Improvisational Theater: Kurdish Folklore

A Game: Shewa

In Kurdish tradition, people believed in "Shewa," which was thought to be a demon resembling a woman, obsessed with newborns. When someone gave birth, Shewa would attempt to abduct the baby. Out of affection for the baby, Shewa would clutch the infant too tightly, causing it to suffocate. If a child died within 40 days of birth, people would say Shewa took them. It was believed that placing a pin in the infant's blanket would ward off Shewa.

Improvisational exercise

- Number of participants: 2 improvisers

- Duration: 3 to 5 minutes

The audience suggests a location, along with an object for two improvisers to use in the performance. The scene begins, and within the core of the sketch, one of the performers finds themselves in possession of the object, which was pointed out by the audience, and they either put the other performer in a difficult situation or hand it to them. Then, the receiver comes under the influence of the giver. The receiver behaves like a servant or a submissive child, agreeing to everything the giver wants. The person who no longer holds the authority (the giver) must now pass the object back, and the roles reverse. This means the first person (the previous giver) is now under the influence of the second person and has to obey everything without ever saying "no."

The object continues to pass between them like so, with the characters changing their status from high to low and vice versa.

Kawa and Zahhak: An Exercise

This game is traditionally played among Kurdish people with fourteen participants. A small box along with fourteen small slips of paper are used. On one of the slips, the name "Kawa" is written, and on another, "Zahhak" is written. The rest of the slips are numbered from one to twelve. The slips are then shuffled like a lottery, and no one knows which slip they will receive. The person who gets Zahhak's slip immediately grabs a hammer and asks one of the participants: "What is your number?" For example, if the person answers "seven," Zahhak hits them with the hammer seven times. Then, the hammer is passed to the person with the number seven, and they now ask someone else for their number.

If the number given is higher than their own (for example, if the answer is "nine"), the person with seven hits the one with nine twice. Meaning, the difference between the two numbers is the number of hits. On the other hand, if the number given is lower (for example, "six"), then the person with seven hits six times. The hammer is then passed to the person with the number six, who tries to find Kawa. The game continues until Kawa is found, and when Kawa is discovered, the game starts over. In this game, we established two guidelines:

Number of participants: 10 people

Duration: 10 to 20 minutes

The participants are divided into 5 groups. The facilitator writes a few challenges on small slips of paper and places them in a basket. Additionally, numbers from one to five are placed in another basket. Then, one challenge is drawn. Group one performs a scene related to the challenge they picked. After a few minutes, group two comes in and performs a new scene based on the same challenge, but they must raise the intensity and creativity compared to the previous group's performance, meaning it must be warmer, sharper, and more impactful. After a few more minutes, group three steps in and presents yet another new scene based on the same challenge, which should be even more developed and refined than all the previous ones. This process continues as group four and then group five each elevate the challenge further. This exercise can also be performed as a full audience game, suitable for a longer form as well.