النهار

BEIRUT: Due to her innocence, talent, and passion Ghinwa Sadek has become an iconic lovable character in the world of kids’ theater charming them with her exciting plays..

As a teenager, Sadek used to work at summer camps just to be around kids; 18-year-old Ghinwa still had a kid in her: she still wanted to draw, sing and act. So, she majored in both acting and graphic design.

“At university, when we were asked for logos or posters for banks or any other firm, mine would always involve many colors and kid sketches. I just couldn’t resist myself,” she said.

Sadek’s mentors at acting school included acting experts like Gabriel Yammine and Aida Sabra.

After finishing her studies, she starred in many drama series, yet, she still felt something was missing.

Jean Sadek, who was her colleague at that time thought that Ghinwa would make the perfect character for children.

Her colleague then became her husband.

To create the first play, Jean had to take a loan from the bank. Play after play, the character Ghinwa went on new adventures leaving a positive impact on children and teaching them lessons.

She later on founded a theater in Jounieh where she has been performing for the past 18 years.

“If a writer falls in love with you, you can never die. He was and still is my support system,” she said.

She also noted that the themes are chosen to be complementary to school programs to enforce children’s education.

Another source of inspiration for the couple is their two children: Maria who is two years old and Pio who is seven years old.

“Our kids have become a source for our creativity. My son was afraid of ghosts, and that gave us the idea to create a play about them. The purpose was to show children that ghosts don’t exist; they are just people in disguise,” she told Annahar.

As a kid herself, Ghinwa’s dream was to hit the stage with her favorite character “Chantale Goya”. She then decided to fulfill this dream with the kids who want to share the stage with her. She started an academy that teaches kids acting, dancing and singing. But not only that, the children will have the opportunity to be part of Ghinwa’s new play called “100% star” themed as a talent show.

She also started a nursery for kids called “La Garderie de Ghinwa”, where kids get to see her every day and enjoy days full of fun and education.

“Every time these children hurl up to me or stick their faces through the windows just to see me, I feel ultimate pleasure. I’m surrounded by angels,” she said.

Nevertheless, she faced many challenges throughout her journey. She doesn’t have a substitute for no one can replace the character “Ghinwa.” She can’t call in sick or take days off; she even had to hit the stage while pregnant.

As a mother, she advises parents to take their children to a play once in a while rather than only focusing on the “digital life” for entertainment. She emphasizes that the theater presents a live interaction, which is very essential. To encourage that, she provides “black weekends” where people get a discount to watch her plays.

The theater and the character “Ghinwa” still strongly survive after 18 years. She credits passion.

“Passion: You can’t buy it, you either have it or you don’t. My husband and I luckily share the same one,” she told Annahar.