Category: Theater

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Negin Farsad

Theater

Thursday
November 1, 2018
8 p.m.

Williams Center for the Arts
317 Hamilton Street (at High Street)
College Hill, Easton, PA

Negin Farsad occupies a place at the vanguard of social justice comedy, taking on Islamophobia and bigotry with outrageous, insightful humor. In crafting her hilarious message, she draws on a bottomless repository of anecdotes from the frontlines of prejudice—and offers a prescription for how to change the discourse. The Austin Chronicle calls Negin Farsad a “master humorist who is equal parts academic and amusing”; you’ll call her a vital panacea for the Trump era. She delivers real-world activist wit with a touch of public policy reproach for a rollicking look at today’s issues.

Tickets are available through the Williams Center for the Arts.

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Amirah Sackett

Dance Performance

Thursday
September 27, 2018
8 p.m.

Williams Center for the Arts
317 Hamilton Street (at High Street)
College Hill, Easton, PA

Amirah Sackett wants to reframe the dominant narrative about Muslim women in this country, and she’s doing it through dance. Founder of the collective We’re Muslim, Don’t Panic, she believes in hip-hop culture’s ability to give voice to those often unheard. Through the poetry of the 13th-century Sufi mystic Rumi, interpreted by Aja Black (The Reminders), and with original sound design by Chicago DJ Nevin Hersch, Sackett’s new solo work explores the barriers we create within ourselves and the walls that others build around us. A heartfelt appeal to always choose love.

Program: Love Embraces All (2018), music by Nevin Hersch, poetry of Rumi interpreted by Aja Black, choreography by Amirah Sackett. Additional works to be announced.

Tickets available at the Williams Center for the Arts.

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Playwright Ayad Akhtar

Playwright Ayad Akhtar
LECTURE

Wednesday
March 28, 2018
7:00 p.m.

Colton Chapel
College Hill, Easton, PA

“From Islam to Capitalism: A Conversation with Pulitzer Prize Winner Ayad Akhtar on the Soul of America” will cover a range of timely and relevant issues that define America today — from the place of Muslims in America to the ways Wall Street has shaped our perceptions of money, and to the enduring role of theater in American culture.

Akhtar’s play, Disgraced, won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, ran on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre, and was nominated for the 2015 Tony Award for Best Play. Disgraced is one of a seven-work cycle on the Muslim-American experience, and part of the Lafayette Department of Theater’s 2017–18 season.

Akhtar’s latest play is Junk: The Golden Age of Debt. Set in the eighties, it puts a corporate takeover on stage. Junk premiered on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, produced by Lincoln Center Theater.

Admission is free.

Presented by the departments of Religious Studies, Economics, Theater, English, and Anthropology & Sociology, and the Provost’s Office, the Office of Religious & Spiritual Life, and Intercultural Development; with generous support from the Staubi Family Theater Fund.

 

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Disgraced

Lafayette College Department of Theater Presents Disgraced
Theater

February 23–24, March 1–3, 2018
7:30 p.m.
February 25
2:00 p.m.

Weiss Theater
Buck Hall
219 North 3rd Street (at Snyder Street)
Easton, PA

Liberal pieties clash violently with starkly conservative attitudes on the subjects of religion, national identity, terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, immigration, racial profiling, and the state of Israel in this riveting dissection of scraping away the veneer of civilized behavior in our troubled times. Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Written by Ayad Akhtar. Directed by Suzanne Westfall.

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Beyond Sacred: Voices of Muslim Identity

Theater

Friday
February 9, 2018
8 p.m.

Williams Center for the Arts
317 Hamilton Street (at High Street)
College Hill, Easton, PA

With stark simplicity and a narrative that feels remarkably relevant to the moment, Beyond Sacred stages the personal and complex stories of young Muslim New Yorkers at a time of increasing Islamophobia. Created by Ping Chong + Company, this interview-based theater production illuminates the daily experiences of individuals who reflect a wide range of Muslim identities, yet share the commonality of coming of age after 9/11 and of being the “other” in America. A poignant new work, and “a lesson in human understanding, drawn from real lives” (The New York Times).

Tickets are available from July 1 at the Williams Center for the Arts.

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Ping Chong & Amir Khafagy

Director Ping Chong
Moderated Discussion

Tuesday
February 6, 2018
Noon

Skillman Library
Gendebien Room
College Hill, Easton, PA

American theater artist Ping Chong is renowned for addressing important cultural and civic issues of our time. In Beyond Sacred, Chong uncovers the diverse experiences of young Muslim New Yorkers who share the common reality of coming of age in a post-9/11 world. In this interview-based production, the “actors” are real people—“Arab Rican” Amir Khafagy among them—who reflect a wide range of Muslim identities, and share their personal, complex stories at a time of increasing Islamophobia. Chong and Khafagy join Professor of Theater Suzanne Westfall for a lunchtime discussion.

Admission is free. Lunch will be provided while supplies last.

This talk accompanies the performance of Beyond Sacred at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, February 9 at the Williams Center for the Arts.