Full Name:
Fadi Skeiker
Major/Year:
PhD Performance as Public Practice/ ABD
Favorite class in Theatre & Dance and why:
Supervised Teaching in Theatre and Dance taught by Jill Dolan. I love the course because it blends theories of progressive education into teaching practice. The course also regards pedagogy as a public practice and a form of activism. Jill Dolan herself is an exemplary educator who truly embodies the values she is advocating.
Favorite thing about Austin:
It depends on the mood. If I feel like having a serious intellectual conversation with a friend I will go to Austin Java at Barton Springs. If I am in a free-spirited mood, I will go to Ruta Maya on South Congress. If I feel like drumming, [I'm the self-proclaimed best hand-drummer in the world] I would check out some drumming circles on South Lamar, and if I feel like trashing myself and bringing my early 20s back then there is no place better than the bars and clubs of 6th street on a Saturday night. Austin is full of street musicians; most of whom are homeless. I love to hang out with them whenever I see them performing randomly.
Favorite place to study:
Irie Bean on South Lamar because it has friendly staff, great coffee, live local music, and free wireless internet access.
Brief biography:
Fadi is a third year student in the PhD program. He received his BA in Theatre studies from the Higher Institute of Theatrical Arts, Damascus, Syria. His BA thesis is entitled "The Syrian Theatre in the Mirror of the West". Fadi was the dramaturge for a modern dance company in Damascus "Ramad." He was offered a Fulbright grant which allowed him to earn his MA in Theatre education at Emerson College in Boston. His MA thesis was" Unveiling The Mask: Designing a College-Level Arab Theatre Course." While at Emerson, Fadi directed Ohio Impromptu by Samuel Beckett and Penguin Blues by Ethan Philips. He was the production dramaturge for Game of Patience at Boston actor's workshop; he participated in several puppet pieces where he presented original pieces by him and The King's Elephant by Syrian playwright Wanus in Puppet Showplace Theatre in Brookline Village. He also performed in Boston version of "A Day in the Life of a City" with "The Living Theatre Company." While in Austin, Fadi has been active in leading workshops on "Dream work for actors" and "Shadow Theatre" both at UT and in the Austin area. He was the production dramaturge for Kneeling Down at Noon written by Steve Moore, he directed Sycroax by Susan Todd for the University Co-op Cohen New Work Festival. He also directed week 10 of Suzan Lori Parks 365 Days/Plays. The show was presented in a shadow theater style. It was performed on January 15, one of the coldest nights Austin has ever seen.
Fadi's main influence has been Eugenio Barba. Fadi's passion is to find a common ground for communication between the West and the Arabs. Fadi is also interested in the way the theatre can be used as a tool for social change especially in Arab communities. Fadi is currently infatuated with Sufism and its perfromative aspects. Fadi is also taken by hand drumming, puppetry and photography.
Current projects/research/interests:
This year I will be focusing on writing my dissertation which is going to be about citizenship and theatre, so far the dissertation is entitled "Performing Liminal Citizenship."
While writing the dissertation, I continue to teach acting and training the speaking voice, to drum for a local drumming band called Belaharr, and tolead shadow theatre workshops.
My research interests are theater as a tool for social change, theater of the oppressed, applied theater, pedagogy, theater education, and Arabic performance traditions.
