T
HOUGH MOSTAFA ALJABER has
wanted to be an actor since he
was little, his inaugural foray
into theatre didn’t exactly go smoothly.
“My first time onstage, I was nervous
and scared,” the 16-year-old Winnipeg
student says.
It wasn’t the first time he’d felt off-
centre. Aljaber was born in Syria, but
his family had to leave their homeland
in 2012, making their way first to Leb-
anon and later to Canada. Though he
took to his new school immediately
and made friends, starting over so far
from home wasn’t easy. But getting
involved in dramatic arts—through
Sawa Theatre, a program for newcomer
youth in Winnipeg—has helped (that
nerve-racking initial experience aside).Founded in 2016 by a group of uni-
versity students and artists, some of
them new to Canada themselves, Sawa
is a hub for learning. It provides teens
with a safe space where they can
improve their English and gain real-
world skills, including public speaking,
teamwork and communication. The
youth participate in springtime work-
shops, then attend rehearsals through-
out the summer in preparation for their
show’s short run at a local arts centre.
“Our basic idea was, let them practise
English onstage,” says Al-Montaser
Al-Jajeh, the company’s artistic director
and co-founder. “If they do that, first
they’ll learn the words; second, they’ll
break that fear of making mistakes in
public and they’ll start giving it a try.”How a theatre group for newcomers helps kids acclimate—
while challenging myths about refugees
The Next Stage
BY Stacy Lee Kong
photograph by thomas frickereader’s digest
10 september 2019
DO THE RIGHT THING