“Artists and Thinkers: Kareem Fahmy’s Distinct Society”
with Hermitage Fellow Kareem Fahmy
Monday, January 23 at 5pm ET
Presented on Zoom
Register here.
Registration is required. $5 per household.
In Hermitage Fellow Kareem Fahmy’s play A Distinct Society, a sleepy library that straddles the U.S./Canada border becomes an unlikely crucible for five people from around the world when families separated by the “Muslim ban” begin using the library as a meeting place. Having its world premiere at Pioneer Theater in Salt Lake City only a few days after this event, hear from the playwright about the origins of the story, the literary and cultural influences at play, and what this moment in history has to tell us about our present. Moderated by Hermitage Programs Manager James Monaghan, this Zoom conversation kicks off this season’s Hermitage “Artists and Thinkers” series, presented online.
Hermitage Fellow Kareem Fahmy is a Canadian-born playwright and director of Egyptian descent and was a 20-21 TCG Rising Leader of Color. His plays, which include Dodi and Diana, American Fast, A Distinct Society, The Triumphant, Pareidolia, The In-Between, and an adaptation of the acclaimed Egyptian novel The Yacoubian Building, have been developed at the Atlantic Theatre Company, New York Stage & Film, Oregon Contemporary Theatre, Capital Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Northlight Theatre, Target Margin Theater, The Lark, Fault Line Theater, and Noor Theater. He has directed and developed new plays at theaters around the country, including MCC, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The New Group, New Dramatists, The Civilians, Geva Theatre, Pioneer Theatre, Portland Stage, Silk Road Rising, San Diego Rep, and Berkeley Rep. Fellowships/Residencies: Sundance Theatre Lab, Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Phil Killian Directing Fellow), The O’Neill (National Directors Fellow), Second Stage (Van Lier Directing Fellow), Soho Rep (Writer/Director Lab), Lincoln Center (Directors Lab), New York Theater Workshop (Emerging Artist Fellow & Usual Suspect). Kareem is co-founder of the Middle Eastern American Writers Lab at The Lark and of Maia Directors, a consulting group for organizations and artists engaging with stories from the Middle East. MFA in Theatre Directing: Columbia University. For more information: KareemFahmy.com
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.