Israeli-Palestinian conflict is focus of spring main stage theater production

The Greenberg Middle East Scholar-in-Residence Program and the Theater Department are collaborating to present the East Coast premiere of Blood Relative this spring. 

Directed by Theater Department Chair Lary Opitz, the play is a compelling treatment of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The production will be staged Friday through Sunday, April 13-15, and April 19-22, in Bernhard Theater. All performances are at 8 p.m., except on Sunday April 15 and April 22, when the production begins at 2 p.m.

Ibi , the son of a Palestinian Muslim father and an Israeli-Jewish mother, is the central character in Blood Relative. Both peoples claim him. Torn apart by the conflict, he embarks on a journey through the collective memory of the Middle East. The shared and competing stories of each culture push and pull at him as he searches for reconciliation.

Writer Aaron Davidman, who co-directs the production, initiated the project in 2002. "It became clear to me that we needed to deal with this issue," he said. In a process that spanned three years, the cast came together twice in the Bay Area to workshop the final production. Davidman quotes Harold Saunders, who helped broker Israel's truce with Egypt under President Carter: "Peace negotiations fail because leaders are unwilling to go down a path where they can't see the end." Adds Davidman, "But that's the nature of the collaborative process—you don't know where you're headed. As artists, we hang out there. If you know where you're going, why bother?"

In February, Davidman was on campus for a week reworking the script with Opitz and working with the cast. Ibrihim Miari, the play's original lead and the man whose life is the foundation of the play, also visited the campus during the semester to meet with the cast.

Tickets are $10 for the general public or $7 for the Skidmore community. Call the theater box office at 518-580-5439 for reservations.