Artistic Theatre Statement

This project is unfolding as a collaboration with two Palestinian theatre directors.
Each director is working with the community script to create his or her own unique theatre production. Each will add their own content about life in Gaza, through symbolic acts, characters, songs, and theatre, arts, allowing the stories to emerge organically from within the community script’s structure, which revolves around sacred geometry, and the explosion of a seed giving way to a rising tree, however, the symbolism is of death and a spirit's departure from the world. 

The directors have also been in an ongoing online dialogue and will continue their work together as the productions evolve.

Below are the theatre directors and their projects:

Mohammad Haj Hamad, a theater director, actor, and filmmaker from Balata Camp in Nablus, has dedicated over three decades to advancing Palestinian performing arts and cultural resilience. As Head of the Artistic Department at the Yafa Cultural Center and Director of the renowned A’idoon Troupe, he has trained and led generations of artists, including children, youth, and people with disabilities. His body of work spans theater, film, and folk dance, with performances and directorial projects presented at major international festivals in Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Turkey, and the United States. Known for works such as The Bird of the Barrier, Khuza’a Bathhouse, and The Age of Innocents, Mohammad’s art is deeply rooted in the lived experiences of Palestinian communities, blending storytelling, political awareness, and creative innovation. Through his leadership in cultural institutions and festivals, he continues to amplify the voices of Palestine on the world stage, embodying the belief that art can both preserve heritage and inspire liberation.

Osama M. Atwa, a Palestinian theater director, actor, and cultural organizer from Deir al-Ghusun, Tulkarm, has dedicated his life to creating art as an act of resistance and resilience. Trained in drama, puppetry, street theater, and international performance techniques through institutions in Palestine and Italy, he has led and collaborated on productions that speak to the Palestinian experience under occupation, exile, and displacement. From coordinating the Theater Department at the Qandil Foundation for Culture and Arts to directing and performing in works such as Bisan, Yousef, and international collaborations like The Island in Sardinia, Osama’s work bridges local narratives with global stages. His productions—whether staged in the streets of Tulkarm, the theaters of Bethlehem, or abroad—are rooted in the urgency of preserving Palestinian stories, using the stage as a space for cultural survival, memory, and transformation.

Supporting both the Palestinian and Detroit production, Khalil Khaled, a Palestinian actor, lighting designer, and  photographer based in Nablus. A graduate of the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus, he has trained and  performed in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Italy, and has worked with very powerful artists.