Sderot Community Treatment Theater actresses with director Livnat Shlessinger
Photo: Jacob Shrybman of Sderot Media Center
Sderot students stage show about rockets
Community Treatment Theater to launch first theater production of 'Children of Qassam Avenue', based on true-life experiences of local high school girls, who underwent year of drama therapy counseling
The Sderot Media Center (SMC) Community Treatment Theater will launch its first theater production of "Children of Qassam Avenue" in the Sderot Youth Center this Wednesday.
Sderot Media Center first launched the drama therapy program back in December 2008, with 40 Sderot high school girls participating from two Sderot high schools. Although the program was temporarily interrupted during Operation Cast Lead, the drama therapy sessions continued in full swing following the operation.
"Children of Qassam Avenue" is based on the true-life rocket experiences of the Sderot actresses, all of whom are Sderot natives, and have experienced post-trauma symptoms arising from eight years of Gaza Qassam attacks.
“We took our personal experiences of everyday life in Sderot and incorporated them into the play,” said SMC Theater Project director Livnat Shlesinger, whose childhood friend, Ella Abuksis was killed by a Qassam rocket four years ago in Sderot. “This project has instilled a sense of confidence in these Sderot actresses and has given them new tools to deal with the stress and pressure of living in a rocket zone.”
Each session was filmed by Sderot Media Center and has been used as advocacy material on the Sderot Media Center website to portray the rocket reality of residents living in the Sderot and western Negev region.
