Chocolate in Heat, Stage Reading of the play by Betty Shamieh

The OSU Theatre Department brought an excellent stage reading of Betty Shamieh's "Chocolate in Heat" to campus last night and the night before. Produced by the "Lab Series, A Department-Nurtured, Student-Driven Production Series." We are very fortunate to have such a program, and especially fortunate that two of the finest actors in Egypt happen to be in Columbus and could play the main roles. Amany Seleem, Ph.D. Candidate in the Department, and her husband, Assem Ngaty, Ph.D, performed multiple roles powerfully. The play was directed by Allison Brogan. If you haven't had a chance to check her plays out, they are quite worth it, and her intellectual output as a whole.

This play demonstrated the way (one of the ways) Middle Eastern, in this case Arab, Americans stay very close to their home countries. In particular, the way knowledge of history and current politics can play a role in their everyday lives. Of course, this comes with a whole range of emotions and connections to individual lives, an aspect which was portrayed incredibly well in the way multiple interlocking stories unfolded. The script lent itself well to a reading as it uses monologues to describe each facet of the story. Bravo!