We created Zoukak in 2006 from a need to develop a professional continuity for our theatre practice and a belief in this practice as a political and social involvement and action and in collectivity as a position against marginalizing systems.
Our methodology of work emphasizes processes of creation rather than outcomes, and for us collaboration lifts the creative operation to a higher level, and allows for unexpected approaches to theater-making, all-the-while providing a more horizontal participation in decision-making and a multiplicity of expression.
Since Zoukak’s inception and with each new project we strived to find new ways of collective creation, springing from our understanding of theatre as collective work done by diverse individuals.
Over the years we have also been applying theater on various levels: social, psychological, and educational. We developed a special approach to drama therapy and socially engaged theater, giving workshops and training sessions and devising performances in different Lebanese regions and in various contexts, finding ways to connect our social interventions with our artistic investigations.
On the other hand and in our endeavour to develop an environment of dialogue and reflection around the performing arts, we supported and expanded a network of diverse practitioners, by organising cultural events that joined us and our audience with artists from lebanon and around the world (Europe, USA, Asia and the Middle East region)through workshops, residencies, performances, lectures, encounters and discussions around theater, dance, live art, playwriting, architecture, drama therapy, education, and cultural policies; in an attempt to provide a space for practical exchange and critical thinking about these practices.
This space was concretized with Zoukak’s studio, which opened its doors in 2008, serving in part as a free access rehearsal and creation space for local performing artists and remaining “the kitchen” of our entire project.