AUK Students Invited to International Theater Festival in UAE
07th Mar 2019 | by the Department of PR & Marketing
Five students from AUK travelled to Sharjah to participate in the 2nd Annual International Theater Festival. The festival was hosted by the Performing Arts Program at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), organized by Department Head, Professor Anthony Tassa and Assistant Omnia Adel Eldahshoury. The festival featured multiple performances, workshops, and lectures on acting, directing, design, production, and theater history. There were performances by students from AUS, Texas Tech University, Michigan State University, and Clemson University. There were guest artists from the above schools, as well as from Furman University, Double Edge Theatre, the Chicago Tribune, TOR Ventures, Marina, and Hleb Teatar.
AUK students, Mohammed Abdulsalem, Hassan Hajiyah, Elie Yazigi, Jumana AlNahham, and Nora Al-Sabah, were invited to attend the festival. The three acting students, Mohammed Abdulsalem, Hassan Hajiyah, and Elie Yazigi, attended workshops covering various aspects of acting, from performing Shakespeare to developing inner monologue. They were each cast in the student-written plays and performed in front of all the festival attendees. The playwriting student, Jomana Al-Nahham, worked intensively over 4 days with playwriting professors from Texas Tech to create a brand new 10-minute play that was read by actors as part of the festival. She received constructive feedback from professors and from professional theatre critic, Chris Jones from the Chicago Tribune. The design student, Nora Al-Sabah, worked intensively over 3 days with design professors from Clemson to produce an original set design. She presented the design in front of the festival attendees and received feedback from multiple professors. Additionally, all students attended workshops in other areas of theater, such as stage management and directing.
In addition to student participation, Dr. Yasmine Jahanmir, Assistant Professor of Drama at AUK, was invited to the festival as a guest artist. She taught two acting workshops, one on
Commedia Dell’Arte and another on Meisner technique, as well as responding to the original play
Phases, devised and performed by Michigan State students.
Group photo of AUK students in Sharjah
Mohammed Workshop: AUK student participating in an acting workshop
Jo: AUK student presenting a play at the festival