Storjakanta

‘Storjakanta’ is a beautiful mixture of the creative arts which started 4 years ago now, by the trio - author Trevor Zahra, singer/songwriter Corazon Mizzi and director Joseph Galea.  ‘Storjakanta’ to me is also about friendship, what it means to work at true relationships within the theatre circles and how to thrive once you’ve achieved that balance.  

This years’ play will be a bit different as it is the first time that they have focused on a theme - Christmas. I’m so grateful that each of them found the time to talk to me, about what this journey means to them, how it has changed over the years and perhaps most importantly, what it means to work and explore their passions! 

Unfortunately Trevor Zahra will not be taking part physically this year, but he is most definitely still part of the team and spirit as the script will still be his, and he has (as always) taken care of many of the props to be seen on stage! Two of which are these beautiful stained-glass like angels, illuminated from behind.  

There is a beautiful feeling of camaraderie here as Trevor confides that he has missed the sharing as well as the rehearsals as they were always a real joy to be part of. “There is a synergy between us, we are true friends and we have been for years, so we enjoy each other’s company and we understand one another with the fewest of words … so not to be there physically for the rehearsals was something I missed very much and so did they. Having said that Joseph and Corazon still make me feel that I am part of the team.”  

So I ask, what has it meant for you to carry on working without Trevor being there physically - how has this affected the dynamics? 

[Joseph] It is truly heartbreaking and was it not for him I would have most probably given up.  But he pleaded with us to go on with the show and here we are.  I am fully aware that the huge success of the past three editions of ‘Storjakanta’ lies in the involvement of each of the three of us.  Trevor will not be physically present but the audience will still feel his presence throughout the script and artwork, which he is totally responsible for.  We are in constant contact and I’m always updating him with what’s going on through the process. 

[Corazon] Yes, Trevor is always very much present - we are interpreting his work and he is always a point of reference for me and my colleagues. Trevor is an outstanding individual and he is sorely missed! Obviously we look forward to future productions and future occasions when we will be able to have him with us actively once again.

So now that the dynamics have changed, will it just be the two of you or will there be someone replacing Trevor? 

[Trevor] Now there will be various others taking part. There will be Neville Refalo, John Vassallo, Martina Galea Loffreda and also a small children’s choir - because we felt that there would be something missing about Christmas without children. The children will be a part of the choir though they will also be acting in some ways too. 

[Corazon] The choir will be interpreting well known Christmas Classics like 'Mistletoe and Wine', 'Let it Snow' 'Walking in a Winter Wonderland' 'Deck the Halls'. Trevor wrote the Maltese lyrics to these well-known tunes. The choir is being directed and accompanied by Abigail Brown. 

[Joseph] I would like to officially thank the highly talented artist Neville Refalo who is now replacing Trevor as well as all other members of the cast and children’s choir. I really appreciate their commitment at such difficult times.

How was it to work with children, when this is usually very much an adult piece? 

[Trevor] Yes we were aware of this, now you know it really depends on the ages of the kids. We’re not talking about 4 year olds here, we’re talking about maybe 8+. But yes we paid attention to this, also because it’s important that all there is in the play can be understood by them. Of course in a work such as this there are different levels. Let me explain. Children will experience and understand the first layers of the pieces and sketches, but then the adults can appreciate a deeper level to them. If you read Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland most especially, children will read and enjoy them but the adult will find something there that the kids might not.  These levels are important because you know whoever is reading, or seeing in this case, will find something of value for them. 

[Corazon] Initially, our idea was to have a huge choir of talented children taking over our production. We had to reduce the choir to 7 members, and we had to make sure they were very talented and disciplined individuals who could not only sing very well but who could observe protocol. It was not easy, we would have loved to have a large choir, the agitation and the excitement that such a large cast brings along, but we had to adapt to the circumstances. All this being said, we are very happy with our choir members: despite their young age, they are very talented and responsible individuals who have not disappointed us in the least. We had the opportunity to get to know them at close proximity and look forward to involving them again in our future productions.

But I’ve gotten ahead of myself, how about we start at the beginning. How was ‘Storjakanta’ born? 

