Seeking Home: My first live journalism performance

I was initially drawn to journalism because I fell in love with the idea of telling stories, especially ones from my own community. 

They were special to me, sacred almost, and yet the way that they were depicted often came from an unfair, racist and xenophobic lens. Every time that I would see South Asians, Muslims or other marginalized and minority groups be unjustly misrepresented, I would also see how that would affect communities that I belong to, that I am a part of. 

It sparked a small light in me, which later developed into a passionate fire, determined to ensure that the voices of those who represent these communities would have a front row seat and say in how they are depicted.

During my time at journalism school, this fire was further ignited when I would get told to be completely objective when reporting. I did not understand how I was meant to leave parts of my identity at the door when reporting on communities that I belong to, that I am a part of. I made the decision pretty early on that I was going to make a career of authentic storytelling or none at all. 

I learned how to confront my implicit biases when reporting, how to lend empathy and compassion in my work, as well as being able to take a step back and see the bigger picture. These are all skills that journalists and faculty of colour have helped guide me through, but I often felt my spark fading, no matter how much support I received. 

After I graduated in 2021 I decided to start experimenting with different types of storytelling, looking for that fire to reignite.

That was when I discovered the pure magic of live journalism.

A couple of weeks ago, I performed my first live journalism show, and it completely changed the way that I perceive storytelling. 

Your job as a journalist is to inform audiences through stories, and most of the time, the only way a journalist gets audience feedback is via online platforms, such as Twitter. You do not get to see the reactions of people seeing your work live, whilst in action. This can often create friction and misunderstandings between audiences and how they perceive a journalist’s process.

Live journalism aims to bridge that gap between journalists and the public. To learn more about how exactly that is happening in Toronto, take a look at last year’s co-production, Harmed in Hamilton, produced by stitched! (external link)  and Talk Media (external link) .

When Talk Media’s founder, Adam Chen, MJ ‘19, asked me to perform my journalism for his latest Secret Menu Secret Sessions, it was an easy yes! He helped coach me in performing my first live show and now I look forward to more in the future.

At first, I was confused and slightly apprehensive but intrigued about what the process of live storytelling would look like. Let me walk you through some of the process and behind-the-scenes:

A couple of weeks before the performance, I met with Chen and Roveena Jassal, a reporter at The Star, for our first joint brainstorming session. It involved a lot of invigorating conversations about the different themes we all wanted to explore in our performances. At this point in the creative process I was pitching ideas as a journalist; as such, I had a natural distance created between myself and the stories I wanted to work on. Chen would remind me that live journalism gives me the opportunity to insert myself into the story. At first I wanted to write an opinion piece that I would convert into a script about the cultural differences I have experienced living in Toronto versus growing up in Qatar. I wanted to explore the idea of belonging and make this a cultural analysis on how communities are formed, depending on where you live. To my surprise, the final story ended up looking very different than what I had initially imagined.

At this stage in the creative process I struggled with finding the intention and focus for the story. Chen would often ask me: “What is this story about? Why share it on stage?” and that is what helped me find the centre, the heart of it. I decided that I was going to switch gears a little and speak about my experiences as an immigrant in Toronto. I chose this angle because I often found that stories about newcomers lacked an element of humanity to them, and sharing my story in an intimate, performance setting could show a different perspective. I started on my own research about immigrant traumas and journeys that newcomers have taken to be here. 

One thing I really enjoyed about this process was thinking about appealing to the senses. If I was to do this story in a written, audio or video format, I would not be able to create scenes and imagery, live. I was able to utilize different sounds, scents, sights, etc. to show the audience, in a literal way, what I wanted to convey. I was encouraged to think about multimedia components in an unconventional and yet creative way as well.

Once I had my script finalized I was able to give my story a name, Seeking Home. I practiced reading my story out loud to myself, several times to ensure that there weren’t any awkward sentences and that everything flowed together nicely - another practice I was unfamiliar with in conventional journalism settings. I also was unfamiliar with the flow of production in live performances: we spent between three to four hours in rehearsals, working with lighting and sound designers to bring some of my scenes to life. As I was rehearsing my story, I was able to get feedback from Chen and the production crew and make last minute adjustments to the script. 

I have never been someone who was used to the spotlight and especially never performing journalism, so I truly did not know how I was going to feel. Luckily, I had the opportunity to mingle with attendees at this show beforehand, most of whom were storytellers themselves. I was one of three journalists performing that night and a last minute adjustment meant that I would now be performing first instead of last. My nerves were difficult to get a hold of, no matter how many breathing exercises I did to calm myself. Seeing how nervous I was, Jassal, a reporter at The Star who was also performing, urged me to remember the reason why I was sharing my story, and suddenly I felt more collected. 

When I walked on to the centre stage and shared my story with strangers sitting in front of me, I felt that fire, that started as a slight flicker, rekindle and come back to life. A calmness swept over me. It felt like I had finally found that last puzzle piece, completing the full picture. 

I was able to gain valuable feedback from live storytellers, coaches and other attendees after the event as we talked about my work, which was very new for me. A couple of people told me they appreciated my delivery and that ‘silence was my friend’ as I took my time, adding a generous number of pauses throughout the performance. A moment I will never forget is when a storytelling coach came up to me and said that she felt like I was speaking to her personally the whole time.

It felt great to bring stories that were sacred to me, to life, in a way that felt right.

This live show has given me the opportunity to continue working with Talk Media, and to be coached by Chen, in some upcoming shows in the next few months. I look forward to continuing experimenting with this form of storytelling, engaging with community members and sharing stories in an authentic way.

If you would like to learn more about live journalism and upcoming Talk Media shows please visit www.talkmedia.ca (external link)  or follow them on Instagram @talkmediaca.