More Events I Attended in 2026

I’m so sorry for writing so slow when it comes to capturing these lovely moments. Time flies and I have a lot to do. That’s just how my real life works these days. Plus, I’m still recovering from the wounds after the accident.

So, without further ado, here we go again:

“Becoming Storytellers: Chapter III” with Kaan Lativan, 28 February 2026 from 5:00 to 9:00 pm at Margin Library, Pejaten, South Jakarta

Since it was done during the month of Ramadan (a fasting month for Muslims), it started at 5:00 pm. This time, the workshop was split into three (3) session:

· Life swap.

Each of us was asked to write our own question on a piece of paper. It could be any question, related to our insecurities and wonders. We must write with honesty but then leave it anonymously.

After that, those papers were swapped. When we got other people’s questions, we had to take turns answering them on stage for two minutes maximum.

· Own the story.

We were put in groups of three. In each group, we must agree to use one story from one of us. The three of us would later take turns retelling that story in our own words to other groups. The audience must guess after that: who is the original owner of that story? Is it Person 1, Person 2, or Person 3 in that group?

· The listening room.

This session modelled a one-on-one therapy session. Each of us received a different problem on a piece of paper. Then, we took turns playing the therapist and the patient. The patient would talk about their problems (based on the paper they had), while the therapist’s job was to listen and try to offer some helpful suggestions.

Once again, this has been an interesting session with Kaan Lativan.

“Actors’ Night” with Kaan Lativan and Lizzy Chan, 28 March 2026 from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm, still at Margin Library, Pejaten, South Jakarta

This event felt more like a joint event between Improv Club and Becoming Storytellers participants. It was a night of practice, appreciation, and fun. Each participant was welcomed to perform any rendition or original story they wanted. In between performances, Lizzy challenged participants to do some improv performances.

My best friend and I performed a scene from our favourite classic film, “Dead Poets’ Society”. I was playing Professor Keating, while he was playing the shy student, Todd Anderson. The result was disastrous. Both of us had tried our hardest not to laugh, because the scene was so serious, and we didn’t want to disrespect it. It was lack of practice, I supposed.

I also did a dramatic reading on my own short story *“The Monster’s Child”.* Since it was also International Women’s Day, most people brought stories about women on the stage. Even Kaan did an amazing storytelling onstage. He told us a story about an old, homely witch who asked a young handsome man from a village to marry her. Since the villagers were afraid of her wrath, they urged him to agree.

Reluctantly, he did. On their wedding night, he slowly entered their bedroom … and was stunned. In bed, there was a young, beautiful woman — smiling at him.

“Where … is … the old woman … I’m married to?” asked the young man carefully. She still smiled her enchanting smile at him.

“I am that woman,” she answered. “She and I are one and the same. From dawn to twilight, I become old. From twilight to dawn, I become this young.”

The young man was speechless. Various thoughts ran around inside his head. Seeing him like that, the young woman smiled again at him.

“Since we are already married, you may choose which version of me that you’d like to see more.”

The young man considered his answer very, very carefully. Since she was still a witch, he was still afraid. Any wrong answer would result in her absolute wrath. After a few minutes passed, he finally answered:

“Since it’s your body, I think it should be your choice.”

The young woman’s smile widened, her eyes sparkling with joy.

“Then for you, I will keep looking like this — not just at night.”

Since that night, the witch remained a beautiful young woman for the young handsome man. The village people were relieved. They all lived happily ever after.

“Becoming Storytellers: Chapter III” with Kaan Lativan, 14 June 2026 from 10:30 am — 2:30 pm at Margin Library, Pejaten, South Jakarta

I always laugh when Kaan Lativan expresses his amazement with me:

“You’ve never missed my sessions!”

Of course not. If it’s something I really like, I make time for it.

So, what did we have for this chapter? Kaan came up with something different. This time, he guided us in an exploration to communicate in different ways. All methods were inspired by the basic ideas from “Sapiens” by. Yuval Noah Harari and “Free Will” by. Sam Harris. Imagine how two people who try to reconnect with one another after a considerable gap in their timeline. They haven’t seen each other in years. How will they bridge the gap?

We also did another interesting challenge. Each person stood in the middle. The audience offered him / her words to use for his / her story. The words had to be completely random.

Then, the person in the middle had to tell their story by using all the random words given. It was a very interesting challenge, especially since the story had to make sense despite the random words that might have been contextually unrelated to one another.

Okay, since I’m still recovering from my accident wounds, my apologies for the slow updates. The good news is, I don’t have to do any major surgery for now. I’m required to do a month of physiotherapy before the decision regarding the surgery gets to be finalised … or aborted.

Let’s hope it’s the latter, because — honestly speaking, I’M SCARED OF SURGERY!

Bibi