—————————
In late July, 2018, over 20 volunteer theater artists and mental health professionals traveled to Camp Ritsona in Greece for a 3 week residency to create an Arabic language adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Four years and four visits later we are running workshops in Moldova. As our team grows we add practitioners who speak the language of the region. Our programming is developed by creative artists and therapists, who are trained in using the arts for achieving therapeutic objectives.
We don’t stop with theater games and therapy groups. Hundreds of diapers, bottled water, winter coats and necessary supplies have been left for residents wherever we land. Think of us as a carnival for the body and soul!
—————————
WHERE WE HAVE GONE
MOLDOVA 2022
The Campfire team joined IsraAID staff at three different locations in Moldova: The Sunflower Center in the capital, Chisinau, the Bolohan Shelter for Refugees, north of Chisinau, and the Tudora Community Center, minutes from the Ukrainian border. Working with children of all ages, the team’s activities focused on music, theater, and performance.
Since the start of the Ukraine crisis, more than 573,000 refugees have passed through Moldova, with nearly 100,000 settling there long-term. Moldova is one of Europe’s most impoverished countries, with a population of only 2.5 million.
—————————
RITSONA 2017-2019
We chose Shakespeare’s The Tempest as the starting point for the project because it is a story of exile and the search for salvation. These themes clearly resonate with those who have fled the current conflicts in Syria, Turkey, Africa and the Middle East. The lead characters in the play, Prospero and his young daughter Miranda, find refuge on a deserted island where it is Prospero’s art and magic that keep them entranced and holding on to hope. Shakespeare’s themes are universal and we believe that through the exploration of this play we will be able to find a more compassionate understanding of both the text and the life of residents in the camp.
Read more about our work in Ritsona »
—————————
Bios
Content to come
Acknowledgements
We began The Campfire Project through a grant from Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids. Tom Viola is our guardian angel. We must also acknowledge the incredible generosity of: The Shapiro Foundation, Alex Volckhausen,The Mackintosh Foundation, Stephanie Ansin, Sigal Mandelker, Dr. Cathy Raduns, Monica Rosenthal, Michael Shatner and hundreds of individual friends.