Founder's Journey
Mulberry Tree (MT) Founder, Diana Gerges
Biography
I discovered my passion for theater at a young age. I wrote my first play while I was in primary school. Since then, I performed in several plays at my school and during my college years, and I believed that one day I would achieve what I wanted from the theater field.
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While I was a student in the faculty of Mass Communication, TV & Radio department, Cairo University, I spent two years as an actress in the faculty theater troupe. In June 2012, I participated in the play "House of Bernarda Alba" as one of the main actresses. I was chosen by the director to be the first actress to open the play on the stage. I have joined in numerous independent theater groups such as "Shamaa and Malaha” and “Wlisa for Arts”.
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In my senior year, I worked as a cultural editor in local newspapers, covering concerts and theater performances. This experience exposed me to different kinds of art.
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After graduation, I worked in the disability field for four years as a learning and development officer with some NGOs such as Helm and Etijah. I assisted in conducting several programs to raise awareness for persons with disabilities (PwDs), highlighting their capabilities. Beside that, I designed an etiquette course for dealing with PwDs in Egypt.
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While I was participating in “the House of Ghosts” play as one of the main actresses, my friends (PwDs) was attending the show and had some difficulties with the accessibility of the theater and that made me wonder why we don’t have a fully accessible theater in Egypt that can serve all sort kind of audiences. And while I was conducting a training for PwDs, a visually impaired girl recounted her experience when she wanted to join the theater team in her college, but she was refused because of her visual impairment. I wondered why we don’t have a theatrical troupe including PwDs in Egypt?!!
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In 2020, I have founded the Mulberry Tree (MT) Initiative which has been registered as an formal entity in March 2022. MT seeks to create an access point for PwDs in the art and culture scene in Egypt. MT is awarded by Nahdet El-Mahrousa as one of the best ideas in the theater performances in El Garage Ideation, 2020. MT has been selected as an inclusive Egyptian theater institution to participate in the Basita.Live Fellowship, 2021.
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In June, 2021 MT implemented the 1st inclusive theater program including 50% persons with disability. The 2nd and 3rd rounds were designed in cooperation with Studio Emad Eddin and Orient for film and theater production. The workshops included 70% PwDs of total participants (Visual and Physical disabilities) in July and October, 2021 and in March, 2022. The 3rd round was designed and cooperated with Al Nour Wal Amal Association.
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In March 2022, I was Awarded by Egypt First Lady; ENTESAR El-SISI in Icon of success in the International woman day as one of influential women in Egypt working on inclusion of PwDs in the art and culture scene in Egypt.
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In August 2023, I got the Fulbright scholarship year 23-24 to research and study the inclusive theater in the USA under the supervision of Prof. Sally Bailey, who
is a professor of theater, the director of the Drama Therapy Program, and a member of the Gerontology faculty of Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas.
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Being in the theater and disability field taught me that there is no impossibility in achieving goals. It made me train my different senses in theater and acting. I gained experience in leadership not pushing myself only to achieve my goals, but pushing others to achieve their dreams. My eyes opened to many misconceptions I had about the term “Disability”, identifying the disability related to the inaccessible environment not related to the person.