My ultimate artistic goal is to transfer and empower the lives of my collaborators, writers/performers/technicians, and spectators who attend my performances.  During the process of directing a play, I strive to build a community amongst my collaborators and a living connection to the community in which they live.  My creative work, in process and as a product, expresses itself outside the normative artistic/social box, and I encourage my cast to think and express themselves as organically as possible. 

            I strongly advocate the idea of using art as a tool to bridge the gap between the U.S. and the Arab world.  After the attacks of 9/11, a reaction of animosity and fear was cultivated against Arabs and Arab society.  My home county, Syria, was added to the list of the Axis of Evil by the current American administration.  My directing work is a constant reminder to both my collaborators and my audiences that the stereotypical Arab image is not necessarily the truth.    

            My directing style reflects my multicultural background; after all, I am a Syrian living in the US! My artistic vision incorporates traditional artistic forms from the Arab culture in many of my directed plays.  While rehearsing, I incorporate traditional Arab storytelling techniques as my method to help the performers be aware of their roles.  In addition, using Middle Eastern shadow theatre puppetry as a tool for directing proves effective in most of my artistic projects.  Directing plays and producing art offers me a chance to introduce my collaborators to aspects of my culture they might otherwise not be aware of.  This process in itself cultivates a very intimate and immediate representation of my aforementioned goals among today’s contemporary theatrical artists and thinkers.

I consider myself a facilitator rather than a traditional director.  I try my best to create a safe artistic environment that helps me and my cast addresses personal growth issues (e.g., race, gender, etc.) in relation to the material on which we are working.  I make sure to dedicate the beginning of every rehearsal period to creating a cohesive and a comfortable environment for myself and the performers to work collaboratively within.

My creative work blends theory with practice.  I encourage the performers to do their own research on the text individually.  I also help in facilitating group research exercise where I lead discussions, guide collaborative problem solving exercises, and provide demonstrations that connect research to practical knowledge.  I frequently employ contact improvisation, action theatre, and physical activities to help performers fully embody the text. 

I am incredibly interested in working on original plays.  My most successful directing credits have been developed in collaboration with playwrights who have trusted my artistic vision. The playwright for me is a collaborator outside the rehearsal space and a critical spectator inside the rehearsal room.  I consider the text to be a starting point for new discoveries that are best achieved during rehearsal period.    

Finally, I contextualize my work within the community it is going to be performed to.  I find channels of collaboration between my cast and local schools and social centers.  Members of the local community are invited to witness the rehearsal process on specific occasions and my cast members are encouraged to lead theatre workshops with local communities on issues addressed in the play I am directing.  I look at my directing work as a connecting bridge between arts, scholarship, and civic engagement.