Past Programs

Update: Watch a recording of this talk with Iymen Chehade here.

Join our Co-Artistic Director and Founder, Iymen Chehade, as he explores a brief history of Palestine and Israel for the event Seeking Truth and Justice in Palestine and Israel. This discussion will take place at St. Chrysostom’s Church on October 14th between 7 pm and 8:30 pm, both in-person and live-streamed.

September 30: Current Conditions in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem

Jehad Abusalim is Education and Policy Associate, Palestine Activism Program, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and a Ph.D. candidate in History and Judaic Studies, New York University.

Jennifer Bing is Director, Palestine Activism Program, AFSC-Chicago, and has held various positions with AFSC’s Palestine-Israel programs since 1989. 

Mai Kakish Khader is Director of TEE Arabic Language & Culture for Children of Arab Diaspora, a board member of the Seraj Library Project, and founder and writer of Almondandfig.com.

October 14: A Brief History of Palestine/Israel

Iymen Chehade is a Lecturer on Palestine, Columbia College and School of the Art Institute-Chicago, and founder of Uprising Theater, which aims to amplify the voices of Palestinians and other marginalized groups.

October 28: A Jewish Perspective on Palestine/Israel and Zionism

Rabbi Brant Rosen is Rabbi and founder of Tzedek Chicago and co-founder of the Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council.

November 4: How Christians Can Contribute to the Search for Peace with Justice

Canon Naim Ateek is a priest of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, co-founder of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center-Jerusalem, and co-author of Kairos Palestine.

The need for local blood donations remains high as COVID-19 vaccines become more available and people begin to resume more of their normal activities. We are once again partnering with our friends at Escape Artistry for another chance to give back to our community through a blood drive!

Coordinated through Vitalant (formerly Life Source), this event will be held on Wednesday, September 29th from 2-8 pm at Escape Artistry’s Time Gallery location: 1342 N. Milwaukee Ave, 2nd Floor. Supporting our community is literally our mission and we’re delighted to once again offer this opportunity.

Along with our friends at Escape Artistry we will be hosting a blood drive on Monday, March 22, 2021, from 2:00 - 8:00 PM, coordinated through Vitalant (formerly Life Source). The Blood Drive will be held at Escape Artistry’s Time Gallery location at 1342 N. Milwaukee Ave. 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60622.

The Story of Zahra, set in the early years of the Lebanese civil war in Beirut, tells of a relationship between a young woman and a sniper operating on her street. Adapted from the novel by Hanan al-Shaykh, we see Zahra's attempts to not just survive the war, but make meaning in her life, despite the limited options available to her and their potentially tragic consequences. Produced at the Palestinian National Theatre in East Jerusalem in 2020, this will be the first presentation of the play in North America.

By Rohina Malik

Layla is lost in Lala land. Television meetings in Los Angelos are bizarre. Networking meetings with Muslim TV writers are even more bizarre. As for Layla's father, he's lost in his own Lala, the dementia is getting worse, and he just wants Layla to come home. What do you do when you have dreams, talent, an empty bank account, and a parent who is slowly dying? Will Layla ever find her way out of Lala? The reading will be followed by post-reading comments with Rohina Malik and director Pirronne Yousefzadeh.

Layla - Susaan Jamshidi *
Dad - Khurram Mozaffar
Mom - Anita Chandwaney *
Kareem & Other Male Roles - Abraham Makany *

Male Roles - Mark Ulrich *
Alan - Ian Custer *
Female Roles - Kim Schultz *
Reading Stage Directions - Cara Beth Heath

Returning to Haifa By Ghassan Kanafani
Adapted for the stage by Naomi Wallace & Ismail Khalidi

In 1948, Palestinian couple Said and Safiyya flee their home during the Nakba. In the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, the borders are opened for the first time in twenty years, and the couple dares to return back to their home in Haifa. They are prepared - of course - to find someone else living where they once did. Yet nothing can prepare Said and Safiyya for the encounter they both desire and dread. The reading with music will be followed by post-reading comments with Ismail Khalidi

The First EVER Staged Reading of Layla in Lala, by Rohina Malik

Layla is lost in Lala land. Television meetings in Los Angelos are bizarre. Networking meetings with Muslim TV writers are even more bizarre. As for Layla's father, he's lost in his own Lala, the dementia is getting worse, and he just wants Layla to come home. What do you do when you have dreams, talent, an empty bank account and a parent who is slowly dying? Will Layla ever find her way out of Lala? The reading with music will be followed by post-reading comments with Rohina Malik.

Food and Fadwa, by Lameece Issaq & Jacob Kader

Meet Fadwa Faranesh, an unmarried, 30-something Palestinian woman living in Bethlehem in the politically volatile West Bank. Known for her delectable cooking and deep-seated sense of duty to her family and aging father, our kitchen maven insists on continuing the preparations for the wedding of her younger sister, despite the constraints of daily life under occupation. Politics blend with family tensions to create a sometimes humorous and sometimes heartbreaking meal. This new play melds the fight a Palestinian family wage to hold onto its traditional culture with its need to celebrate love, joy, and hope.

A dance party and performance evening for Uprising Theatre and 1for3., two inspiring 501(c)3 non-profit organizations that serve Palestine and celebrate Palestinian culture in Chicago and Palestine.

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PERFORMANCE LINEUP

Visual art, Silhouette Cutting, Film, Folk music, Dance, Poetry, and Performance brought to you by Colette Ghumin, Iymen Chehade, Mary Hazboun, Maren Rosenberg, Nidal Alazraq, Nina Nightingale, and Noelle Awadallah

DJ LINEUP

Ariel Zetina / CCL / Olin / SIGSALY

Youth From Gaza Tell Their Personal Stories About War and Siege: An International Project Advocating For The Rights of Children in Gaza. Ashtar Theatre's "The Gaza Monologues" reveal the human face of Palestinian youth with virtually no outlet to the outside world.

Chicago Reader Review

 A simple loving Palestinian family living in a Palestinian refugee camp in Ramallah struggles to keep their spirits up while under Israeli occupation. Forced to deal with check points, the Israeli military, and the fear of being blamed for crimes they have not committed.