For the actors in Being Here: The Refugee Project, getting into the role meant something a little different. The play, created by Joel Bernbaum, is verbatim theatre, meaning these stories are presented in the person’s own words—false starts, filler words and all.
“We are speaking word for word, every ‘um’, comma, interrupted word and interrupted thought that the actual people spoke,” says actor Celine Stubel.
Verbatim theatre creates a unique challenge for those involved. The actors had to find the voices for their roles through a kind of investigation into the thought process behind each sentence, without ever hearing the voices themselves.
“When you’re acting, one of your main goals is to try to be as honest as possible, and so often that comes from getting to just put a lot of yourself into the role,” says Stubel. “But verbatim theatre [is] more about trying to be an amazing detective, [to] get to the point where you’re thinking the way that they’re thinking. It’s like this key that makes the words sound natural coming from you.”
Bernbaum conducted interviews with refugees and their sponsors across Canada, and along with director Michael Shamata, developed them into a format for the stage. The stories focus on the relationships between refugees and their sponsors.
“It’s all around the expectations of what brings people into this, as far as sponsors go—how expectations differ from real life and what human nature brings along with it,” says Stubel. “It also focuses on the stories of the refugees themselves and just the wide range of incredible circumstances that have brought them to this point in their life.”
The cast and crew at The Belfry were forced to modify traditional practices in new ways in order to present this work despite the challenges of COVID-19, from preparing virtually to filming the play for streaming rather than performing live.
“The most remarkable thing about rehearsing this play was how COVID has changed it,” says Stubel. “We rehearsed, for the most part, over Zoom. I filmed at The Belfry with a small crew in front of a green screen, so for any scenes where I’m with other people, they’re just going to put us together in the editing room.”
For her roles, Stubel presents the experiences of two women who sponsored families on their journey to Canada.
“What I found really interesting about both of these women is despite all of the challenges they faced, their attitude just remained steadfast—the attitude that, of course I would do it again and of course this is a good thing, and here’s why,” says Stubel.
Bernbaum played a hands-on role throughout production, providing actors with bits of direction on the flow of their lines and encouraging reflection on the themes within the stories they were tasked with sharing.
“Something that would come through again and again [was] the resilience and the positivity of the refugees,” says Stubel, “[to] somehow just have a steadfast positivity and strength.”
While this work was selected for the Belfry’s 2020/21 season prior to the pandemic, the changes we have all had to make over the past year might make the stories presented resonate more clearly with audiences. The experiences themselves cannot be compared, but our ability to adjust to our circumstances is central.
“The human nature to adapt is a huge part of this story,” says Stubel. “It’s hard to know what it takes for somebody to truly understand somebody else’s situation and have empathy for them. Somehow, I think people need a familiar lens to look through to feel more connected and I think that’s what this play tries to do.”
Being Here: The Refugee Project
Various times, until Sunday, March 21
$25, The Belfry Theatre
belfry.bc.ca