Azerbaijan has been a society on a journey--a transition--to “normal” for over two decades. Look up the word in an Azerbaijani dictionary, you will find two definitions: “as it should be; natural” and “mentally healthy”.

In 2012, a friend and I discovered we both fantasized about putting on colorful plays and performances in different corners of the capital, Baku. We also realized that if it were ever going to happen, we would have to start producing the performances ourselves. We braced ourselves to face all our worst fears: No one would support us, no one would want to volunteer to help us and, even if we manage to gather a group, police could stop us in the middle of a performance, or local residents would throw tomatoes at us or push for us to leave.