Where are our cultural players in times of war, and what are they doing?

L'Agenda Culturel went to meet them, interview them and listen to their stories.

Sarah Atallah, actress. Lives in Beirut

How are you doing?

I can’t tell, I am experiencing new feelings and I’m not able to identify them yet.

What is your daily life like in a time of war?

A dear colleague (Flavia Bshara) opened a community kitchen. I try my best to be present there to distract myself. Otherwise, no routine is set, everyday is different; I try to meet with my peers as much as possible, I think survival mode leads you to connect. What is new to me is not being able to stay in Beirut as much as I used to before and this is the worse part.

How do you continue your artistic activity? 

The projects I was involved with got canceled, and I stopped writing my play. But I am meeting with some colleagues to brainstorm, to come up with anything, literally ANYTHING.

Our community has its struggles even in the time of peace so we can imagine the struggle today.

How do you see Lebanon's future?

Funny question, I guess we need to ask the world leaders. It reminds me of the feeling of waiting the decision of a producer after an audition. Even if the director wants you for the part, there’s a producer in the backstage who wants to please his client.

To overcome the fear and anxiety, what do you suggest to our readers? 

Everyone copes with anxiety differently but talking about it helps a lot. Seeing people and opening conversations can offer a big support. We need to remind ourselves that we are not alone.

Believe it or not, when anxiety hits, I find some peace watching the lightest shows ever, shows we used to call “a mistake”. Anything that shifts my brain from overthinking.

Any last words?

I have a feeling that this will be over, I don’t know how and when. But until then, collective effort is needed to avoid internal conflicts and art has a big role to play here.