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Mosque Presented by Hybridge Arts Collective

Mosque is a story of a Father and Son, set in the backdrop of Summer 2010 Manhattan during the Mosque near Ground Zero controversy.

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Mosque Presented by Hybridge Arts Collective

Mosque Presented by Hybridge Arts Collective

Mosque Presented by Hybridge Arts Collective

Mosque Presented by Hybridge Arts Collective

Mosque Presented by Hybridge Arts Collective

Mosque is a story of a Father and Son, set in the backdrop of Summer 2010 Manhattan during the Mosque near Ground Zero controversy.

Mosque is a story of a Father and Son, set in the backdrop of Summer 2010 Manhattan during the Mosque near Ground Zero controversy.

Mosque is a story of a Father and Son, set in the backdrop of Summer 2010 Manhattan during the Mosque near Ground Zero controversy.

Mosque is a story of a Father and Son, set in the backdrop of Summer 2010 Manhattan during the Mosque near Ground Zero controversy.

JIhad Milhem
JIhad Milhem
JIhad Milhem
JIhad Milhem
1 Campaign |
Philadelphia, United States
$1,585 USD 24 backers
132% of $1,200 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Choose your Perk

Comic Book Enthusiast

$5 USD
1 claimed

Students

$15 USD
Est. Shipping
January 2029
1 claimed

Grad Student

$30 USD
Est. Shipping
January 2029
5 claimed

Taxi Cab Entrepreneur

$50 USD
Est. Shipping
January 2013
4 out of 10 of claimed

Corner Store Owner

$100 USD
Est. Shipping
January 2013
4 out of 5 of claimed

 

  • Who I am and What is Mosque? 

Hi! My name is Jihad Milhem and I am an actor and playwright whose been living in Philadelphia for the past year and a half. I am a graduate of Otterbein College and have been working on Mosque, my play that’s being presented by Hybridge Arts Collective at Broad Street Ministry in Center City Philadelphia on January 28th & 29th, for over two years.

I began writing the play during the summer of 2010, while saving money to move to New York City. I was watching all these people protesting in the streets of Manhattan, both for and against the mosque being built near the site of the World Trade Center, and I wondered what was driving this need to be heard; this outcry of people responding to the creation of a mosque. As I began writing the topics of Personal Identity, Responsibility, and Family became an entrical part of the story that I wanted to tell.

  • Why is Mosque important and why should it be important to you?

Once Hybridge Arts Collective offered me the opportunity to be part of their Blueprint Series I grabbed the chance at making this show a reality. This project is the next step in my development as an artist, and more specifically as a writer and producer of my own work. As an actor I feel it is important to create my own work, not only as a way to ensure work when there isn’t any, but also as a way to ensure that what is being said is of significance to me. Mosque is a play that forces me, and hopefully others, to ask hard questions of myself and the world around me.

By contributing to this fund you are helping this story be told and creating a dialogue that isn’t being heard right now in America. Why are Muslims now considered enemies to American Ideals? When does staying true to yourself excuse the pain that might cause others close to you? Does security trump all other concerns? When Dick Grayson left Batman to become Nightwing was he doing the right thing? These are all the questions that I wanted to ask and by contributing to this fund hopefully others will be posed these questions as well. 

  • Where is the money going and what do you get in return?   

As of right now our fund raising goal is $1,200.

$600 of this budget will be put aside to pay a $100 stipend to the 5 actors and 1 director that will be giving up much of their time and energy to help create Mosque onstage. We do this as part of an overall effort to give as many paying performance opportunities as possible to the Actors of Philadelphia.

$100 of this budget will be going to costumes/Make-Up for the 6 characters, mostly specialty items, such as a Kufi for Abdul, Mohammad’s father, or a beard for Felix, a Cab Driver who frequents Abdul’s corner store.

 $200 will be going to the construction of the set and procurement of set pieces, such as: the creation of the outside of Abdul’s corner store, the couch for Alice’s living room, and the table and kitchen ware needed for Abdul’s home.

$100 will be going towards paying a local artist to create publicity material for the show by the beginning of January to help spread the word about the performances in the Philadelphia area.

$ 200 will be going to pay for rehearsal space in the weeks leading up to the show. Being able to rehearse in the space where we’ll be presenting the show helps those involved get more comfortable in the space and more importantly gives those involved the chance to fix anything that might not work in the performance space.

If we are unable to reach our goal of $1,200.00, the payment of the actors and director will be most important, then we will distribute the rest of the funds in this order:

1)Set, 2)Publicity, 3)Rehearsal Space, 4)Costumes/Make-up

 As we go through the next 2 months and raise funds we will also be reserving special perks for contributors, with each perk level having its own Mosque-related category and specific Perk Package.

Those that give $5 or more will be Comic Book Enthusiasts, and will receive a shout out on our FB page and Blog. (Unlimited amount available)

Those that give $15 or more will be Students, and will receive a shout out as well as a reserved ticket to either one of the two performances of Mosque (Jan. 28th or 29th) at Broad Street Ministry. (Unlimited amount available)

Those that give $30 or more will be Grad Students, and will receive the shout out, and 2 reserved tickets to either night of Mosque (Jan. 28th or 29th) at Broad Street Ministry. (Unlimited amount available)

Those that give $50 or more will be Taxi Cab Entrepreneurs, and will receive the shout out and a poster for the show signed by the cast and crew! (10 posters available)

And finally those that give $100 or more will be Corner Store Owners, and will receive the shout out and a bound copy of the final script signed by the cast and crew!(5 items available)

  • Why should I give, and more imporantly, why should I care?

The money that goes to support this project is going to support small theatre in Philadelphia and, more importantly, culturally diverse theatre in Philadelphia. The Arab-American experience has rarely been seen onstage and now more than ever this side of American culture must be heard. As an Arab-American artist the desire to share this experience with the world and to help cultivate understanding are my main goals. In the wake of 9/11 my father and step mother were harassed on a daily basis, culminating in my father being kidnapped and held at gun point in the back of a van. The ideas behind this play strike at the core of who I am and what America is and can be.

  • What if I don’t have any money to give right now?

No worries. They’re plenty of ways to help aside from using a check book. Among the ways to do this are:

1) Like Hybridge Art Collective’s FB page: https://www.facebook.com/HybridgeArtsCollective...

2) Following our Blog:http://mosquetheplay.wordpress.com/

and FB Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/170184899787907/

and inviting others to do so

3) Using the Indiegogo share tools to spread the word through Social Media

4) Volunteer! We will need four volunteers on the 28th & 29th to help with set up and tear down. It’s a fun, easy way to see the show for free and help make this play a reality!

5)COME SEE THE SHOW!! At $5 a ticket with a meal provided this is the hottest ticket in town! And it’s the most important way to support the show-without an audience there’s no reason for the show in the first place.

 

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