R. Forest Malley

Syrian-American professor Walid Elsady is invited to deliver a keynote address at a conference in the ancient port city of Yaffa--or, as it is better known in 2021, "Tel Aviv." In denial of the risks involved, he arrives at Ben Gurion Airport with his wife and star student in tow, only to find himself detained without explanation. As he waits in limbo, Walid begins questioning the stories he has told--to his colleagues, to his wife, to himself – and the compromises he has made to succeed in the West.

French Boy Cigarettes is part dark comedy, part thriller, part family drama about a 17-year-old Egyptian-American boy who lives with his grandmother Najla in a cramped apartment on the northern coast of Massachusetts. A kidnapping-gone-awry leaves them with a badly bruised boy in the basement, suspicious neighbors, the threat of deportation, and God’s judgment looming over their heads.

When Yassmine and her daughter Sami arrive at her childhood home, with its towering spiral staircase and the looming portrait of her departed father, the memories are as alive as the woman– Yassmine’s estranged mother– who still lives there. Gidou is an exploration of the lasting legacy that men leave long after they’re gone: the good, the bad, the ugly, and the much uglier.

A full-length play about two twentysomethings, Yusef and Evelyn, who come together the night before their interview with USCIS to get on the same page about their fraudulent marriage, and try to cover up all the cracks that are already showing before the night begins.