The Space in Between: Storytelling Is Universal

Sundance Institute brought together artists from the United States and Middle East / North Africa to convene at the Theatre Program’s three week lab in Morocco. Learn more about the lab and how the participants were able to look beyond borders and discover that storytelling is universal.

The Lab, which will took put at the Fellah Hotel outside Marrakech, comprises three uninterrupted weeks of consultation, mentorship and workshop performance of new work for the stage. Led by Sundance Institute Theatre Program Director Philip Himberg and Producing Director Christopher Hibma, teams of creative advisors, actors and dramaturgs collaborate with writers and directors, independent from commercial or public pressures, as they develop their projects.

The Theatre Program’s international activity supports mentorship and cross-cultural exchange, focused on artists working primarily in all dialects of Arabic, in tandem with new work from the U.S. The Program develops artists through a series of peer-to-peer exposure and exchange activities within Arabic-speaking countries, among MENA artistic diaspora in Europe, and in the larger context of U.S.-focused Labs. The Institute hosts Labs around the world each year for independent artists in theatre, film, new media and episodic content.