"if you love something, then it's important." Lana Nasser (The Netherlands)

What was your first experience of theater that converted you to wanting to pursue it as a career?

I think I was about 8 or so... I started writing little poems, perhaps to emulate my father, a university professor, poet and writer.  An event was taking place at Jordan University, and my father put me on a stage, before hundreds of students and faculty, to read my poem.  Me, a little kid, in front of all these adults ... it must have left a mark, encouraging me to write giving me the confidence to perform. 

If you could have a drink with any dramatist (living or dead) who would it be and why?

Oscar Wilde ... an eccentric character.  And Ingmar Bergman .... a master and inspiration.  

Why is theater important to you?

Why is theatre important .... I could go on about the power of theatre to change society, to reinterpret the past, scrutinize the present, and envision the future, to tackle taboos and say SOMETHING.... I could go on about the magic of the theatre, the lights, the smell of the stage, and the learning that happens to artists and audiences .... but all that comes from the head - it's been said before... the thing is, you either love it, or you don't ... and if you love something, then it's important.

What advice do you have for new playwrights?

Just write and think of how your words shape society ... what is the story you want to tell, what is the future you want to paint? remember that you know it all, and that you know nothing at all ... have fun with it, and make it truthful ... for at the end, nothing means anything, and anything could mean everything. 

Lana Nasser (The Netherlands) Writer, performer, theatre-maker and translator, with a research background in Consciousness and Dreams, and a passion for dance. Her dramatization of the ensemble playTaman Banat gave her the title of director; and an award for her monodrama In the Lost and Found: Red Suitcase gave her the title of playwright. With an underlying feminist agenda, she co-founded Aat network of women artists in Jordan, and directed their Annual International Women's Day festival since its establishment in 2010. Lana leads creative expression and empowerment courses for underprivileged women and youth, specialized journeys to sacred sites in Jordan, and artistic environmental and peace campaigns. With academic publication, creative articles, and dabbles in poetry; she is now working on her first book. Jordanian-Palestinian by origin, American by citizenship and education, she is now living in the Netherlands.