NEW YORK, 8 November 2003 — The New York Arab-American Comedy festival, the first-ever of its kind in the United States, will be held Nov. 17-19 in New York City. The three-night festival will focus on comedic plays, stand-up comedy and short films, and will showcase Arab-American performers, writers and filmmakers.
“It’s a great way to showcase Arab-American performers, Dean Obeidallah, co-chair of the event, told Arab News. A stand-up comic, Obeidallah said: “I try to go on stage and dispel all the negative stereotypes of Arabs through my act. I’m trying to change the world -- one audience at a time.”
The not-for-profit festival is being co-sponsored by the New York Chapter of the Network of Arab-American Professionals (NAAP), the NY Chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and Nibras (The Arab-American Theater Collective).
The festival’s first night, Monday, Nov. 17, will present excerpts from comedic theatrical pieces written and performed by Arab-Americans.
The second night of the festival will present traditional stand up comedy and will feature Arab-American comedians who have appeared on Comedy Central, NBC and MTV.
The final night of the Festival, Wednesday, Nov. 19, will feature Sayed Badreya and Hesham Issawi’s award-winning short comedic film “T for Terrorist,” co-starring Arab-American actor Tony Shalhoub.
The festival will also honor Shalhoub for his achievements in the entertainment industry.
Obeidallah said 9/11 changed comedians lives dramatically. “It had an oddly positive result in that there’s been more media attention on Arab-American performers. Before 9/11, the attention was ethnic; after 9/11, it became more political.”
Obeidallah, a lawyer, also works on the long-running NBC variety show, “Saturday Night Live”.
