February 1, 2008
By Kris Vire
Next Theatre and the Silk Road Theatre Project are coming together tomorrow to present a discussion between Arab-American playwrights Yussef El-Guindi (author of Silk Road’s world premiere Our Enemies, opening March 1) and Heather Raffo (the writer-performer of 9 Parts of Desire, coming to the Museum of Contemporary Art in May as a co-production of Next and the MCA).
Moderated by Silk Road’s artistic director Jamil Khoury, the talk is expected to touch on Arab-American representation in U.S. pop culture and “the emergence of a post-9/11 Arab-American cultural movement.” The discussion, starting at 2pm Saturday at Silk Road’s home in the Chicago Temple building, is free to attend, though reservations are recommended: call 312-857-1234 , extension 201 to reserve.
The two theaters are also offering a package deal to see both shows for $50. Though less than six years old, Silk Road has proven adept at making smart partnerships with more established theaters—they’re the driving force behind Looks Like Chicago, a multi-theater subscription offer involving the Middle Eastern/South Asian-focused Silk Road, the African-diaspora–centered Congo Square, Latino company Teatro Vista and Eurocentric Remy Bumppo. Of course, the very fact that Silk Road got a permanent home in the Loop in its second year of existence (paid for by their hosts, the Chicago Temple’s First United Methodist Church) speaks to the company’s people skills and business smarts. I hope we see more of the theater community going the team-up route.