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From YourSITE.com Press Clips Beirut Lebanon & NY,NY- Something exciting is happening to New York... the 3rd Annual New York Arab-American Comedy Festival (NYAACF) is taking place from November 13th-17th 2005.
Jana Zenadeen, the Lebanese-American actress and writer started the festival on Nov. 13 with "Love in Las Vegas". Jana acted as the bride and Ryan Shrime as the groom. Jana was last seen in Francoise Changes Her Mind at the "Moral & Values Festival". According to the organizers the Festival was founded in 2003 by comedian Dean Obeidallah and comedienne and actress Maysoon Zayid to showcase the talents of Arab-American actors, comics, playwrights and filmmakers, and challenge as well as inspire Arab-Americans to create outstanding works of comedy. The organizers state that 2004 Festival was an overwhelming success, with the all four nights playing to standing room only crowds, showcasing a diverse group of Arab-American comedic plays, stand up comics and short comedic films, with the participation of close to 50 Arab-American artists. In the first and second year, they were able to successfully achieve their main goal of increasing the visibility of talented Arab-American artists as well as attracting positive attention for the Arab-American community. The Festival has progressively received positive media coverage with each year in numerous national and local media outlets including: ABC News, WBAI radio, The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice, The NY Daily News, The Guardian, The Herald News, Time Out New York, the nationally syndicated radio program Democracy Now, and in various international, national and local Arab-American publications. In addition, representatives from various casting and talent agencies and television networks attended the Festival in search of fresh and new talent, including NBC, CBS, and Comedy Central. The successes of the past two Festivals have visibly benefited both the artists' careers, as well as had an influence on the positive image of Arab-Americans through the media coverage they received. These accomplishments have shown that Arab-American artists are crossing over into more mainstream entertainment venues. Jana Zenadeen, the Lebanese-American actress was trained at the Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory, the British American Drama Academy, the T. Schreiber Studio and MTB Studios. Jana has a B.A. from the George Washington University (Washington, DC) in International Affairs and Communications and is committed to creative projects that bring a positive awareness and understanding of the Arab culture through performance art, writing and film: www.janazenadeen.com.
Interview with the actress and writer Jana Zenadeen Ya Libnan interviewed Jana Zenadeen, who wrote the play and acted as the bride, to find out what was the play about. This is what she told us: Love in Las Vegas is a comedic piece that has elements of absurdity, black comedy and farce all wrapped into a short and sweet "One Act". It is about a "secretly pregnant" Arab-American stripper who marries a "secretly gay" Lebanese man on a whim. The scene stars off with both characters in pure bliss as they enter the honeymoon suite of their cheesy Vegas hotel. After only two whole days of knowing each other, and 37 minutes of marriage, Bride is compelled to tell Groom that she is pregnant with rapper "50 Cents" baby after Groom tells her he "can't wait to make it the babies". This revelation prompts an argument, and debate, on how on earth they will raise a little African American baby boy in Lebanon. Bride is convinced they will have no problems because the "Discovery Channel said that Lebanon is just like Paris" while Groom believes the exact opposite. "There are no black people in Lebanon" he says, "The only black person I have ever seen in Lebanon was a lost Sudanese en route to Dubai, and that was at the airport". On one hand, Vegas is a relationship story about two people from different worlds coming together and trying to make things work. On the other hand, it is about the inherent consumption people have with stereotypes and how that leads to cultural misunderstandings, mistaken identity and false assumptions. Philosophically, the play is a parody on the relationship that exists between the United States and the Middle East. Both worlds have extreme stereotypical views of each other that are perpetuated by the media and clearly evident in their foreign policies towards one another. Rather than trying to understand one another's cultural differences, and similarities, they remain bound to the stereotypes that they feel safe with. In the scene, Bride tries to alleviate Groom's frigid Lebanese mentality with her can-do American attitude saying "people are just ignorant and afraid of what they don't know, we can change that" to which Groom's response is "You think you're going to change the way Lebanese people think? How American of you! God can't change the way Lebanese people think!" We asked Jana what prompted her to write such a play, to which she replied: "Despite the many cultural differences that exist between the United States and the Middle East, Vegas attempts to remind people that we are all human after all and have many things in common - although we may not like to admit it." Jana then added: "As an Arab-American living in NY, I feel it is my duty to my community and my heritage to promote a positive image and awareness of our rich and beautiful Arab culture. As an International Affairs Major, I have felt my politics most vocalized in my writing and acting. It is through performance, that I am able to communicate my beliefs in a fun, light and hopefully entertaining way." Ya Libnan wants to thank Jana for helping to bridge the cultural ties between the US , Lebanon and the Arab world. It is through special efforts of this kind we will be able to break the cultural barriers and eliminate stereotyping. Bravo Jana, you make us all proud! © Copyright by YourSITE.com |
