Mr Fraudia

North Park University in chicago has a play this weekend, fri and saturday. Here is some info. or go to northpark.edu/news and follow the link for the play. It looks good and I am planning to attend

The Longing, a play that explores the Palestinian experience from 1948 through today, will be presented by North Park University from November 3-5.

The first full-length play in English to examine Israeli-Palestinian conflicts from a Palestinian point of view, The Longing is written and directed by Robert Hostetter, North Park professor of communication arts and theater, with music written and performed by Palestinian folk musician Majed Abu-Ajamieh.

Hostetter directed the world premiere a year ago and has restaged the play in response to requests for more performances.

Performances are scheduled for Friday and Saturday evenings, November 3-4 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 5, at 3 p.m., in Viking Hall, 3225 West Foster Avenue (at Kedzie) in Chicago.

Performances are open to the public at $10 (general admission) and $5 (for students). For reservations, including group rates, call (773) 244-5786. Since seating is limited, advanced reservations are encouraged.

The play begins with stories of Palestinian catastrophe (al-Nakba) of 1948, when some 750,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes and more than 400 villages were destroyed by Israeli forces. The play concludes with a story of Israelis and Palestinians working together to rebuild a house and to build a new future.

"The play bears witness to the suffering and courage of the Palestinian people during and after the tragic events of 1948," says Hostetter. "The play offers a wider understanding of current events in the Middle East and suggests a universal longing for justice and peace."

"The play is a powerful performance of the plight of the Palestinians," says Ayoub Talhami, former president of the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers and leader in Chicago's Arab American Community. "Professor Hostetter is to be commended for his excellent work. He shows the value of gathering oral histories. He has listened carefully to Palestinians tell their stories in their own words—stories of pain and suffering that have been suppressed for more than 50 years—and has superbly adapting these stories for public performance."

Writer-director Robert Hostetter, who completed his doctoral work in theatre at Northwestern University, has been producing plays and films on cross-cultural conflict for more than 20 years. In 1998, North Park University's Center for Middle Eastern Studies asked Hostetter to travel to Israel and Palestine to record the stories of Palestinians who had lived through the events of 1948. During the last two years, Hostetter has recorded more than 50 oral history interviews in the West Bank and Gaza, including interviews in several refugee camps.


Because many of the stories are about displacement and refugee experiences, the play is presented on multiple stages. Nine student performers move from one stage to another as they present these refugee stories.


Music for the play was written by and will be performed by Majed Abu-Ajamieh, who grew up in Hebron and recently received an Illinois Arts Council award. Robert Knuth designed the set, and Kevin Bellie designed costumes. Performers include Eric Anderson, Andy Beckstrom, Ingrid Bowman, Sarah Cameron, Tipton Carlson, Kris Duncan, Grady Gillan, Lungelo Kuzwayo, and Kelsey Link.


These performances of The Longing are co-sponsored by North Park University and the Arts Council of the Arab American Action Network (AAAN). The Arab American Action Network is a nonprofit organization that provides services to Chicago’s Arab American community through advocacy, education, and social services programs. The Arab Arts Council, a branch of AAAN, supports and promotes Arab American artists, presents artistic works, and sponsors community outreach programs.