Fulbright and Theater: Bringing My Culture to Life on Stage
I always say that I grew up in the theater. My mother worked there when I was a kid, and she used to take me to all sorts of different theater productions. I remember being no older than 12 and spending my entire days after school at the theater. I always felt like it held a magical and holy energy; it’s a place where fantasies come true and human vulnerability and imagination can be explored with no boundaries. One of the many vivid images that is engraved in my mind from the theater is the contrasting colors and reflections of lights bouncing off of the actors’ graceful movements on stage as they convey a feeling that can never be put in words. To me, theater is an incredibly visual and experimental medium that truly transports us to another world, one where vulnerability and imagination take the lead. Naturally, I grew up to work in the theater as an actor and dancer, which crystalized my relationship with the theater, especially musical theater. I have also assisted in directing and producing many theatrical productions, but I’ve never had the opportunity to produce my own vision. When I heard that New York Film Academy had a student-directed theater program, a light went off in my head.
As an Egyptian myself, I was doing research on theater in ancient Egypt around that same time. Through this research I discovered that theater started in ancient Egypt long before ancient Greece. However, Egyptians didn’t get credit for it in history books back in the day because the world wasn’t able to decipher the ancient Egyptian language and documents until 1799, when the Rosetta stone was discovered. How funny is that? Personally, I was always extremely fascinated by ancient Egyptian history and mythology. I felt they naturally had very rich dramatic and theatrical material. So I asked myself: “How come ancient Egyptian mythology and plays are still not a part of theater world history? How come it is still taught in many schools around the world that Greek theater is the first form of drama and theater?” At that moment I knew: I wasn’t going to be able to stop myself from attempting to put an ancient Egyptian theatrical piece together that pays tribute to my ancestors and their legacy lost in translation.
I immediately chose the story of Isis, Osiris, and Horus. Isis, a strong and powerful Egyptian woman who single-handedly fought back the evil Seth, found that her husband Osiris had been cut into pieces and scattered all over Egypt. Momentarily resurrecting Osiris to impregnate herself, she gave Egypt a rightful heir to the throne, Horus, before helping Osiris pass to the afterlife.
I thought it would be a terrific story to tell in 2022. Not only is it about how justice will always prevail but it’s also about the power that women can cultivate and their abilities to push boundaries and create world-changing narratives. Furthermore, ancient Egypt has always been subject to mis-portrayals and false claims in the US and around the world. But living in the era of representation and diversity, I felt that I had to use my voice to tell the story of my people as authentically as possible. And what better way to do so than to go back to the actual source? I picked up countless books of ancient Egyptian transcribed texts such as “Book Of The Dead” and “Pyramids Texts” determined to find the dialogue for my play. I had to literally put a script together from ancient Egyptian books. The result was something that was never done before, because actors were now working with ancient Egyptian transcribed texts as their dialogue for the very first time. Not only that, this was the first Egyptian play in the New York Film Academy’s history.
As I was single-handedly writing and creating this piece and love letter to the ancestors, I was so excited and humbled that I didn’t really pay attention to how scary and great of a responsibility I had taken on. I poured my heart into it, and I wanted to create something that spoke to me as an artist and theater enthusiast. I wanted to create something visual and experimental; something very different from the nature of the theater productions at the New York Film Academy. It was also especially challenging to bring something visual and extremely theatrical to life with the limited resources that the academy is able to provide. I wanted to create my own version of that theatrical magic I grew up loving. For months, I worked closely with the school’s stage and tech manager to find ways to bring my vision to life within the black box theater space and the resources available. Not only that, but I also utilized dance and movement as an integral element in the production — it was only natural to do so with my background as a dancer and choreographer.
I was also lucky to have incredible actors and people in my cast who believed in my vision and did their very best to bring it to life with me. We spent countless hours in rehearsals at school or in my backyard trying to perfect the numerous intricate musical cues and the very specific compositions and movements of the ancient Egyptian heritage. Fortunately, the production received raving feedback from faculty and students. I was told by more than one faculty member that this production instantly raised the bar for future theatrical productions at the Academy. I was also told that it was by far the most theatrical piece done by a student at the academy and that now it’s safe to say that NYFA is an arts academy, not just a film academy.
My goal was to take the audience on a trip to ancient Egypt and immerse them in the holiness, magic, drama, and grandeur of an incredible legacy. However, it was important that I did so in a way that spoke to me as an artist, with all the visuals, theatricals, and experimental aspects of a show. It warmed my heart that the audience was able to relate to the story and share the vision of ancient Egypt that I see in my mind and heart. The fact that my show raised the bar for all future productions at the academy is just extremely profound. I feel incredibly proud of myself and my cast for pulling off a highly theatrical musical piece like that with very limited resources, and I’m looking forward to more opportunities like this in the future.
