changed, and now we have what we didn’t have before, that is, real theatrical experiences, real creative presence, real theatrical projects, consciousness has developed more than before … ”.
