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Our 2024 virtual artist conversation series embarks on a tour of four Palestinian cities to offer audiences in the Bay Area and beyond a taste of the Palestinian theatre scene today. Each episode will spotlight a different theater, showcasing its history, notable performances, challenges, and life behind the scenes through interviews with its artists and community members. Theater makers, audiences, professors, and students are all invited to join in these stimulating conversations about making theatre under occupation and during times of mass atrocities and genocide.
As part of the series of online conversations with Palestinian theatres, the spotlight is on El-Hakawati Theatre, the main public theatre institution in East Jerusalem. El-Hakawati is a Palestinian nonprofit cultural institution which strives to create and to develop a unique cultural life in Jerusalem, by way of producing and presenting artistic, educational, and entertaining programs that reflect the aspirations of the Palestinian people. Since its inception in 1984, El Hakawati operated as a forum for cultural and artistic platforms, and developing creative strategies and activities towards upgrading Arab arts and culture in Jerusalem.
Golden Thread invites NYC-based theatre director Kate Moore Heaney to moderate the conversation with the director of El-Hakawati theatre, Amer Khalil.
Bios
Amer Khalil (panelist) was born and resides in Jerusalem. He began his theater career early with the Al-Hakawati troupe in 1980, volunteering to sell tickets and assist during local tours in Palestine. Amer's relationship with the late François Abu Salem, director and founder of Al-Hakawati, was distinctive and very special. Under François' guidance, Amer received intensive training in theater. In 1983, Amer co-founded the El Nozha Hakawati Theater, later known as the Palestinian National Theater. Initially working behind the scenes in technical roles, he soon transitioned to acting. His stage debut was in 1985 with the play The Eye and the Sun, and he subsequently participated in most of the Hakawati troupe's productions. Throughout his career, Amer took numerous courses and workshops in acting and directing, learning from many Arab and international artists. From 1988 to 1991, he lived in Paris, where he studied French and worked extensively with various theater groups as a resident artist. He gained valuable experience and training from French and Dutch directors and collaborated with European theater groups to further his education and skills. Amer's love for singing and traveling has always been an integral part of his theatrical work.
Kate Moore Heaney (moderator, she/her) is a theatre director, producer, and dramaturg. She is the Artistic Producer of Noor Theatre, a founding board member of the Middle Eastern and North African Theater Makers Alliance (MENATMA), and Associate Producer at Long Wharf Theatre. She has directed and/or developed new work with The Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, The Playwrights Realm, Premiere Stages, The Civilians’ R&D Group, New York Theatre Workshop, NYU Abu Dhabi Institute (NYC), The Amoralists, The Flea, The Shakespeare Society, The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, and other NYC companies. She has assistant or associate directed with Ibex Theatricals/The New Vic, McCarter Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, Yale Institute for Music Theatre, and The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway. B.A.: Yale. Website.
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