"BuSSy' is a project intended to empower women and raise awareness about women's issues through creative means.

In 2006, 2 AUC students began directing a performance based on stories of Egyptian women about their memories and experiences of womanhood. The monologues exposed real women’s stories and provided a space for free expression on issues that society was failing to address.

The performance allows people to write for themselves instead of being written about. We are not professional artists; we are a group of passionate, enthusiastic youth with strong faith in the value and impact of the project. 

In 2010, BuSSy transitioned from a university-affiliated group to an independent theater project holding a number of performances on various stages outside of AUC. Over time, BuSSy performances began incorporating stories from both women and men. Today, the project extends beyond “women’s issues” as BuSSy now aims to tackle the complexity of gender issues from the perspectives of both women and men.

Why theater? Because we felt that this would be the best way to reach a large body of people while providing the story tellers - women and men - with a direct opportunity to publicly reclaim the truth as they experienced it.

Our stories reflect a reality we are living with regards to gender issues that are experienced by all members of society, irrespective of class and background. We try through our performances, to reach the public directly, and expose that which society ignores.

Bussy has recently begun offering Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) workshops, instructed by applied theatre practitioner Dahlia Sabbour.
Based on a Brazilian methodology created by the late Augusto Boal (1931-2009), Theatre of the Oppressed is a series of practices and processes that attempt to use theatre as a tool for conflict resolution and problem solving, while focusing on notions of power in relationships and how they affect peoples' self-awareness and ability to be proactive personally, socially, and politically. Through its vast range of games and exercises, Theatre of the Oppressed addresses a wide variety of personal, social and global issues through the sharing of personal stories of oppression, fostering a sense of community between participants.
Dahlia offers TO workshops throughout the year on a monthly basis. For more info on her workshops, visit:
www.facebook.com/groups/WeAreAllTheatre/


2006-2009
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BuSSy held annual performances at the American University in Cairo's Howard Theater from 2006 to 2009. Each performance ran for 5 nights and held an audience of 150 guests.

July 2010
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In July 2010, The BuSSy Project struggled to find a stage for its annual performance. Finally, we succeeded in setting up a stage next to a cafe and on a section of a parking lot at the Opera House in Cairo. It was a 2 night deal, but on our second night, censors, who had already heard about the performance but failed to understand the purpose of the monologues, came to the performance to make sure we abided by their red tape. The BuSSy team then made the decision to mime the lines in the scenes that were censored while proceeding with the performance as it was rehearsed.

Following that performance, Khaled Aboul Naga expressed his support for The BuSSy Project and offered right away to produce it for filming in an attempt to document it and preserve it for future generations.

February 2012
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BuSSy in Mahatat
In February 2012, BuSSy collaborated with Mahatat, and took a selection of its monologues to the female carriages of the Cairo Metro, provoking a variety of interesting reactions from the public!
To learn more about BuSSy’s experience in Mahatat: http://mahatat-collective.tumblr.com/post/18490819444/bussy

March 2012
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BuSSy in D-CAF Festival
When invited to perform in D-CAF censorship festival in March 2012, BuSSy did not hesitate to share a selection of its censored monologues from its 2010 performance.
In order to simulate the experience, the monologues were first mimed to the audience, as presented on the 2nd performance night in 2010, followed by an uncensored performance of the same material.
This performance was followed by a discussion about the issue of censorship. To learn more about the performance and the discussion:http://rowanelshimi.org/2012/05/bussy-project-tells-untold-stories-of-women-in-d-caf/

July 2012
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BuSSy 2012 “ya 3asal”
In July 2012, and in collaboration with harassmap and Mashrou3 El Mareekh Open Mic, Bussy presented “Ya 3asal;" a selection of new BuSSy stories focussed on the themes of harassment and the body. This is a work in progress that continues to develop with new stories and additions around the theme, with future performances to come!

July 2012
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BuSSy Street Experiment
In July 2012 BuSSy group took to the streets and staged 3 different harassment situations to test the reaction of the public on the street, and recorded the reactions of both the people on the street and the participants in the experiment.

September 2012
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BuSSy at Hakaya Festival
BuSSy participated in the annual Hakaya storytelling festival in Amman in September 2012. The performance was based on the personal stories of the storytellers revolving around the perception of the male and female body in the Society, a development on the former performance in July 2012 in Darb 1718.

October 2012
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BuSSy "Betbossolha keda leh?"
In October 2012, and for two consecutive days, BuSSy presented four performances at El Warsha Theater Troupe. The performances developed on the theme that was introduced in BuSSy's performance at Darb 1718 in July 2012. The theme and concept were first created at a workshop discussion surrounding the experiences and stories of the participating men and women about how the body is perceived in Egyptian society.

October 2012
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BuSSy at Menassa
In October 2012, BuSSy traveled to Beirut, Lebanon for a meeting of Arab artists at "Menassa for Contemporary Arab Theater." BuSSy participated in the presentations and discussions about the evolution of contemporary Arab theater that took place in this meeting. 

November 2012
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BuSSy at Library of Alexandria
BuSSy's trailer was screened at a conference raising awareness about violence against women on November 25, 2012. The conference at Bibliotheca Alexandrina was open to the public in collaboration with several public figures and youth initiatives. 

October 2013
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In October 2013, BuSSy traveled to Lyon, France to participate in Festival Sens Interdits, a theater festival that takes place every two years. The performance focused on the women's relationship with their bodies and how the society's perception of female body affects this relationship. The performance ran for three consecutive days in the Elysee Theatre.

4 December 2013
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BuSSy reproduced the performance it had shown in France, on Rawabet Theater downtown Cairo.

21st December 2013
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Bussy Project in partnership with UN Women held a special storytelling performance to celebrate 16 days of activism global campaign to combat violence against women (25 No – 10 Dec). the performance presented personal testimonies of female survivors of violence and reflections of men and women about the topic. 

28th April 2014
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The performance is the fruit of a story telling workshop that started in Alexandria in February in collaboration with the Goethe Institute in Alexandria. the workshop consisted of various training and storytelling sessions in an attempt to break the taboos, and to encourage the participating group to share their personal experiences as the young generation of the Alexandrian society
General Information
"BuSSy' is a project intended to empower women and raise awareness about women's issues through creative means. We aim to give voice to women who feel voiceless. Get involved! Send us your story!

Volunteer Form: For those interested in helping us tell stories!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dG5jQmVjLWZDRlJrQjc5bC03X3RFSVE6MA#gid=0...See More