ABOUT THE GRANT
- $23,500 to Victory Gardens Theater to support AMERICAN/PALESTINIAN (MAP 2019)
ABOUT THE PROJECT
AMERICAN/PALESTINIAN is a solo performance piece by Haifa-based actor/director/playwright Amer Hlehl. This is a personal exploration of United States race relations through the eyes of a Palestinian traversing the country in a car. He will meet Americans from all walks of life: African Americans, Latinx Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, white Americans, Middle Eastern Americans, LGBTQIA, disability, immigrant, undocumented workers, refugees, etc.
This work will enable Americans to experience race and their country through the eyes of an outsider, while uncovering commonalities and universalities in the struggles and triumphs of the disenfranchised living in nations on opposite sides of the world. Linking these American experiences to the artist’s Palestinian point of view will also give Americans a new and more personal insight to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Likewise, AMERICAN/PALESTINIAN will also provide a window to racial strife and politics for non-Americans.
Using first person interviews, personal reflections, photographic projections of the American landscape and original music, AMERICAN/PALESTINIAN considers the roles that religion, land, economy, history, and race play in the formation of our countries and attitudes. Initially written in English, the work will be translated into Arabic in anticipation of touring it throughout North America, Palestine, and internationally.
ARTISTIC TEAM
Amer Hlehel // Twitter