Letter from 6 American Playwrights

Dear Friends,
We are writing you to ask your help in bringing eleven Palestinian children - five boys and six girls, aged eleven to sixteen - to the United States this summer to perform in theatres in four American cities: New York, New York; East Norwich, Connecticut; Burlington, Vermont; and Louisville, Kentucky. They are students of the Al-Rowwad Cultural and Theatre Training Center in the Aida Refugee Camp, outside Bethlehem in the West Bank, where they were born.

The Al-Rowwad children will be led by the Center's founder and artistic director, Dr. AbdelFattah Abu-Srour. Familiarly called Abed, he has given these refugee children an alternative to the violence that surrounds them and teaches them non-violent and artistic ways to combat the harshness and seeming hopelessness of camp life.

Although Abed holds a doctorate from the University of Paris in Biological and Medical Engineering and is employed at a pharmaceutical plant, he also trained in theatre in Paris during his study there to earn his science degree. This theatre training, in addition to his vision and creativity, led Abed to give the children of the camp instruction in dramatics, puppetry, dancing, languages, computers, and other subjects, depending upon what volunteer teachers he had available. Central to his curriculum is the idea that peace and hope must rule the children's lives, and that opposition to oppression must be creative non-violence, a "beautiful resistance,' as he calls it. In this way Abed is improving the lives and skills of his pupils, and giving them a healthful and creative way of living in an oppressive environment.

The purpose of the trip is to help expand the children's horizons, and to show them they are loved and respected by our country; in turn, Americans can learn what Palestinians are like and to see them for the human beings that they are. The trip would also give the Aida Camp children the opportunity to meet and make friends with American children and to promote mutual understanding.
Please help us to complete the funding of this three-week trip by making a donation to the tour's fiscal sponsor, The Peace and Justice Center. Checks should be written out to The Peace and Justice Center with a note in the memo line that says MECE (Middle Eastern Cultural Exchange)-New York tour. They should be mailed to: The Peace and Justice Center, Attention: Wendy Coe, 21 Church Street, Burlington, Vermont 05401. Also, you are invited to see the children perform in New York theatres, where they will appear from June 17-22. So far, scheduling for the New York leg of the tour includes plans for performances at the United Nations; the City University of New York Graduate Center's Martin E. Segal Theater on 34d Street and 5th Avenue; The Barrow Street Theatre in The Village; and at two New York City public schools. Performance schedules will be available when planning is completed.
Please open your heart to these children so we can help confirm their vision of peace and hope and also show them that a lot of people care about what happens to them.

Sincerely yours,

The following signatories are six American playwrights who visited Al- Rowwad in the Aida Camp and Israel in June 2002. They are:
Tony Kushner,
Kia Korthron,
Robert O'Hara,
Lisa Schlesinger,
Betty Shamieh, and
Naomi Wallace.


http://www.artistsnetwork.org/artists/tkushner.html
NYC

In coalition with theater artists, grassroots activists and community supporters, THAW and Kathleen Chalfant, Tony Kushner, Denis O'Hare, Danny Hoch, Malachy McCourt, Andre Gregory, Anne Waldman, Kia Corthron, Robert O'Hara, Betty Shamieh

Invite you to
BEAUTIFUL RESISTANCE

A benefit evening in support of the Al-Rowwad Palestinian Children's Theater
Monday, June 13 at the Culture Project

Scheduled Benefit performers include: Tony Kushner, Denis O'Hare, NPR's Bob Holman, Henry Chalfant, Anne Waldman, Kia Corthron, Betty Shamieh, Juliana Francis, Matana Roberts, Alan Licht, Mahina Movement, Paul Brill, Maysoon Zayid and Nibras' Leila Buck and Najla Said, Nathalie Handal, Adam Matta, Betsy Andrews, Brian Satz & Jose Joaquin Garcia

Taking place courtesy of THAW Member Theater Nevada Shakespeare Company during a dark night of their run of A Single Woman, the benefit features an array of acclaimed playwrights, poets, theater performers and musicians, all in support of this extraordinary troupe of young people.

In late June 2005, the Al-Rowwad theater company, based at the Aida Refugee Camp outside Bethlehem, will be coming to the U.S. for a 4-city tour. Al-Rowwad's Founder and Director Dr. "Abed" Abu-srour uses the creative arts, or "a beautiful resistance, " as he puts it, to help children whose lives are shattered by war and occupation -- truly a concrete example of "theaters working against war" happening on the very frontlines of violence.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and supporter of the Benefit, Tony Kushner echoes Abed in maintaining that, "Central to Al-Rowwad's curriculum is the idea that peace and hope must rule the children's lives, and that opposition to oppression must be creative non-violence, a 'beautiful resistance.' " Kushner was joined by fellow playwrights Naomi Wallace, Lisa Schlesinger, Kia Corthron, Robert O'Hara and Betty Shamieh on an extensive visit to the camp in 2002. Al-Rowwad's U.S. tour is a modest but concrete step forward in the process of building peace in the Middle East and overcoming the harmful stereotypes that the conflict has created.

Music Performances *** Readings *** Drinks *** Hors-d'oeuvres*** Silent Auction
Scheduled Benefit performers include: Tony Kushner, Denis O'Hare, NPR's Bob Holman, Henry Chalfant, Anne Waldman, Kia Corthron, Betty Shamieh, Juliana Francis, Matana Roberts, Alan Licht, Mahina Movement, Paul Brill, Maysoon Zayid and Nibras' Leila Buck and Najla Said, Nathalie Handal, Adam Matta, Betsy Andrews, Brian Satz & Jose Joaquin Garcia
Silent Auction items include gift certificates to performances at SoHo Rep; Artwork by Richard Foreman, Vanessa Roe, Heidi, Elbow Toe; Dinners for two at Restauarant Florent, , Aliseo, Read Café, Amorina; Sessions at the Pilates Garage and more.

WHEN: Monday, June 13 at 7:30 pm - Doors open at 7 pmWHERE: THE CULTURE PROJECT@ 45 Bleecker: 45 Below - the corner of Bleecker and LafayetteSUBWAYS: 6 to Bleecker; B/D/V/F to Broadway - Lafayette; N/R to 8th StreetADMISSION: $30 advance reservation; $35 at the door -- Cash and checks, onlyAdvanced reservations can be made by sending an email to: THAWreservations@yahoo.com Please include your name, contact information and number of tickets requested.For more information, call 212-615-6964
Can't make the Benefit?

Theaters Against War is an international network of theater artists responding to the United States' ongoing "War on Terror," aggressive and unilateral foreign policies, and escalating attacks on civil liberties in the US and throughout the world. THAW is a 2004 OBIE grant recipient.
www.THAWaction.org