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Post-play discussions offered audiences an opportunity to further explore the themes surfaced in the play.
Discussions were guided by Jen Marlowe, playwright, Thenjiwe McHarris, co-founder, BlackBird, and Nadia Ben-Youssef, US Representative of Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.
Adalah represented Aseel's family and the families of the 12 other Palestinians killed inside Israel during the October 2000 events.
THERE IS A FIELD, a new play by Jen Marlowe, is a play about Aseel Asleh, a 17-year old Palestinian citizen of Israel killed by police in October 2000. Based on interviews and primary sources collected over fourteen years, the play offers a uniquely personal lens for understanding inequality as the root of state violence and impunity.
This two-night run of the play was part of a larger Land Day Tour, across 20 U.S. universities, to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Land Day, a commemoration every March 30th since 1976 of Palestinian land expropriated by Israel.
About the play
As the Second Intifada erupted in the West Bank and Gaza, demonstrations also began in Palestinian villages and towns inside Israel. In October 2000, Israeli forces killed twelve unarmed Palestinian citizens of Israel in these demonstrations. The youngest of those killed was a 17-year old boy named Aseel Asleh. There Is A Field, written by Jen Marlowe, is a play about Aseel's life and his killing, through the perspective of his older sister, Nardeen. Through Nardeen's struggle to cope with the murder of her brother, the play also addresses the larger struggle facing Palestinians inside Israel.
Directed by: Noelle Ghoussaini
Written/Produced by: Jen Marlowe
Assistant Director/Stage Manager: Sarah Jane Schostack
Dramaturg: Deepa Purohit
Cast (alphabetical): Caitlin Nasema Cassidy, Alan Ceppos, Gamze Ceylan, Jackson Goldberg, Amel Khalil, Kesav Wable
Costumes by: Ari Fulton
Set Consultant: You-Shin Chen
Cosponsors
African American Policy Forum
The Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies
Open to the public
$10-20 suggested donation