POSTPONED: Rebels and Revels: An Exhibit and Symposium on the Theatre of the Middle East

Rebels and Revels: An Exhibit and Symposium on the Theatre of the Middle East aims to foster a dialogue about Middle Eastern theatre in North America. Due to the dominant political narratives of the region and assumptions about representational art in Islam, Middle Eastern theatre has been negated all together from discussions in US academia. This symposium, and the accompanying exhibition, will explore the ways in which theatre in the Middle East and its diaspora in North America has been shaped, and how the artists navigate Middle Eastern theatre history and the theatrical creative process. Consequently, the symposium will address questions such as: Is there a collective Middle Eastern Diaspora? How is it aesthetically realized? How are Middle Eastern American artists addressing and approaching their history?

The symposium is accompanied by a photo exhibition curated by Dr. Marjan Moosavi of the University of Toronto that focuses on the history of Middle Eastern traditional performance, adaptations, and original work between 1950-1970. Together, both events audiences to the here and now, thinking through the ways in which theatre in the Middle Eastern diaspora in North America has been shaped, and how the artists navigate Middle Eastern theatre history and the theatrical creative process. The symposium will end with a short performance.

The symposium’s keynote speaker is Dr. Edward Zitar, Professor of Theatre at New York University. Dr. Zitar is a theatre historian with particular interest in the intersections between European and Arab performance traditions.

RSVP at https://bit.ly/32dhpuX.

Sponsored by The International Program for Creative Collaboration and Research of the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies at the University of Maryland. In collaboration with the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Toronto.