New Drama Seeks to Include
Muslim Americans in the National Debate on September 11
Three generations of The Domestic Crusaders
gather to celebrate the youngest child’s 21st
birthday |
This fully staged showcase production
of The Domestic Crusaders is directed by author and theater
scholar Carla Blank, and produced by the MacArthur “Genius”
Grant Recipient and internationally prominent author, Ishmael
Reed.
Performed by members of the Bay Area’s South Asian community,
it offers the public an extraordinary look into the everyday
lives of a Muslim South Asian American family dealing with
the impact of 9/11 on their family and community.
“The point of presenting The Domestic Crusaders on September
11 is to include Muslim Americans in our national day of mourning,”
said the producer, Mr. Reed. “They have suffered along
with everyone else, and in unique ways.”
The play chronicles cultural, political, and religious conflicts
of a fictional Muslim South Asian American family living in
post 9/11 America.
Said the director, Ms. Blank, “It is an authentic, revealing,
no-holds barred depiction of one day in the life of one family,
composed of six unique members, who convene at the family
home for a birthday celebration. With a background of 9/11
and the scapegoating of Muslim Americans, the humor, tensions
and sparks fly among the three generations. The day culminates
in an intense family battle as the ‘crusaders’
struggle to assert and impose their respective voices and
opinions while still trying to maintain and understand that
unifying thread that makes them part of the same family, and
citizens of the United States of America.”
Ms Blank continued, “As an alternative to the cardboard
stereotypes regularly offered in today’s world of marginalizing
people, the Patriot Act, and the belief that if you look different
then you might be a threat, The Domestic Crusaders is intended
to enlighten the public on issues of multiculturalism, racism,
and the need for tolerance in a changing world.”
“The interest generated by September 11 gives us an
opportunity to engage in dialogue and to understand each other.
That’s why we felt it was important to make sure this
play was available to our students and the general public.”
said Hyon Chu Yi, Director of the MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center
at San Jose State, an agency of the university created to
foster multi-cultural understanding. “We have significant
Muslim American, South Asian American and Jewish populations
at SJSU, and part of our educational mission is helping them
gain sympathy for each other’s points of view. We’re
proud that we’re probably the most diverse university
campus in America, and that young people today are really
interested in being accepting of all different kinds of people.”
The Domestic Crusaders was received with great acclaim in
its 2004 staged readings at Oakland’s prestigious Art
& Soul Festival, the Mehran Theater Restaurant in Newark,
the Main Branch Auditorium of the Oakland Public Library,
and the 2005 production recently presented at the Thrust Theatre
of Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
Wajahat Ali |
“Wajahat Ali is a major
new voice in American literature. His play is to Muslim American
theatre what A Raisin in the Sun is to African American theatre,”
said Mitch Berman, head of the Center for Literary Arts, which
is co-hosting the event on the San Jose State campus. “Our
mission at CLA is not only to bring literary stars to San
Jose, but to bring attention to emerging writers who have
something new to say.”
The author, Mr. Ali, says, “9/11 is an important time
to perform this particular piece due to the global, international
memory of a tragic event which has drastically altered the
face of the world. It allows us, as a global community, to
face the repercussions of that fateful day head on, confronting
our fears, doubts, apprehensions, attitudes, and feelings
in an honest, blunt, open manner which doesn’t pander
to hypocrisy, political ideologies, or rampant hysteria. The
play gives us a means to understand the multicultural fabric
of the American experience from the viewpoint of Americans
who aren’t usually seen as ‘your average American’
but live, breathe, sweat, suffer, hope just as much as any
other American.”
Tickets can be ordered online through Ticketmaster, or purchased
at the door. The University Theatre is located on San Fernando
Street at 5th in downtown San Jose, right next to the new
library. Parking is free on weekends in the new city parking
structure at the corner of 4th and San Fernando. Tickets are
$15 general admission, $10 for students. For further information,
call MOSAIC director Hyon Chu Yi at (408) 924-6245. Or visit
the play’s website: http://www.domesticcrusaders.com.
Who: Presented by the San Jose State University MOSAIC Cross
Cultural Center, the Center for Literary Arts, the Before
Columbus Foundation, the SJSU Department of TV, Radio, Film
and Theatre, and the Arts Council Silicon Valley.
What: The Domestic Crusaders, a full length play by Wajahat
Ali
When: Saturday, September 10 at 8 P.M. and Sunday, September
11 at 2P.M.
Where: The University Theatre on the campus of San Jose State
University, 5th and San Fernando Streets in downtown San Jose,
next to the new library.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