[Trevor] The idea was that of Joseph and Corazon to combine her music and songs with my texts and find a common thread. The first three years the performance was held on University grounds in the summers. It would be just the 3 of us on stage, acting out, improvising and creating a conversation really. It’s a beautiful marriage of playfulness, teasing and confusion all in one. It is almost what you would see in a rehearsal - a ‘prova’ in Maltese which implies a form of ‘trial’ or rehearsal. 

This year the performance is being held at Spazju Kreattiv, St. James (Valletta), with a Christmas twist as both Corazon and I have a lot of work related to the theme. I have many Christmas Carols adapted and translated into Maltese as well as many sketches.

[Corazon] I think that ‘Storjakanta’ has given added meaning to my music and my work. It has also given me an opportunity to grow holistically as an all-rounder artist. Through ‘Storjakanta’ I have the opportunity to act, to sing, to play the piano, to present, and this year also to paint! I would not go so far as to say that ‘Storjakanta’ has made me a painter or an actress, but it has surely given me some solid training and experience in the field which sticking to my music and singing would not have given me. Working as a team on a common project and the excitement involved in the preparations is really the highlight of my year. 

“Through ‘Storjakanta’ I have the opportunity to act, to sing, to play the piano, to present, and this year also to paint! … it has surely given me some solid training and experience in the field which sticking to my music and singing would not have given me.” - Corazon

Since all three of you come from different backgrounds, how does it work once you’re all on-stage? Does everyone cut-off from who they are outside, in real life? 

[Trevor] With ‘Storjakanta’, not really. I always say how important it is to work with people who are not only professional, but who are also my friends, who I enjoy and feel comfortable working with. If there’s something I want to say, or something I would like to comment on I can do so freely without the others feeling awkward - we can communicate with ease, and this is what I have gotten used to. People are very important, and I want to enjoy my work. In our field it is rarely about money, we do it because we love it and we enjoy it. If someone is going to be difficult then it’s not pleasurable anymore and it’s not worth doing. If you’re part of a team you cannot be like this, because it’s as though you are part of a jigsaw puzzle - every part is needed and important. I am but one piece; and I only make sense the better I fit as a whole. It’s all about give and take. The most beautiful element to me is not the final show, it’s the process. The whole process from initial discussions to building the script, these are the most valuable phases; it’s as though you have a plant which you’re watering and you’re seeing it grow and flower slowly. If the process was good then the final result will be good too! 

“If you’re part of a team you cannot be difficult, because it’s as though you are part of a jigsaw puzzle - every part is needed and important.”  - Trevor

Being that there are so many people involved now, this time it’s probably not going to be on an improvisation basis … 

[Trevor] No, this time it is scripted. During the summer months Corazon, Joseph and myself worked together on a script so that every word is going to be rehearsed, as with any play.  With Joseph even the slightest of movements is choreographed, so there is a lot of attention to detail nothing is left to chance. All the actors will know and understand the geography of the stage, they know how and when to move which makes it feel more whole. 

How would you say that you see ‘Storjakanta’ has evolved from the first performance to this year - how does it adapt and take form? 

[Trevor] The first year Joseph and Corazon had attended an event, which I could not, and what they did was have Corazon sing and Joseph perform one of my pieces and it was a real hit! So we thought we should work on it, and for the first year it was scripted, and it was very much like an experiment. But then you yourself feel that you cannot simply take something that has worked - a formula - and simply repeat it. So you ask yourself “What can be improved? What can I add? What can I modify?” And this is how it has grown from year to year.

This is the first time we have had a particular theme, and this has been of great help to us. Because this time it is the theme that links elements together, whilst in previous years we would have to search for those elements and string them together.  

[Corazon] We were really looking forward to this special edition of ‘Storjakanta’ because we believed Christmas would bring a breath of fresh air to this production. Of course, the current situation has made everything more challenging and more difficult for us, and having a 'Christmas' theme would not allow for us to postpone the show to a different date or time of year. However I believe there is much positive to it - mostly that this production has really helped us delve into the Christmas spirit, at a time when Christmas is so unlit. It has also proven that art can circumvent any obstacle, including a pandemic.

Yes I totally agree, the arts can do so much! There are so many interesting elements to what you’ve both just said, but firstly how easy is it to see and find similar links or themes between your stories, Trevor, and Corazon’s music? 

