Betty Shamieh is a Palestinian-American writer and actor. She is currently a Van Lier Fellow at New Dramatists. Her solo performance work Chocolate in Heat, in addition to being remounted off-off-Broadway, will tour various theatres on the West Coast. Betty presented a monologue "Tamam" she wrote for the Imagine: Iraq Project at Cooper Union, which will be presented in London and New York at the Brave New World Festivals. She, along with a group of writers including David Henry Hwang, has been invited to contribute a new work for the Victory Project that will be presented at Columbia University's Miller Theatre later this year. She received a BA in English Language and Literature from Harvard College, MFA in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama and is presently a Professor of Screenwriting at Marymount Manhattan College.

SALAAM!
presents
NEITHER HERE NOR THERE

an evening of one-act play readings including

 

ArabDrama Collective's "Sajjil" with members of ArabDrama Collective: An Arab-American Theater Ensemble

Actors: Najla Said, James Asher, Editors: Katie Buck, James Asher, Production Coordinator: Afaf Shawwa

Sajjil, which in Arabic means "record", is a work-in progress that explores the struggle to define Arab-American identity.  Our process begins with interviews with Americans of diverse backgrounds which are transcribed, edited, and then performed exactly as they were recorded.  In this way we hope to represent the search for and re-appropriation of an identity amidst a cacophony of conflicting opinions, experiences, and misperceptions.

 

Deborah Grimberg's "The Honey Makers"

with Lopa Banerjee, Manu Narayan, Paul Van Etten, James Wallert, Puja Lalmalani directed by Geeta Citygirl

Taking place in an inner London corner shop, The Honey Makers tells the story of Lalita and Arjun, Ugandan Indians who have been exiled from their homeland and are forced to confront the hostilites and ignorance of British society, and their daily struggle to maintain their cultural identity in the face of assimilation.  The Honey Makers tells the story of the human need to maintain our identity and cultural heritage, while yearning for acceptance in an environment that is not our own.

 

Vijai Nathan's "Boy Meets Girl" featuring the one & only comedienne, Vijai Nathan

Guess who's coming to dinner? An Indian girl goes to Long Island to meet her Jewish fiance's racist parents- comedy & tragedy ensue.

 

Anuvab Pal's "Chaos Theory" with Ajay Mehta, Shaheen Vaaz, Sunil Malhotra, Puja Lalmalani directed by Geeta Citygirl

Chaos Theory traces  the eras, the loves , the words, the worlds, the ideas and the events that shape the lives of two professors that dwell in subtext and yet feel much more for each other than love can express.