Ten Acrobats in an Amazing Leap of Faith
Play Description
East meets West meets mayhem in this Muslim-American family comedy evoking universal themes of faith, culture, belonging, and desire. TEN ACROBATS adds a new chapter to the American immigrant narrative.
Production Info
Cast: 10 total (4 female, 6 male)Full Length Comedy (about 100 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
- Reviews
- About the Author(s)
- About the Book
- Special Notes
Press Quotes
“What if Neil Simon wrote a lovable comedy about a Muslim-American family trying to hold itself together amidst the misunderstandings that run amuck and the comedy that ensues when the generations collide? It would probably resemble something like the surprisingly enjoyable, charming and oftentimes hilarious TEN ACROBATS IN AN AMAZING LEAP OF FAITH.” —Fabrizio O Almeida, New City Chicago
“With TEN ACROBATS IN AN AMAZING LEAP OF FAITH, playwright Yussef El Guindi takes the genre (of the immigrant experience) to a new place — the Arab-American experience post September 11, 2001. With humor, passion and a lovely touch of whimsy, he's created a theatrical experience that's not to be missed.” —Louis Weisberg, Chicago Free Press
“El Guindi’s engrossing play … finds a workable balance between sharp humor and head-banging angst, which shapes his story effectively.” —Mary Houlihan, Chicago Sun-Times
“Woven into this complicated family drama are scenes of delightful humor. Humanity is the substance that ties not only all of the characters together but also binds the audience to them. This play beautifully serves the purposes of drama, comedy, the artistic theatrical process and, perhaps most importantly, demystifying the hate that comes from fear of unknown cultures.” —Venus Zarris, Gay Chicago Magazine
“The drama comes from an emotionally vivid story that captures a world of anger, joy, love and frustration as it plays out in a Muslim-American family. The appeal lies in El Guindi's ability to transcend ethnicity while still writing a rich depiction of a Muslim family … The emotional difficulties could belong to any family of any (or no) religion … Smart, challenging, poignant, whimsical and at times, delightfully silly.” —Catey Sullivan, Pioneer Press
Author(s)
Yussef El GuindiYussef El Guindi's productions include OUR ENEMIES: LIVELY SCENES OF LOVE AND COMBAT at Golden Thread Productions; AN EVENING WITH ACTIVISTS at Cutting Ball Theater; COLLABORATOR at Macha Monkey Productions; THREESOME at Portland Center Stage, ACT, and at 59E59 (winner of a Portland Drammy for Best Original Script); THE RAMAYANA (co-adaptor with Stephanie Timm) at ACT; PILGRIMS MUSA AND SHERI IN THE NEW WORLD (winner of the Steinberg/ American Theater Critics Association's New Play Award in 2012; Gregory Award 2011; Seattle Times' “Footlight Award” for Best World Premiere Play, 2011) also at ACT, and at Center Repertory Company (Walnut Creek, CA); and LANGUAGE ROOMS (Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award, as well as ACT's New Play Award), co-produced by Golden Thread Productions and Asian American Theater Company in San Francisco; at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia (premiere), and at the Los Angeles Theater Center. Other past productions: JIHAD JONES AND THE KALASHNIKOV BABES, produced at Golden Thread Productions, at InterAct Theater, and at Kitchen Dog theater, as part of the National New Play Network. His play OUR ENEMIES: LIVELY SCENES OF LOVE AND COMBAT, also produced by Silk Road Theater Project, won the M. Elizabeth Osborn award. His plays, BACK OF THE THROAT (winner of L.A. Weekly's Excellence in Playwriting Award for 2006), as well as PILGRIMS MUSA AND SHERI IN THE NEW WORLD, JIHAD JONES AND THE KALASHNIKOV BABES, SUCH A BEAUTIFUL VOICE IS SAYEDA'S and KARIMA'S CITY, have been published by Dramatists Play Service. The latter one-acts have also been included in The Best American Short Plays: 2004-2005, published by Applause Books. TEN ACROBATS IN AN AMAZING LEAP OF FAITH (winner of Chicago's "After Dark/John W. Schmid Award" for Best New Play in 2006) is included in Salaam/ Peace: An Anthology of Middle-Eastern American Playwrights, published by TCG, 2009. OUR ENEMIES: LIVELY SCENES OF LOVE AND COMBAT is included in the anthology Four Arab American Plays published by McFarland Books. PILGRIMS MUSA AND SHERI IN THE NEW WORLD was included in the September 2012 issue of American Theatre Magazine. COLLABORATOR, TEN ACROBATS IN AN AMAZING LEAP OF FAITH, and THREESOME were published by Broadway Play Publishing Inc. And LANGUAGE ROOMS was published in Rain City Projects' anthology Manifesto Series Volume 3. Yussef is the recipient of the 2010 Middle East America Distinguished Playwright Award, and Seattle's 2015 Stranger's Genius Award. He holds an MFA from Carnegie-Mellon University and was playwright-in-residence at Duke University.
Special Notes
If original stage producers credits appear in bold below, all licensees are required to include them in the following form on the title page in all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play and in all advertising in which the full cast appears in size of type not less than ten percent (10%) of the size of the title of the Play:
TEN ACROBATS IN AN AMAZING LEAP OF FAITH had its professional world premiere
at Silk Road Rising in Chicago, Illinois
on October 22, 2005, directed by Stuart Carden
In addition, the following must appear within all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play:
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
www.broadwayplaypub.com
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