[Trevor] It’s not always easy. If we are looking at a song in which Corazon is talking about disappointment in love, for example, then we would then go to my already existing writing and see what best goes with that. Sometimes the theme does not have to be so rigid and we find and use loosely linked works too. I have to admit that it is not always easy to link the events together and join songs with text and vice versa. There were times when we had to scrap songs or texts to introduce other ones, but this time it was a bit easier to do! 

This time I also wrote sketches for the occasion, so whilst before we used works I had already published this time we needed something different. We wanted to keep the balance between humour and the sweetness that is the Christmas theme. There is a lot of humour, but it is also very family oriented and has hints of nostalgia too.     

Can you share bits of the stories that you have put together? 

[Trevor] We have a story about Father Christmas, and how a mother would like her son to take a photo with him but this boy is frightened of Father Christmas. 

We also have a typical Maltese recipe that was prepared during this time called ‘xkumvatt’, which is a fried dough with honey and chocolate on it. The Maltese would make this when we of course didn’t have foreign desserts and there was also a certain element of poverty. But we will take this and place a certain humour to it. There’s also a small sketch of us, pretending to be teachers who are preparing a school play. So you see all of them are linked to Christmas, some of them are humorous whilst others are more serious. 

So it’s all going to be nice, humorous, vulnerable, and nothing to do with the macabre let’s say. 

[Trevor] It’s very much a family affair - let’s say that. Kids and adults will enjoy it, there are various songs in Maltese which have never been heard. We will not go into the macabre here, but we do talk about certain traditions. For example in our folklore we have the fictitious image of the ‘gawgaw’, who says that whoever is born at midnight on Christmas Eve will be punished for being so presumptuous (as to be born at the same moment as Christ), and as such will turn into a ghost every night. They say that the spirit of the damned soul emerges from the body to roam the streets scaring everyone, to then go back into the body at dawn (conveniently forgetting everything once awake), but exhausted of course. So the cure is to stay awake, and one of the ways to do this was by counting the holes in one’s sieve. And we will have a sketch on this, taking folklore and giving it a modern twist.

How is this going to work, given the situation we are in? Will there be only small groups and families allowed? Will it be held in a different part of St. James?

[Trevor] Mmm, this was a big problem in a sense. It is already a small space in itself, so what we did is contact the safety authorities and we worked with their procedures. When it comes to St. James’ round theatre, it can take up to 150 people, but we are only going to allow 50 people in. So there is really nothing to worry about, since families will be together and they will be seated apart from others. 

[Joseph] Spazju Kreattiv’s theatre is well known for its intimate environment and since our show revolves around Christmas we will be creating that magical Christmas ambience so that our audiences feel like they’re actually watching the show from the comfort of their home. We’re looking at creating a very relaxing intimate family Christmas ambiance.

What have the challenges throughout this season been? 

[Joseph] Theatre has always been a very challenging industry.  It was never easy to finance theatre productions by attracting adequate audiences to the theatre. Challenges have now multiplied and what before was common practice has now become a challenge.  We need to ensure a high-quality production whilst securing the health of our cast members and audiences alike and that is quite an ordeal.  We would have wanted a much bigger choir of children, as Corazon said, but had to opt for a smaller one.  We’ve had to minimize the number of rehearsals, limiting ourselves to full cast rehearsals only during production week.  The financial aspect got even tougher because theatre maximum capacity is now less than 50%. However as artists do say, ‘The Show Must Go On’ and we are very happy we can still perform our Christmas family show in the Capital City.

  “ …‘The Show Must Go On’ and we are very happy we can still perform our Christmas family show in the Capital City.” - Joseph

What does it mean to still be able to perform - the resilience, the will to carry on regardless - even as theatres abroad have had to close ... 

[Joseph] It’s a constant struggle against the unknown.  It feels like we’re in for surprises every single minute. This uncertainty creates a lot of tension but artists do love challenges and it feels so good to still be able to connect with our audiences no matter how small. At times when bigger projects are not feasible, it’s almost a blessing  that through such small-scale projects we’re also giving hope and offering entertainment to regular theatre-goers.

In many ways it’s very nice and different to be such an intimate group. Because for the actors having so few people, it might almost feel like a rehearsal. What do you think the dynamic will be like? 

