News & Event

The tenth School Theatre Festival, organized by the Ministry of Education, continues on the stage of the Directorate-General of Education in Muscat Governorate. The festival is being held amidst an atmosphere brimming with vitality and creativity and is attended by a large number of theatre academics, educational supervisors, students, parents, and a number of artists and theatre enthusiasts.

The morning activities of the second day of the School Theatre Festival began under the patronage of Her Highness Dr. Mona bint Fahd Al Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor for International Cooperation at Sultan Qaboos University. The festival began with a solo musical competition by student Rital Al Taie from Maria Al Qibtiya Basic School in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate. This was followed by a theatrical performance: "Zahraa the Scarecrow," written by Naeem Fath Mabrouk, directed by Fatima Al Badia, and performed by students from Al Sa'ara Basic Education School in Al Buraimi Governorate. The events revolved around the elderly scarecrow, Bishara, who is considered one of the most skilled craftswomen in the scarecrow community. She is invited to the scarecrow school to speak to the female scarecrow students about the importance of traditional industries and crafts. There, she is shocked to find that there are those who oppose these professions and believe that they are not suitable for our current era of technology and artificial intelligence.

Following the show, Her Highness expressed her deep admiration for the level of the theatrical performance presented by the students, praising the distinguished performance and promising talents she saw on stage. Her Highness said: "I was very pleased to attend the student theatrical performance, and I was impressed by the artistic abilities displayed by the students, which reflect the extent of the skills they have acquired through this fine art, whether in teamwork, creative thinking, or expressive skills in recitation and acting, in addition to the creativity presented in the set design and other theatrical elements.”

For his part, Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Harrasi, Director of the Vocational Guidance and Student Counseling Department at Al Buraimi Governorate Education Directorate, explained that the play sought to highlight a set of important values ​​that directly impact students' lives, most notably: the importance of traditional crafts and the necessity of preserving and cherishing them as an integral part of Omani heritage. The show also carried a noble humanitarian message represented by the call for tolerance, emphasizing that the Islamic religion calls for harmony and cohesion among all members of society.

Dr. Mohammed Al Habsi, a theater academic and educational researcher, praised the theatrical performance, starting with the written script and directing, and the actors playing the scarecrows. He explained that the script was presented with a beautiful visual, with the harmony of the songs presented, which reinforced the idea of ​​the message that the writer wanted to convey. He emphasized this by saying: “The performances that were presented were no less professional than those presented in children’s theater, and what we witnessed indicates the great progress in school theater. Likewise, the twinning that took place with the actresses of the show gave the show beauty and complementarity.” However, he also indicated that it is necessary to work on the costumes that are appropriate for the social class of the theatrical performance’s actresses, since the scarecrow Zahra belongs to the poor class, while the others belong to the upper class. He added: "This show is an educational school play, and among its scenes is the class time. What we saw of some of the scarecrow students mocking their classmates, while the teacher remained silent and showed no reaction, is not logical from an educational perspective. Here, the director must pay attention to this matter."

The competitions continued in the evening, as student musician Ahmed Mohammed Al Kahlawi from Hay Al Turath School for Basic Education performed a piece in the solo musical performance competition. Students from the Directorate General of Education in North Al Batinah Governorate presented a theatrical performance entitled “The Path,” written and directed by Rashid bin Abdullah Al Buraiki. The performance revolved around the idea of ​​how a student can choose their university major, given the large number of majors and their branches in various fields and the changing names. Students in the selection phase in the tenth grade feel a sense of confusion in choosing their majors and educational paths. The events of this performance revolved around the student Salem, who is in the tenth grade, as he feels extremely confused about choosing the educational path he will study in the future. This confusion was accompanied by events full of suspense, excitement, and useful information about the different educational paths.

The second day of the School Theatre Festival included a training session for participating students, titled “Preparing the Actor from the Play Script to the Stage.” The session was presented by trainer Khaled Al-Dhuwayani, with the aim of developing the students’ skills in theatrical acting, as well as physical, psychological, and technical skills. The session also aimed to hone their artistic tools and train them on the skill of concentration and communication with the audience. It also aimed to explain the characteristics of an actor’s personality and what is presented on stage, and to familiarize them with various personal dimensions and other artistic complements such as lighting, makeup, and costumes, as well as linking these elements through the play’s directing team.