Yussef El Guindi

Yussef El Guindi

Born in Egypt, raised in London and now based in Seattle, Yussef El Guindi’s work frequently examines the collision of ethnicities, cultures and politics that face Arab-Americans and Muslim Americans. El Guindi holds an MFA in playwriting from Carnegie-Mellon University, and has worked as a playwright at Silk Road Rising; literary manager for Golden Thread Productions; and playwright-in-residence at...
Born in Egypt, raised in London and now based in Seattle, Yussef El Guindi’s work frequently examines the collision of ethnicities, cultures and politics that face Arab-Americans and Muslim Americans. El Guindi holds an MFA in playwriting from Carnegie-Mellon University, and has worked as a playwright at Silk Road Rising; literary manager for Golden Thread Productions; and playwright-in-residence at Duke University. He is the recipient of many honors, including the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award and the 2010 Middle East America Distinguished Playwright Award. El Guindi's most recent productions include "Hostages" at Radial Theater Project in Seattle, "The Talented Ones" at Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland ( Santa Barbara Independent Indy Awards), "Threesome" at Portland Center Stage, ACT, and at 59E59 (winner of a Portland Drammy for Best Original Script),  "Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World" (winner of the Steinberg/ American Theater Critics Association's New Play Award in 2012; and the 2011 Gregory Award) also at ACT, and at Center Repertory Company (Walnut Creek, CA) 2013; and "Language Rooms" (Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award), co-produced by Golden Thread Productions and the Asian American Theater Company in San Francisco; at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia (premiere), and at the Los Angeles Theater Center. Other productions: "Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat" was produced by Silk Road Rising and won the M. Elizabeth Osborn award. His play "Back of the Throat" (winner of L.A. Weekly's Excellence in Playwriting Award for 2006), "Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World", "Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes", "Such a Beautiful Voice is Sayeda and Karima’s City” have been published by Dramatists Play Service. "Ten Acrobats in an Amazing Leap of Faith", "Collaborator", "Threesome", "The Talented Ones" and "Hostages" have been published by Broadway Play Publishing Inc. "Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat" is published in the anthology Four Arab American Plays published by McFarland Books. In January, 2019, Bloomsbury will publish "Selected Works by Yussef El Guindi". Currently a Core Company playwright member at ACT in Seattle, 2018; and a Resident Artist at Golden Thread Production.

Plays

  • Set in Stone by Yussef El Guindi
    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, fable/folktale + 1 more
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    Keyword: Ancient Egypt, Myths + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, fable/folktale, fantasy
    Keyword: Ancient Egypt, Myths, Comedic
    Gods with issues. “Set in Stone” is a loose retelling of the ancient Egyptian myth of Isis, Osiris, Set and Nephthys, as they both reenact their story (the overthrow of Osiris by Set; Set dismembering Osiris into 14 pieces; the attempted gathering of those pieces by Isis and Nephthys, etc.), even as they attempt to change that story. Only to discover that even the gods are pawns to the fates assigned to them....
    Gods with issues. “Set in Stone” is a loose retelling of the ancient Egyptian myth of Isis, Osiris, Set and Nephthys, as they both reenact their story (the overthrow of Osiris by Set; Set dismembering Osiris into 14 pieces; the attempted gathering of those pieces by Isis and Nephthys, etc.), even as they attempt to change that story. Only to discover that even the gods are pawns to the fates assigned to them.

    A play of kings and queens and petty family dynamics, and the assigned roles that even the gods can’t escape.
  • The Night We Won by Yussef El Guindi
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: drama, political
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    Keyword: Politics, Immigrants + 2 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: Politics, Immigrants, art, trying to affect change in the world.
    Love, politics, and art and the struggle to maintain the idealism of all three in the face of various corrupting forces.  A young man and an older woman meet in a bar on Senate Election Night and return to the young man's apartment. Both are reluctant to reveal too much about themselves and withhold information that would affect the relationship. What are their secrets? Are there hidden agendas? They flirt...
    Love, politics, and art and the struggle to maintain the idealism of all three in the face of various corrupting forces.  A young man and an older woman meet in a bar on Senate Election Night and return to the young man's apartment. Both are reluctant to reveal too much about themselves and withhold information that would affect the relationship. What are their secrets? Are there hidden agendas? They flirt, drink, and fall into bed. It's only when the woman’s husband, a newly elected Senator, shows up unannounced, that it becomes clear who they are and what's at stake.


