Conversations, dispatches and ideas from the Bush Theatre.
We’ve had a few questions about the Hijabi Monologues London Story Call-Out and hope this blog will answer those. Remember the deadline to submit your monologue is midday on 17 July 2017.
Hijabi Monologues is a theatrical production centered around a series of true-life monologues by local and international Muslim women. Hijabi Monologues London is a licensed production of Hijabi Monologues USA, where the original project began.
Well, we wouldn’t want to stop you submitting if you don’t identify as a woman but this project is all about hearing the voices of Muslim women who we feel are underrepresented on our stages at the moment.
Yes, we welcome stories from all Muslim women. However, it’s worth noting that the monologues need to feature the hijab as a prop or a hijabi character.
We are looking for stories that are not directly about the hijab! There should be a hijabi character but actually it’s about going beyond that and asking about the stories and lives of the women wearing them. The hijab is to be used as a prop but should not be the centre piece or story subject.
The Hijabi Monologues was founded by Sahar Ullah, Zeenat Rahman and Dan Morrison in the US. They explained to us that they have ‘a love/hate relationship’ with the name. In some ways, it makes people think of the famous Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler and this can be helpful and unhelpful in terms of an audience’s expectations.
That’s ok! We just want to hear your story. The writers chosen will work with the team at the Bush who will help give advice on the shaping of the storytelling– the most important thing is the narrative and point you are trying to get across to an audience. We want to hear your voice coming through on the page.
Think about the stories you tell your friends and family. Things that happened in your day, good anecdotes you share at a party, something that happened that made you angry. Think about why you want to share that story with a room full of people – do you want to make them laugh? Get them fired up? Make them rethink? These steps will give you your story and your intention so then it’s just about writing from the heart, as though you were telling the story to a room of friends. Maybe even record yourself telling the story aloud then trying writing it up.
The chosen writers will have their story read by an actor as part of a show of monologues which make up Hijabi Monologues London. These will be performed over 4 nights in September. During August, the writer will work with the Bush team to develop and edit their writing before rehearsals begin in September.
The Hijabi Monologues will be performed in the Theatre at the Bush 28-30 Sep 2017 and will be on sale soon.
