12:46 PM Sunday, July 09, 2023
I wrote – Mona Al-Muji:
A number of artists, graduates of the Department of Theater Sciences at the Faculty of Arts, announced their anger at the statement of the company that produced the third part of the series “Why not”, which was issued hours ago, in which the production confirmed that the makers of the work did not intend to offend the department and its students.
A number of the department’s graduates considered the statement a new failure, and there were demands to apologize for the scene, which they described as offensive to them and the department, as well as to apologize for the statement, which did not present anything new and did not solve the crisis, according to their opinion.
Among the comments, the artist, Howayda Al-Hassan, wrote on Facebook, “I mean, far from the broken language and grammatical errors that are common in the statement. The writer of the statement is ignorant of the nature of the study in theater etiquette, because he imagines that it is a theoretical study, and this is not true at all. The only difference between us and the institute is that the first year General Bandars will be in it acting, directing, decoration and art criticism, and from the second year we will specialize in a practical study in which we will study the craftsmanship of acting, recitation, dance and theatrical directing, in addition to theoretical subjects such as aesthetics and philosophy.
And she continued, “I mean, Your Honor, I am a theater arts graduate, and yet I know how to draw a theatrical perspective and understand what I mean, good scenography. This is different from my study of fashion and lighting, and this was at the hands of the largest professors in Egypt, Dr. Louise Malika, the subject of perspective, and Dr. Ibrahim Al-Fou, the subject of lighting and scenography, and Dr. Hussein El-Ezaby. Costume course and of course with the help of our teaching assistants who became senior doctors Waheed Al-Saadani and Muhammad Saad with memorization of titles As for drama, we studied it at the hands of doctors Muhammad Shiha, Hazem Shehata, Dalia Bassiouni, Marwa Mahdi and other great teachers, the acting courses remain, take with you: a literal acting course (doctors and professors Ahmed Halawa, Samir Hosni, Khalil Morsi, Mustafa Hashish, Ahmed Abdel Halim, Sami Salah, Thana Shafea and others.
And she added, “And recitation is Khalil Morsi and Ahmed Halawa, then Dr. Najat Ali, and the dance subject – not my country – this is a subject in which we learn fencing and classical dance. It was Dr. Abdullah Murad. What is in the statement and its location is that it did not indicate an absolute ignorance of the nature of the study in theater etiquette.
As for the director, Manar Zein, she wrote on her Facebook page: “We reject the statement of the E producer production company, and we demand an apology for the scene and the statement.”
In another post, she said, “The problem is that I love this production company, but unfortunately this statement indicates a lack of knowledge and ignorance of the teaching system in the theater department, because the Department of Theater Sciences teaches art my work, and God Almighty is my work, with the same list of the Institute of Performing Arts, the same subjects and the number of hours, otherwise we would not have remained members.” Syndicate and practitioners of the profession, including professors, star actors and directors. I am sure that the one who boxed this statement is ignorant, racist, and settles accounts with the theater department. I love this company very much and respect it, and I was waiting for a completely different response.
And the artist, Noreen Maher, wrote on her Facebook account: “The truth is that the statement is the biggest evidence that it is an intentional error, and the issue is personal with the oath, and this is something more insulting than the scenes. Certainly our union will not accept this speech.” My work for the same came to relieve her blindness.”
The producing company had issued a statement commenting on the crisis raised, saying: “First, we would like to affirm our respect for all educational institutions that make a great effort in educating generations and graduating technical cadres, whether in the faculties of arts or the Academy of Arts. The series “Why not”, the third part, about the parties that work to teach acting, and that the dialogue was understood as an abuse of the efforts made by the esteemed professors in these departments or reduces the technical level of students and graduates. In fact, this is not intended at all, and the purpose in the scene was to distinguish between studying Theory and practical experience, even if not all parties learn the same in the same details, no more, no less, and we repeat our respect and appreciation to all professors, colleagues, dear children, students and graduates.
The Syndicate of Representative Professions issued an official statement addressing the makers of the series “Why not” and asking them to delete the scene of abuse of the “Theater Department – Faculty of Arts”, yesterday, Saturday, July 8.
The scene, which was shown as part of the events of the eighth episode of the series, came about a family visit, in which two artists from the new faces speak at work, one of them asks the other: Where are you studying? “Seriously.” The other replied: “Don’t tell me you want to act.” The girl told her that her friend “Nada” loves singing and acting, and she wishes to learn acting. The first replied: “We don’t really know acting. I mean…the Academy of Arts is the one that really sells acting.” But we have a theater group that you can try with.
The young artist, Muhammad Ali Rizk, criticized the scene and wrote on his personal Facebook account: “I am watching the series, Why Not, the third part. It is very widespread in our eastern society, but I saw the scene of Azuma in episode 8, and suddenly, at the end of the scene, two very nice actresses were discussing colleges.
And he added: “Of course, the Academy of Arts, the big house and the edifice whose longevity is filled with great professors and produced many important generations. Correction for the professors who wrote the series. No, regret. The Department of Theater Etiquette teaches acting diligently, and there are stars who graduate from the Department of Theater Etiquette, such as Fathi Abdel Wahhab, Sameh Hussein, Ahmed Fathi and Yasser Al-Tobji. And many others, and there are respected doctors who learn acting seriously.”
It includes the series Les La 3, starring Ahmed Tariq, Nadine Farouk, Moataz Hisham, Amir Salah, Samia Asaad, Hazem Samir, Alaa Al-Sinan, Farida Ragab, with the participation of Salah Abdullah, guest of honor Aida Riyad and produced by Abdullah Aboul Fotouh.
The series “Why La 3” continues to raise thorny social issues, especially those related to women, and how at times when we exaggerate sacrifice, we teach those around us selfishness. The events of the third season take place in 15 episodes, during which Nelly Karim embodies the character of a divorced woman named “Sherry”. She is Nelly Karim, and she has a teenage son who plays Moataz Hisham, and a young daughter who plays Farida Ragab, while the able actor Salah Abdullah appears as her father.