  • Refugee Rhapsody by Yussef El Guindi
    Recommendations: 5
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: class and economic inequality, cultural and racial divides + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: class and economic inequality, cultural and racial divides, refugees, crime
    Sakinah, an Arab American woman, undergoes a mental health evaluation to determine what led to the violent crime she committed against Emily, a rich heiress. The play explores race, class, privilege, and how those factors collide and play out in today’s culture.
  • Hotter Than Egypt by Yussef El Guindi
    Recommendations: 4
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 2 more
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    Keyword: Arab, political consequences.
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, holiday, political
    Keyword: Arab, political consequences.
    No matter where you live, the ups and downs of married life are universal. For a middle-aged American couple traveling to Egypt on a business trip-slash-vacation, their relationship is put to the test when an old connection leads to new temptation. Drawing from the political, cultural and religious realities of living in the region, this fiery drama set in the heat of Cairo pits loyalty against attraction as...
    No matter where you live, the ups and downs of married life are universal. For a middle-aged American couple traveling to Egypt on a business trip-slash-vacation, their relationship is put to the test when an old connection leads to new temptation. Drawing from the political, cultural and religious realities of living in the region, this fiery drama set in the heat of Cairo pits loyalty against attraction as its characters grapple with the ever-changing realities of staying committed to their partners.”
  • The Hanging Tree by Yussef El Guindi
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 2 more
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    Keyword: magical realism, teenagers + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, fable/folktale, fantasy
    Keyword: magical realism, teenagers, suicide, racism
    When a teenager attempts suicide by hanging in a wooded area, the tree that he's using refuses to cooperate. A conversation ensues between this enchanted tree and the teenager. A couple from another time emerge and try to dissuade the teenager from ending his life. The couple have their own past with the tree and suicide; and as the teenager works through his demons, they work through theirs. “The Hanging...
    When a teenager attempts suicide by hanging in a wooded area, the tree that he's using refuses to cooperate. A conversation ensues between this enchanted tree and the teenager. A couple from another time emerge and try to dissuade the teenager from ending his life. The couple have their own past with the tree and suicide; and as the teenager works through his demons, they work through theirs. “The Hanging Tree” is a fable of teenage angst and racial divides which explores love, death, and choice using magical realism and memory.
  • People of the Book by Yussef El Guindi
    Recommendations: 6
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: war, media + 6 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: war, media, Middle East, Arab, marriage, Survival, rivalry, lies
    Jason returns from war to literary glory after writing an international best-seller, but his celebrity is underscored by his marriage to Madeeha, an Iraqi woman he saved. When he reunites with old friends, Amir and Lynn, questions emerge about the veracity of the book and its particular patriotic American gaze. Lust, jealousy, and personal politics bring things between old friends to a boiling point and we are...
    Jason returns from war to literary glory after writing an international best-seller, but his celebrity is underscored by his marriage to Madeeha, an Iraqi woman he saved. When he reunites with old friends, Amir and Lynn, questions emerge about the veracity of the book and its particular patriotic American gaze. Lust, jealousy, and personal politics bring things between old friends to a boiling point and we are asked “what is the expense of lies – personally and as a country?
  • Collaborator by Yussef El Guindi
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    1
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    A one-woman show about intimacy and consent. Cass, a perturbed actor in a search for truth, welcomes the audience into her bed and her psyche as she rationalizes her thirst for attention with her personal boundaries. Through intimate, intertwining stories about her experiences with men, the audience gets to know Cass and feel, as she does, the presence of the unnamed collaborator who made all this possible.
  • The Talented Ones by Yussef El Guindi
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: dark comedy
