06.06.2024

On June 6, the young members of the Theater Club in Vushtrri presented the forum theater play “The Daughter/E Bija,” delivering messages of girls’ empowerment and social emancipation.

Through monologues and various events, the audience had the chance to hear stories about the challenges, prejudices, and insecurities girls face in a patriarchal society. Feminist solidarity unites the girls, empowering them to boost their self-confidence and confront the problems they encounter in life. The girls achieve liberation through a self-defense course that changes their lives.

Through complex situations, especially in family relationships, the youth conveyed important messages to the audience, who had many questions and comments about the themes addressed in the play.

For Arlinda Bilalli, a participant in the Theater Club in Vushtrri, this has been the best experience so far, providing the opportunity to express their ideas and learn many things from the process.

“I had a great time, and missing even one day of rehearsal felt like a big loss for me, but the trainers emphasized the importance of not missing any sessions. For me, it has been the best experience so far because I dreamed of acting as a child, and this opportunity suddenly came. The trainers have also helped us emotionally because we are in high school and deal with a lot of stress; they helped us forget that stress. Personally, I’ve had a hard time socializing with people; I’m sociable with my own circle, but I struggle with others and had many complexes about speaking in front of them. These issues were resolved, and I no longer have a complex about speaking in front of others. We played many games, but some of them kept our minds constantly engaged, made us live in the moment, and enjoy it, like the ball game, which made us feel very good. During the process, we had many discussions and gave ideas. The trainers gave us the freedom to use all our ideas in the play,” said Arlinda Bilalli.

For Edmond Shabani, this is an unforgettable experience, emphasizing that it helped him feel at ease with people and comfortable collaborating with a larger group.

“The Theater Club is my best memory. I can never forget this experience, both the first and the last day are memories I will never forget. I used to be less confident, but now, even though we are many people, I still feel very comfortable, even in other groups, not just the theater club. Even in other situations with many people, I am more confident and social. I have learned many things from the Theater Club,” he said.

For Dalmina Shala, the discussions and topics addressed during the creation of the play have been exceptionally good and necessary for everyone.

“We felt very safe in this environment and did many good exercises that helped us improve all our skills. The topics and discussions, which we had never touched on before, helped us learn even more about various subjects. All the exercises were beneficial and helped us feel free, like the ‘body mapping’ exercise, which made us feel very confident. This play has enabled us to enhance all our capacities, such as conveying messages to the audience, managing emotions when in front of an audience, and expressing ourselves freely. The discussions provided us with more information about everything, and we never felt uncomfortable. Whenever we needed to change something, everyone was very willing to help us make that change, which I liked the most about the Theater Club,” said Dalmina Shala.

With great enthusiasm, this play was brought to life by the young members of the Theater Club, including Anisa Selaci, Saba Alija, Dalmina Shala, Dardan Buliqi, Muhamed Musa, Edmond Shabani, Suela Zymeri, Elza Haradinaj, Erza Sylejmani, Medina Mustafa, Arlinda Bilalli, Nida Durguti, Leonita Selaci, Suela Selaci, and Adhuresa Hasani.

The participants of the Theater Club in Vushtrri were mentored by actors of the Artpolis Ensemble, Blerta Gubetini – Zherka, and Mikel Markaj.

This activity was organized by Artpolis with the support of Frieda and the Municipality of Vushtrri.