A MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDER, GEORGE ABUD

Ya Habayeb, 

My name is George Abud, an Arab-American actor and director based in New York City, and I am deeply proud to welcome you to the Arab-American Theater Coalition, a vision born from necessity and hope.

We were a people without a name. And when you have no name, you can not be called. 

About a year and a half ago, I met a young musical theatre writer at NYU who told me they were facing intense discrimination in their program because of their Arab identity. They told me they felt completely alone and wanted to quit. They didn’t see any hope in pursuing their art in an industry that didn’t honor, acknowledge, or understand their identity as an Arab person. I had been wanting to make this kind of group since I came to NYC in 2012, but I was never in the right position to make it happen in a meaningful way. After hearing this story –one that was uniquely compelling, yet heartbreakingly familiar– it became the catalyst I needed. I said, “This cannot happen. That young artist cannot quit." We are going to gather. We are going to connect young Arab identifying artists who feel isolated and hopeless with those already established within our community who have navigated these same challenges throughout their lives and careers. We will create a space where we can uplift each other. 

Soon after, we had a small gathering for Arab artists at one of our members' homes. We connected with each other, bonded over our shared pains and hopes, and uplifted our humanity and artistry. We made each other feel less alone. And after the meeting was over, the young writer came up to me and said they were no longer going to quit. In fact, they felt empowered to fight even harder to create their art unapologetically and center Arab stories in an environment where we are almost entirely erased.

My entire life, the United States has been involved in imperialistic wars and conquests in the Arab world. The area, homogenized into the “Middle East”, has been ravaged, destroyed, and pillaged by the West. Arabness is a regular part of the American diet, but for the wrong reasons. It is used as a pawn for imperialistic theft of resources and culture. Its people maligned and dehumanized as "terrorists." Its sacred diversity and ancientness made into something palatable for a western audience, who are deprived the education and transparency towards truly understanding this extraordinary part of the world. So many shows have profited off of Arabness, its culture, its traditions, and its stories, while shutting its people out of the conversation. Shows that continue to this day and do not use Arab actors, Arab consultants, or Arab creatives. This coalition intends to change that. With this coalition we will bring the specificity, dignity, and nuance that Arab humanity richly deserves. And we will find Arab artists and professionals an integral part of the beautiful landscape of storytelling currently happening in NYC and throughout the United States.

I had to be Arab alone. My colleagues had to be Arab alone. We had to suffer through racist auditions, orientalist shows, and near complete ignorance of our identities. We had few to advocate for us. To stand with us. To help educate the industry that just didn’t want to see us as human. And that is something I don’t wish for this next generation of artists. When something you need doesn’t exist, you make it. 

With the assistance and love of so many extraordinary Arab and Arab-American artists we have united to establish the Arab-American Theater Coalition. The only group of its kind in New York City that caters to, cares for, and sustains artists and professionals of Arab identity. That offers its artists a place of unity, compassion, recognition, advocacy, and support. We can no longer allow the extraordinary accomplishments and talents of the ever-expanding generations of Arab artists to go unappreciated, erased, and demeaned. Only together can we possibly hope to make this industry, which we love and invest our entire beings into, become more equitable, more human, more understanding, and more expansive. May this coalition awaken greater awareness of Arabness—in all its brilliance, beauty, and joy. 

We invite you to join us in building a world that honors all oppressed peoples, and uplifts the art and voices of the global majority.

Yours in Solidarity, 

George