[Trevor] You’ve picked up on something I really feel. I love St. James and I’ve worked there a lot. You know the beauty of the stage is the interaction between the actor and the audience. Now when you’re working in a big space with a wide divide between stage and audience, you cannot do a certain style of theatre. But here, and given the style of ‘Storjakanta’, you almost have the audience as not only spectators but as actors as well. Do you understand? They are so much part of the narration and the space itself, and St. James already allows for that interaction. With such rigid regulations when it comes to numbers this will only be highlighted. There’s a silver lining to most things, and in this case this is it.       

Yes, that’s lovely. And you know since they’ll be such small groups then maybe the kids won’t feel awkward and the parents won’t feel the need to shush them if they start to sing along or participate … 

[Trevor] Exactly and you know there will be times when we ask them to participate. After all the beauty of the theatre, is the theatre as an experience. One of the differences between the theatre and the cinema is just this - in a cinema you remain a spectator, in a theatre you are able to share the experience and participate. Besides the fact that each performance is different, so every time it will be a different experience.        

“After all, the beauty of the theatre is the theatre as an experience … in a theatre you are able to share the experience and participate.” - Trevor 

What about some pleasant surprises perhaps? 

[Joseph] Upon entering the theatre one will surely admire a work of art by Trevor which I do not want to reveal anything about. It will definitely portray what a complete artist he is. As mentioned earlier the show does not revolve around any gimmicks but it is the strong intimacy between the artists and the audience that might prove to be quite surprising.  Not to mention the fact that every story penned by Trevor has its own twist.

What would you like the parents and the kids who come to see Storjakanta, to take away with them? 

[Trevor] We decided to have the performances in the beginning of December because we wanted to open the Christmas season. The spirit of Christmas remains - family, joy, freedom - this is the essence of Christmas and we hope that this will help the spirit of the season come through. 

You know, every year during this time I enjoy picking up ‘Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens. This is a book I love and every time I am able to find something new in it, but probably most importantly in this book you find the joy that is the Christmas season and it puts me into the same spirit. Maybe in a more humble way, we too are able to give this gift with ‘Storjakanta’. 

“The beauty of ‘Storjakanta’ is that it is funny and emotional at the same time, and this rollercoaster of emotions is what makes us human.” - Corazon 

[Corazon] I would love to believe that audiences watch ‘Storjakanta’ primarily as a form of entertainment. The beauty of ‘Storjakanta’ is that it is funny and emotional at the same time, and this rollercoaster of emotions is what makes us human. We want to preserve this authenticity in our productions: this apparent simplicity which in reality is complexity, resolved. 

[Joseph] Yes, we are very much focused on creating that magical Christmas Spirit in such an intimate environment.  That is why throughout the show we will be portraying those simple yet meaningful Maltese Christmas traditions that are slowly dying out: the procession with baby Jesus, the Christmas Sermon, traditional Maltese Christmas delicacies, the photo with Father Christmas and the myths associated with this time of year will surely bring pure nostalgia in adults. I feel confident our family Christmas show will instil a nice traditional Christmas feeling in all those attending.  

“We want to preserve this authenticity in our productions: this apparent simplicity which in reality is complexity, resolved.” - Corazon 

Yes of course, I love what you’ve related this to Corazon - “an apparent simplicity which in reality is complexity, resolved” … that is very much the meaning of an authentic life to me. Maybe if we could pause on the silver-lining to be found here, then maybe we can appreciate that we can go back to the basics of what Christmas means - family, gratitude, togetherness … 

[Trevor] Exactly, I’m saying nothing new, but nowadays Christmas has become very commercialized and for many maybe Christmas is only the outer leaf - going out or to family to eat, buying and receiving gifts - these are all beautiful things but they are not the essence of Christmas. It’s about the people we would have maybe forgotten throughout the year, or experienced certain differences with and so this is the time to fix that; I believe these things are important. And you know, getting into the spirit of Christmas is a very beautiful and important thing, so if ‘Storjakanta’ can do this in the smallest of ways then we are happy.  

If there’s something to take away from this beautiful friendship and the great collaboration it has produced - that which is shared with us, with others - then it is truly to go back to basics, to search within ourselves and to be authentic, to love sincerely and to be merry. 

Merry Christmas, Every One! 

Details 

Dates: 6th Dec at 7p.m. - 11th at 8p.m. - 12th at 5:30p.m. and  8p.m. - 13th at 4:30 p.m. and 7p.m.

Duration: 1 hour (1.5 hours max) 

Bookings: log onto kreattivita.org/en/event/storjakanta-tal-milied