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    Keyword: Immigrants, dance
    Genre: dark comedy
    Keyword: Immigrants, dance
    The American Dream teeters on the edge of the abyss as immigrants Cindy and Omar face their thwarted dreams and unraveling marriage, while Omar’s buddy Patrick connives to push them over the edge. In this surprisingly funny dark comedy, trouble erupts one night when bad choices are followed by extremely bad choices. The stakes become lethal as these characters manipulate the truth and do anything to justify...
    The American Dream teeters on the edge of the abyss as immigrants Cindy and Omar face their thwarted dreams and unraveling marriage, while Omar’s buddy Patrick connives to push them over the edge. In this surprisingly funny dark comedy, trouble erupts one night when bad choices are followed by extremely bad choices. The stakes become lethal as these characters manipulate the truth and do anything to justify their desires. Mixing realism with memory and dance, The Talented Ones explores the extra pressure to succeed that immigrant children experience as they try to balance aspiration and reality. Cindy and Omar (and their counterparts) may be cast with actors of any ethnicity except white/European.
  • Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World. by Yussef El Guindi
    Recommendations: 5
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: romantic comedy
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    Keyword: Immigrants
    Genre: romantic comedy
    Keyword: Immigrants
    Anyone who has ever looked for love know the dilemma. Do you make a safe, sensible match? Or take a risk on an exciting someone who might—just might—be the One Great Romance of your life? Musa, an Egyptian immigrant, and Sheri, a very quirky Caucasian waitress, must negotiate the twists and turns of not only love but cultural expectations in this charming romantic comedy with a delightful twist.
  • Ten Acrobats In An Amazing Leap Of Faith by Yussef El Guindi
    Recommendations: 4
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    Cast: 
    10
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    Genre: comedy, drama
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    Keyword: family, Immigrants + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: family, Immigrants, Muslim, intergenerational conflicts
    East meets West meets mayhem in this Muslim-American family comedy evoking universal themes of faith, culture, belonging, and desire. Ten Acrobats adds a new chapter to the American immigrant narrative.
  • Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat by Yussef El Guindi
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    7
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    Genre: drama, political
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    Keyword: Arab, Muslim + 2 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: Arab, Muslim, media, Intra community squabbles.
    Struggling writer Gamal hates the way his fellow Arab-Americans represent their culture on American media. It’s easy enough to take out his frustration on literature superstar Mohsen and local mosque leader, Sheikh Alfani. But when his own girlfriend and novelist Noor gets an offer from a major publisher backed with a national media campaign, how will Gamal manage his frustration?
  • Back of The Throat by Yussef El Guindi
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: dark comedy, political
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    Keyword: Government surveillance, War on Terror + 3 more
    Genre: dark comedy, political
    Keyword: Government surveillance, War on Terror, Arab American, Muslim Americans, individual choice
    BACK OF THE THROAT is the tale of an apparently friendly visit by two government officials, which soon devolves into a full-blown, no-holds-barred probe. Khaled, an Arab-American writer and the focus of their inquiry, finds himself, to his astonishment, suddenly accused of possible ties to terrorists. As the interrogation proceeds, the officials reveal their evidence, but is it evidence? Or have innocent events...
    BACK OF THE THROAT is the tale of an apparently friendly visit by two government officials, which soon devolves into a full-blown, no-holds-barred probe. Khaled, an Arab-American writer and the focus of their inquiry, finds himself, to his astonishment, suddenly accused of possible ties to terrorists. As the interrogation proceeds, the officials reveal their evidence, but is it evidence? Or have innocent events been distorted through the lens of paranoid suspicion? As the situation turns increasingly surreal, and the menace to Khaled increasingly real, the question of what it means to be an American takes on a very personal and charged significance. A chilling black comedy, BACK OF THE THROAT confronts bureaucratic euphemisms like "person of interest" and "extraordinary rendition" with the frightening reality they seek to obscure.