Solo show 'Three Countries, One Mother' has Nepali actor digging deep into family story

An airy bamboo house has a breathtaking effect as you walk into the Balch Street Theatre in Akron.

The theatrical set represents the house where Bhutanese-Nepali-American Neema Bal was born and raised in a refugee camp in Nepal.

It's a set that's full of personality for the premiere of former Bal's highly personal "Three Countries, One Mother," a solo performance by Gum-Dip Theatre that will premiere Friday in Akron.

The house, which designers Kix and Chris Hariasz actually created with reeds, has a center pole where Bal's family gathered for rituals. Two alcoves in the home's back wall feature paintings of each of Bal's parents, created by older brother Khadga Tamang.

"If there was any troubles in the house, then my father used to do the rituals and ask for the strength for us, so that's what we're trying to capture here in the middle center pole," Bal, 25, said at the theater Tuesday.

Bal, born in 1996, said families helped each other to build their own bamboo houses in the refugee camp. What you don't see as part of the set for "Three Countries, One Mother" is the family bed, which in Bal's case slept all six family members.

That custom illustrates how physically close the Nepali-Bhutanese people traditionally are with each other. Most of his people are very proud of this, said Bal, co-artistic director for Gum-Dip Theatre.

"We believe like that we are a collective and everyone's like on top of each other," he said. "There is no self boundary whatsoever in my community, in the Nepali community."

This performer's play is inspired by the true story of his family, members of the Tamang tribe that is an ethnic group in the Bhutanese-Nepali community. The play's title reflects the Bal family's journey through displacement from Bhutan, living in a refugee camp in Nepal and ultimately moving to the United States in 2013 to form roots in Akron.

"It is really, really personal to me," Bal said of his family's stories that explore intergenerational trauma.

"Three Countries, One Mother" starts with Bal's parents meeting in Bhutan and later leaving in 1992 with their older daughter Harka and Bal's grandfather for Nepal. Their three other children — two boys and a girl — were born in the Nepali refugee camp, where Bal spent his first 17 years.

More: Former refugees discuss bridging cultures in 'Brokers Without Borders'

Their displacement from their homeland was part of the Bhutanese refugee crisis of the 1990s and early 2000s. As Nepali people in Bhutan, Bal's family was not allowed to practice their culture or speak the Nepali language. They also were required to wear the bakhu, the national dress of Bhutan, Bal said.

At the pole in Bal's camp home in Bhutan, traditional rituals involved the whole family, who gathered to sing, pray for their ancestors and ask for their strength, power and hope for the future. Their rituals were ingrained with a combination of Hinduism, Buddhism and indigenous shamanism. Items used at the pole include a silver bell and a big red Mahabharata book, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India.

Bal, who founded the Surawath Theater in the Nepali refugee camp, used to dream about practicing theater in America. Now, he's doing it full-time in Akron, also serving as facilities manager for Gum-Dip's umbrella organization based at Balch Street Theatre, the Center for Applied Theater and Active Culture (CATAC).

More: CATAC co-founders turn to quartet of young theater artists as new leaders

After graduating from Akron's North High School in 2017, he began acting with Gum-Dip Theatre in North Hill as well as New World Performance Lab, studying theater at the University of Akron until the pandemic started.

He and Katie Beck of Gum-Dip have been developing "Three Countries, One Mother" since 2019. The project received a $25,000 Knight Arts Challenge grant that year and also is supported by MAP Fund, Ohio Arts Council, GAR Foundation and the Akron Community Foundation.

More: Meet the Knight Arts Challenge Akron winners

Bal, who became a U.S. citizen in 2019, has done extensive interviews with father and and mother, who are among those who helped devise his solo play. Musical contributions are by Floco Torres and Dohee Lee.

In this solo performance, Bal goes by the artist name NimBrother, a take on the name Nimbhai, or Nim Brother, that reflects how people in his culture traditionally call each other brother or sister.

As Bal has delved into his family history to develop the play, he's gained a greater understanding of his father and mother's life. His father, who drinks alcohol and used to physically abuse his mother, believes drinking is the only way to live.

"In our rituals, we use alcohol all the time," said Bal, who explained that his father's alcoholism became worse in the crowded refugee camp.

The playwright, who does not drink, said he has been transparent with his parents about the family stories he's sharing in his play.

"Three Countries, One Mother" honors women and specifically Bal's mother, whose life has changed dramatically in the United States.

"Since she was young, all the men made a decision for her her until life until this moment," Bal said of his mother.

But that's changed now that his mother has become empowered in her new country.

"It's almost like she's discovering her voice that she had ... lost her entire life."

Bal said he's both nervous and excited to share his very personal stories through his play.

"I think I'm ready to share something with the Akron community," he said. "I am hopeful that having an opportunity for me to explore my story and share this personal story to let the Akron community know here, that would give them more understanding about my community."

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

Details

Play: "Three Countries, One Mother"

When: Opens 8 p.m. Friday, continuing through Aug. 14, 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and Mondays, 3 p.m. Sundays; no performance July 30

Where: Balch Street Theatre, 220 S. Balch St., Akron

Onstage: Neema Bal

Offstage: Created by Neema Bal and Katie Beck; devised by Neema Bal, Katie Beck, Benjamin Rexroad, Phul Bal and Lakpa Bal; Floco Torres and Dohee Lee, musical contributions

Cost: $20-$35

Information: catac-akron.com/three-countries-one-mother

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Bhutanese-Nepali actor shares family stories in play 'Three Countries'