GREY ROCK

TESTIMONIALS & IMPACT STATEMENTS

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From undergraduate students at Swarthmore University, Arabic Language, Professor Dima Hanns (in translation)

“At the end of the play, I saw pride in Palestinians’ eyes and I understood that they wanted more happiness, opportunities and freedom just like all of us. They don’t want sympathy that’s not accompanied with actions because that would be useless. A lot of people who watched the play had the same feelings I had, and that was due to the power of art. Art can make us understand, and feel, the world and the people around us.”

 

“In the play, I see the importance of creativity and dreams. Yusuf, his friends and neighbors live under the Israeli occupation that burns his soul, but Yusuf continues to build the rocket to travel to the moon. He knows that it’s difficult, yet the more difficult it is, the more determined he is to accomplish it.  The rocket symbolized his soul and humanity and the Israeli occupation couldn’t break that. The rocket in the play is just like art in our life; it’s the means through which Yusuf was able to express himself.”

 

“Watching the play has changed the way I look at my life.”

 

“The play was very sad and I felt overwhelmed at the end. However, I went back the next day to watch it for a second time and to listen again to every word said during the play and afterwards by the writer/ director. I was very lucky to watch it twice: so many things to learn from it about life and love.”

 

“Art is very important in people’s lives. People can convey complicated ideas and understand intense emotions through art. Art can also be a political tool against oppression and oppressive authorities.

 

From Rabbi Yigal Sklarin, Principal Ramaz School

 

First of all, thank you for opening up your performance to our students at Ramaz.

I am sorry I couldn’t be there in person, but heard it was a moving and meaningful performance. One faculty member told me she cried twice!

 

Please stay in touch and keep us involved and informed in future opportunities. 

Thank you for thinking of us 

BeHatzlacha

Yigal

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From The Lab for Global Performance and Politics:

"Grey Rock is one of the most surprising, galvanizing, moving and inspiring pieces of theater I have seen in recent years (and I see dozens of performances a month all over the world). I was privileged to see it three times and through The Lab's partnership with the Kennedy Center, I was able to bring dozens of students and colleagues to see it and to teach it in our Encounters in Global Performance seminar. In this context we were able to host Amir Nizar Zuabi, to facilitate the post-show discussion with Nizar and the cast at the Kennedy Center, and to host the cast and creative team on campus. The response of our community was profound - as the piece radically shifted reductive stereotypes about the Palestinian people and re-framed the conversation in the most humane and imaginative way." 

 

Derek Goldman, Co-Director, Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics (The Lab)

Director, Theater & Performance Studies Program, Georgetown University

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From La MaMa Theatre – Community Partner:

"Collaborating with Remote Theater Project on Grey Rock was an illuminating and fulfilling experience. The play was placed in the appropriate space at La MaMa - the DownstairsTheatre, where its intimacy brought the audience instantly into the world of the play. La MaMa attracts a diverse audience, bringing groups together to share an experience including residents of the East Village, Jewish communities, Arab Americans and theatregoers from all over the City, the US and around the world. The play, written by a Palestinian/Israeli playwright focusing on the grand, seemingly impossible goal of building a rocket ship in Palestine that will go to the moon, touched everyone from all backgrounds. From the moment we started performances, you could sense how the play resonated with everyone. Every performance was sold out. Universal themes, such as hope, grief, love, and spirituality touch all human beings. That encourages empathy and understanding, which we need so desperately today. We thank the Remote Theatre Project for bringing this special play to the community of La MaMa."

David J Diamond, Coordinator of International Programs, La MaMa ETC