Arab-American Comedy Story aired: Tuesday, December 02, 2003
Recently in New York City, a group of young comics staged the first ever New York Arab-American Comedy Festival. It was a three-day festival celebrating the yucks of Arab-American contributions to theater, film, and stand-up. Just a few years ago, these performers never organized or got together as a group -- a group of Arab-Americans, that is. But the tragedy of 9/11 changed everything, and just when many Arab-Americans were being vilified by American society, it was the entertainers who stood up at the mic. Festival organizers hoped the event would give the performers a grand showcase to strut their stuff, as well as give the Arab-American community as a whole some positive media attention.
The stereotypes loomed large, and the 200+ (mostly Arab-American) patrons who attended the stand-up event at the club, Stand-Up New York, had no trouble laughing at themselves, not to mention George Bush, Islam, Yassir Arafat, etc. Everything was fair game for the six comics who took the stage.
To contact festival organizers regarding this year's festival, next year's festival, or anything else, e-mail Dean Obeidallah at DObeidalla@aol.com or Maysoon Zayid at zeitoonah@yahoo.com.
This piece was produced for Here and Now by Karen Pelland
