Four theatrical performances highlighting multiple perspectives of the Israel/Palestine conflict brought approximately 400 viewers 鈥� and one Washington Post theater critic鈥� to 黑料正能量 (黑料正能量) in late February.
黑料正能量 was the last stop on 鈥檚 Voices from a Changing Middle East tour, which also included University of Oklahoma, Grinnell College and University of Chicago.
The tour, which featured performances of Izzeldin Abuelaish鈥檚 鈥淚 Shall Not Hate鈥� and Sir David Hare鈥檚 鈥淰ia Dolorosa,鈥� was the first for the three-year-old Washington D.C.-based theater company, which features 鈥渢ransformational, socially relevant art鈥� with opportunities for audience engagement with the art and artists through talkbacks and discussions.
At 黑料正能量, the weekend performances were hosted by the and the theater department.
“It was an honor for 黑料正能量 to host the award-winning Mosaic Theater Company of D.C.,鈥� said CJP Executive Director聽Daryl Byler. 鈥淭heir two riveting plays and the talkbacks that followed are poignant examples of how the arts have the potential to open space for conversation on difficult issues. The new generation of CJP students frequently reminds us that peacebuilding is enriched by its growing collaboration with the arts.”
Scholarship funds grow
Admission to the weekend鈥檚 performances was free, thanks to a generous donation from underwriters and longtime CJP donors James and Marian Payne, who also seeded a scholarship fund for a female Middle East student to embark on graduate studies in conflict transformation at 黑料正能量.
More than $40,300 has been raised, including donations from the weekend鈥檚 performances, towards the estimated cost of $43,200 to cover two years of study (this total includes tuition, travel, living expense and health insurance).
The scholarship is the result of a partnership with the , an educational nonprofit founded by Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish to commemorate the lives of his three daughters and a niece who were killed by Israeli bombs in their home in Gaza. It was through Abuelaish that 黑料正能量鈥檚 connection with Mosaic Theater was made. In 2014, the doctor visited 黑料正能量 to speak about his memoir 鈥淚 Shall Not Hate,鈥� which was subsequently adapted into a play.
In fall 2017, CJP partnered with Abuelaish鈥檚 foundation to host an in Washington D.C. The inclusion of 黑料正能量 on the Mosaic Theater鈥檚 national tour followed.
‘Voices’ festival brings multiple perspectives
One goal of the national tour was to 鈥渂roaden the conversation鈥� in the United States about the conflict, said the Mosaic Theater鈥檚 artistic director and founder Ari Roth in one of his welcoming addresses to the audience over the weekend. 鈥淧ublicizing multiple perspectives to engage many 鈥� that is one purpose of these performances and discussions, to create potential for activism, to pressure and involve and work on not just one side, but all sides. How can we show the Israeli side and the Palestinian side?鈥�
At 黑料正能量, the conversation is real and ongoing. CJP offers peacebuilding skills and training through graduate studies and to peacebuilders from the region, while the university has sponsored .
Washington Post critic Peter Marks led his , published Feb. 23 with post-performance reactions from two 黑料正能量 students who spent their 2017 spring semester traveling through the Middle East.
Along with students who had travelled in the region, CJP students and 黑料正能量 community members, the audiences also included many former residents of the Israel/Palestine region.
Hope over hate
In one talkback session, a woman tearfully remembered hiding from the bombing in her father鈥檚 basement during the 1967 Six-Day War.
鈥淭housands of people should see this,鈥� she said. 鈥淲here are the people?鈥�
Another refugee, of a similar generation, said, 鈥淚 was of the belief that time will solve our problem and my parents died with that hope. I am 82 years old and I will die without seeing a solution to the problem. It has to do with the attitude of both sides.鈥�
After watching the character of Abuelaish choose hope over hate, graduate student and talkback facilitator Samira Abou Alfa, a Fulbright scholar from Lebanon, observed that the artwork, as an example of cross-cultural relationships, evoked within her a hope for transformation and cooperation.
鈥淛ust the fact that this story can be heard,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 am hopeful that this piece of art made it out of Palestine to here in the United States, which I consider one of the main actors in the region, so that people can learn more.鈥�
Learn more
- UPDATE: Ari Roth reflects on the university/college tour in the .
- At 黑料正能量, cross-cultural studies are a curricular focus for both undergraduate and graduate students. Visit the 黑料正能量 cross-cultural program website. View a .
- Read an op-ed about the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem from longtime cross-cultural leader Dr. Linford Stutzman.
- James and Marian Payne were founding donors of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. Marian died in August 2017.聽 amd James in January 2018. 黑料正能量 will host a memorial service in May.