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CCM Drama presents symposium on Dadaab Theater Project

If you enjoyed last year's feature story about CCM Drama students who travelled to Kenya to create theater with residents of the Dadaab Refugee Camp, you'll want to check out the project's next chapter.

The outcome of that trip will be explored in a special symposium hosted by the CCM Drama Dadaab Theater Project and the Great Globe Foundation from 3-6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 17, in UC’s Cohen Family Studio Theater.

Titled “How the Hurt Helped and How the Help Hurt and Why Go Through It All Again,” the afternoon discussion will explore the successes and challenges faced by artists who engage in international outreach and exchange. The symposium is free and open to the public. CCM Professor of Drama Michael Burnham will moderate.

This celebration of the residents of the Dadaab Refugee Camp and the collaborative work created there will be of interest to artists, activists, humanists and filmmakers. Four short films by New York-based documentary filmmakers Su Kim and David Sutcliffe will be shared as part of the symposium:
    The Dadaab Theater Project Experience trailer - this four-minute trailer details the work of the Dadaab Theater Project, specifically focusing on the exchange that took place between the CCM Drama students and the refugees in 2011.

    Footage from the Untitled short film - assembled from the 100+ hours of footage they captured, Kim and Sutcliffe present a 12-minute film preview (raw footage style) of some key moments from their upcoming film.

    Ojullu sample - in preparation for fundraising, Kim and Sutcliffe also cut a three-minute vignette of refugee Ojullu, which provides a beautiful introduction to the character of this remarkable young man.

    Voices from Dadaab - part of the work of the Great Globe Foundation includes facilitating the "Voices from Dadaab" project produced by Kim and Sutcliffe in collaboration with refugee filmmakers. We will share the short film Liban Rashid, an accurate portrayal of refugee life.

Filmmakers Kim and Sutcliffe will both be in attendance for this discussion. Other participants include Great Globe Foundation and Dadaab Theater Project founder and artistic director Michael Littig, CCM '05, and Dadaab Theater Project company member Julianna Bloodgood, CCM '05, via Skype from Poland. Additional symposium participants will include Dadaab Theater Project company members Casey Scott Leach, CCM '10, Mikayla Stanley, CCM '11, Cameron Davis, CCM '12, Will Kiley, a senior CCM student, and Professor of Drama and CCM Drama Dadaab Theater Project advisor Richard E. Hess.