Saviz Foroughi - Over a Coffee

Saviz Foroughi - photo by Nigel A JAMES

Heart Strings

Living the life of a dream means having the strength to follow the path of one’s choice. This is not always easy, and Saviz knows best. There is the pressure to do that which is normal, and there are those who always know better. But, despite all of this, Saviz has succeeded in becoming herself.

Saviz works in the Schönbrunn Puppet Theatre in Vienna, and she is unseen, for she is one of those who are pulling the strings!

And it all started when she was a child in Iran. Like all little girls she loved playing with her dolls, but, unlike the others, Saviz was already living the life that was growing within her. Her little dolls were the actors in her home-spun theatre, and her neighbourhood friends were those queuing up for a seat in the stalls.

School followed and Saviz grew up. And then came the crossroads. After successfully saying goodbye to her school, and with top marks in her pocket, she found that her way forward had already been thought of and planned in great detail!

And so, following the desires of the hearts of the others, Saviz signed up for medical school. Everything was set for a life as a doctor; guaranteed and secure; and what could be better? But within her was always the pull of the stage.

And feelings that are real can not be suppressed, and so, after a while of doing that which was never to be, Saviz was back at the cross-roads. But this time she took the way of her wishes and found herself back on the path which was hers! A school of drama came next.

And then came the marionettes! Her childhood dolls had grown up and what Saviz was doing was real. Learning the art of pulling the strings wasn’t that easy, and it took almost 6 months to learn even the basics; and 3 years to master the art quite completely. And so she continued and the jobs started coming. And then came Vienna.

Vienna was for family; her husband’s job was there and Saviz followed. But, that what’s within you will always be there, and, after a while, she was once again pulling the strings. This time in the little puppet theatre in Schönbrunn.

And now, Saviz has another world, too. At home, she and her husband have two very nice children, a boy of 9 years and a girl who is 2.

But that’s not all! In between working and bringing up children, Saviz has time to sketch and write short stories, too. Her life is that of fulfilment and the satisfaction of doing that which she loves.

And, I wonder, too, who at the end of the day is really pulling whose strings? Maybe it’s the little people of the theatre who have Saviz in hand, and not the other way round! Who knows? Marionettes have not only characters and feelings, they also have souls!

http://www.marionettentheater.at/

nj.