'Come and be surprised': Hope College to present original play ‘The Hijabis’ in October

HOLLAND — An original play following three Muslim-American women in contemporary America is coming to Hope College through the Big Bridge Theatre Consortium .

Performances of Rohina Malik’s “The Hijabis” will be held at the college later this month. The play is the second commissioned work of the BBTC, a group of university theater programs that develops “new plays dedicated to interfaith conflict and peace.” Hope is a founding member of BBTC .

The Hope College Department of Theatre will present “The Hijabis” at 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Oct. 18-19, and Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 24-26. There will be a free matinee show at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20. All performances will be in the DeWitt Center, 141 E. 12th St.

BBTC’s first commissioned play was written from a Christian perspective. Its third play, which is currently in development, is being written from a Jewish perspective.

“The Hijabis” follows three Muslim-American women as they “navigate work, relationships and fear in contemporary America.” In the midst of their individual struggles, their lives are upended when locals from the community desecrate their mosque, according to a summary from Hope.

More: Hope becomes host for interfaith theater consortium

The play “offers a challenging, deeply meaningful and wildly funny production,” a release states. Malik, playwright and co-director of the show, said the show addresses relevant issues and offers different perspectives.

“I think it’s always relevant to talk about tolerance and people getting to know each other, and combating racism and discrimination and xenophobia and all those problematic things,” she wrote in a release. “Come get to know a different perspective. Come and get to know your Muslim-American neighbors. Come and be surprised. I think that sometimes we think that people are so different, but when you see a play, you actually find we’re more similar than different.”

Cast for the show includes seniors Alegría Guzmán, Eden Comer, and Gabriel LaForce; juniors Claudia Hwang and Elliana Johnson; sophomores Jesalyn Ashby, Kolton Muldowney and Kyle Spiegel; and freshmen Hajar Ahmadi, Ashlynn Blankenship, Trey Hunter and Victor Powell.

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Several students are on the production team as well. Ashley Lauraine, senior, and Elizabeth White, freshman, are assistant stage managers, while junior Adeline Thalhammer is stage manager and Guzmán is assistant costume designer.

Admission is $15 for general audience members, $10 for seniors and Hope staffers, and free for students and minors.

To purchase tickets, visit hope.edu/tickets or the Events and Conferences Office in the Anderson-Werkman Financial Center at 100 E. Eighth St. between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays.

— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com .

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: 'Come and be surprised': Hope College to present original play ‘The Hijabis’ in October