A Skate Play: A Conversation With Arts Politics Alumni

Collaborators, close friends and graduates of the 2010 Arts Politics class - Esther Chang and Noelle Ghoussaini recently brought A Skate Play to Palestine in the fall of 2018 - a partnership between The Freedom Theatre (Jenin Refugee Camp, Palestine), Eyes up Here Productions (NYC) and SkateQilya (Jayyous, Palestine).

A Skate Play is an unprecedented theatrical experience that aims to socially engage youth in public skateparks worldwide. The story is inspired by Richard Bach's novella from the 70s, Jonathan Livingston Seagull and is about a seagull who explores the meaning of limitlessness, boundlessness and freedom through the art of flying. Our production brings together skateboarding and theatre - where skaters represent the flight of the birds.

Esther and Noelle will share the multi-layered process of bringing this vision to fruition, discussing the nuanced process of building long-term, reciprocal community collaborations, integrating skateboarding and theatre, as well as creating artistic experiences that push against traditional boundaries as a way to re-image our societies.