April 24 Playwrights' Forum

Is there such a thing as Arab/Muslim theatre? Or are Arab/Muslim playwrights doing work just as universal as, say, “Waiting for Godot”? What are the challenges facing Arab/Muslim playwrights working in the United States, and how does religion either contribute to or conflict with art?

On Friday, April 24, Levantine Cultural Center welcomes visiting playwright Wajahat Ali, whose play “The Domestic Crusaders” will open in New York at the Nuyorican on 9-11-2009. Ali will present “Crusaders” with select readings and discussion. Joining him in conversation is Lebanese playwright and director Elie Karam, who will engage the debate, and also talk about his most recently-translated play “Tell Me About the War So I’ll Love You.”

Tickets $10 (members and students with i.d. free). Reservations are strongly advised as space is limited. Call 310.657.5511. Visit levantinecenter.org.

“Theatre of the Arab/Muslim World,” April 24, 7-10 pm, Levantine Cultural Center, 5998 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90035 (one block east of Crescent Heights Blvd., ample street parking).

About “The Domestic Crusaders”

Wajahat Ali’s play focuses on a day in the life of a modern Muslim Pakistani-American family of six eclectic, unique members, who convene at the family house to celebrate the twenty-first birthday of the youngest child.

With a background of 9-11 and the scapegoating of Muslim Americans, the tensions and sparks fly among the three generations, culminating in an intense family battle as each “crusader” struggles to assert and impose their respective voices and opinions, while still attempting to maintain and understand that unifying thread that makes them part of the same family.

About “Tell Me About the War So I’ll Love You”

Five members of a close-knit family find themselves playing war games, but this is not your usual war, with the father as general calling the shots. Here, war manifests itself beyond desensitized, media-produced images, morphing into a show, an exhilarating attraction.

This family lives in self-imposed seclusion, cut off from the outside world only to create their own intimate reality: playing war. All day, everyday, like an ever-looping soundtrack, the ruthless General commands his own children, his loyal trainees and protagonists, to play out the brutal journey of martyrs, heroes, soldiers and civilians.

Bios

Playwright Wajahat AliWajahat Ali is a playwright, journalist, humorist, blogger, short story writer and Attorney at Law, whose play, "The Domestic Crusaders, was the first major play about the American Muslim experience premiering at the Thrust Stage of the Tony award wining Berkeley Repertory Theatre and is making its New York premiere on 9-11-09 at the world famous Nuyorican Theater.

An American of Pakistani descent, he was honored as an "An Influential Muslim American Artist" by the State Department and invited to their Annual Ramadan dinner. He was also recently honored as a "Muslim Leader of Tomorrow" for his journalism work and invited to participate in the "Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow" conference in Doha, Qatar. He is the recipient of Muslim Public Affairs Council's prestigious "Emerging Muslim American Artist" Award of 2009. He is also an Associate Editor of Altmuslim.com, the leading American Muslim online magazine; and a contributing editor to the award winning Illume Magazine. He was instrumental in the "Call for Swift Action Against Domestic Violence" in February 2009.  He is also a frequent contributor to the Washington Post, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Counterpunch and Chowk. His first movie, "Ms. Judgments," was a finalist for the prestigious LinkTV Muslim American Film Contest. His first short story, Ramadan Blues, was published in January 2009 in the anthology "Pow Wow" by Perseus/De Capo Press. Also, his blog, Goatmilk: An Intellectual Playground" is ranked in the top 7% of all political blogs.

Playwright Elie KaramElie Karam is an award-winning playwright, director and actor. Born in Muslim Beirut to Christian parents, he fled the Lebanese civil war to Vienna and Montreal to study Dramatic Arts. Relocating to post-war Beirut, he has written and directed several critically acclaimed plays exposing controversial issues in the Middle East. His eclecticism has led him to write for French literary magazines, teach workshops at the University of Toronto, work in advertising for Grey Worldwide as well as exhibit art work in museums and create a hit Arab TV show. He’s been invited as a resident author at the Royal Court Theatre in London and his plays have been performed at the Theatre du Rond-Point in Paris and La Mama in New York. His new play Tell Me About the War and I Will Love You received the prestigious Beaumarchais literary grant, the Lyon Author award and has just been published in France by Actes-Sud. It will be produced at the world-renowned Avignon Theater Festival in 2010.