Artist Ghassan Maso’ud … We need SYP billion to develop theatrical project… Is theater a priority or is providing bread

At the invitation of the “Mada” group, an open meeting was held with the artist Ghassan Maso’ud, in the presence of a large audience at Dar Al Thaqafa theater. The meeting initiated with Hassan Okla,  who said that artist “Maso’ud” is an artist who is unlike anyone else and no one is like him. What brings them together is theater love.

In turn, the artist “Maso’ud” has indicated at the beginning of his speech that Homs is the city of culture and theater, as its stage actors had important contributions from the beginnings that were dedicated since the seventies until now, adding: “I should have found a time to visit Homs and meet with its intellectuals because I still love the theater and he who loves theater cannot get out of it and our relationship to the theater is similar to human relations.”

  The audience’s questions focused on the theater and the absence of the artist Maso’ud from presenting theatrical performances in Homs . “Maso’ud” explained that in 1989 he made a display of ” The Sour Grapes” on the Dar Al Thaqafa theater, adding: “My last two theatrical performances in Homs, unfortunately, did not materialize because of technical obstacles . Homs is a priority for me” .

On the characteristics of a successful stage actor, Maso’ud said: “A person cannot decide to be an important theatrical actor  … The whole issue has to do with the talent that God gives to man, then the effort of the man who crystallizes it comes later, there is something related to the true passion for the theater. Peter Brook defined the theatre as “Attention” and this is what is needed. There are details that the artist lives, which are usually a summary and stations of life and it is the quantitative accumulation that crystallizes the character of the actor.”

Maso’ud added: ” my relationship with the theater is exceptional .. it is a collective act .. the theater industry is associated with exceptional people not with a group .. It is a creative art in which the actor and the audience share the creative situation.”

In response to whether the theater represents a temporal stage, Maso’ud said: “The theater lives in a state of labor after severe years and we do not know where this situation will lead to .. The theater did not flourish in the 1970s,  there were attempts to revitalize the theater. I do not feel that anyone believes that theater is a necessity in cultural and social life. Theater is retracted, not only in Syria but in the whole region, where the theater has unfortunately turned into a mood.”

Responding to a question that If he becomes a decision-maker, what are the measures that he takes to restore and revive the theater? He said:” I do not seek to occupy any task or position and I will not be a decision-maker…. There are budgets amounting to SYP 200-300 million allocated annually to the theater, but we really need a SYP billion  in order to develop and execute a qualitative theatrical project…. Should these sums be paid to the theater or to secure people’s needs for bread, sugar and oil ? This decision is difficult as we are living in a state of labor”, he concluded .

Amal Farhat