Set in Naperville, Illinois, Obstacle Course explores reactions to a proposed Islamic Community Center on the site of a beloved local landmark. Allyship, municipal politics, and Islamophobia all intersect in this head-on collision between Not in My Backyard fear mongering, well-intentional liberalism, and the peaceful practice of faith.
Obstacle Course was adapted from Jamil Khoury's full-length stage play Mosque Alert, commissioned and produced by Silk Road Rising in 2016, directed by Edward Torres.
Playwright
Director
Executive Producers
Director of Photography & First Camera Operator
Editor & Color Correction
First Assistant Director & Second Camera Operator
Second Assistant Director & Properties Designer
Line Producer & Script Development Dramaturg
Post-Production Script Editing Support
Set Designer
Costume Designer
Original Compositions
Foley Artist
Location Sound Mixer
Post-Production Sound
Gaffer
Grip
Hair and Make-Up Artist
Hair and Make-Up Assistant
Hair and Make-Up Assistant
Script Supervisor
Technical Director
Charge Artist
Production Assistants
(in order of appearance)
Alka Nayyar as DALILA KHAN
Noha El Ganzouri as LAYLA NASER
Annalise Raziq as NASREEN QUDSI
Fouad Teymour as OMAR QABBANI
Kamal Hans as IMAM YUSSEF BAIG
Gabrielle Lott-Rogers as DONNA HILL
Molly Lyons as ROSE GOODWIN
Rachel Sledd as KIMBERLY JONES
Megan Storti as SALLY GILLESPIE
Steve Merle as PAUL SCHMIDT
Luke Daigle as JEFFREY BAKER
Kaelan Strouse as CARTER THOMAS
Robin Chaplik as REVEREND TINA CALHOUN
Sami Ismat as MOHAMMAD GHAZALI
David Rhee as WILL PARK
Anu Bhatt as HADIYA YAQUB
Revon Yousif as ZAIN BADAWI
Adrianne Cury as IRAQI CHRISTIAN WOMAN
Cheryl Hamada as JAPANESE AMERICAN WOMAN
Annelyse Ahmad as DISSIDENT MUSLIM WOMAN
(in alphabetical order)
Yusra Al-Shawaf, Jaclyn Amber, Francesca Atian, Danny Au, Bryan Bosque, Cathleen Brumback, Bonita Bryant, Brandon Campbell, Gordon Chow, Meg Collins, Kate Cuellar, Chelsea David, Jill Dempsey, Charlie Diaz, Henrietta Dombrovskaya, Tina El Gamal, Carol Emmons, Chuck Emmons, Brent Ervin-Eickhoff, Jessica Ervin-Eickhoff, Al Gillani, Malik Gillani, Mabel Guzman, Mary Lou Haddad, Harrison Hapin, Melissa Hubbert, Aayisha Humphrey, Heidi Katz, Michael Kocken, Sophie Hernando Kofman, Vanessa Kucera, Teresa Kuruvilla, Andrea Lee, Hind Makki, Ina Marks, Cookie Marks, Jeanne Martineau, Michael Mead, Evemarie Moore, Rosalind Morris, Cody Pariset, Joanna Riopelle, Dr. Elaine Ades Sachnoff, Lissa Schwartz, David Morgan Shaw, Brian Sheridan, Rachel Silvert, Linda Smedberg, Ian Michael Smith, Toma Lynn Smith, Susanna Souza, Tracy Strimple, Carol Ann Tan, Krishna Tateneni, Tiffany Taylor, Priyank Thakkar, Anne Thompson, Kate Wulle-Dugan, Xu
Obstacle Course was developed in part during Jamil Khoury’s two-week residency at Tufts University in Medford, Massachussetts. The residency culminated in two public performances, produced and performed by Tufts University students. The script was further developed at Silk Road Rising and produced as a staged reading at The InterReligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary’s Raging Issues of Today (RIOT) Conference in 2018.
Asian Giving Circle
City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple
Illinois Arts Council Agency
The InterReligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary
McCoy Architects LLC
Tufts University Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies
February 21-27, 2019 | Silk Road Rising, Chicago, Illinois (Seven Screenings)
March 3, 10, 24, and 31, 2019 | Sanctuary, a television series produced by Greater Chicago Broadcast Ministries, ABC-7
March 21, 2019 | Northwestern University, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Chicago, Illinois
March 22, 2019 | Silk Road Rising, Chicago, Illinois
May 1, 2019 | Joan Mitchell Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
May 22, 2019 | City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations, Chicago, Illinois
June 2, 2019 | First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple, Chicago, Illinois
June 6, 2019 | CAN (Chicago Cable Access Network) TV19
June 7, 2019 | CAN TV19
June 21, 2019 | CAN TV19
June 22, 2019 | CAN TV19
June 23, 2019 | CAN TV19
July 6, 2019 | CAN TV19
July 23, 2019 | CAN TV19
August 29, 2019 | Islamic Society of North America Conference 2019, hosted by Faith Over Fear, Houston, Texas
October 30, 2019 | Siena College, Loudonville, New York
November 17, 2019 | Indian Boundary Park, Chicago Park District, Chicago, Illinois
November 18, 2019 | Indo-American Center, Chicago, Illinois
November 21, 2019 | Northtown Branch, Chicago Public Library, Chicago, Illinois
December 3, 2019 | Design Museum of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
December 4, 2019 | High Ridge YMCA, Chicago, Illinois
January 17, 2020 | Asian Human Services, Chicago, Illinois
January 23, 2020 | Middle Eastern Immigrant and Refugee Alliance, Chicago, Illinois
February 16, 2020 | Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, co-sponsored with American Islamic College and Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, Illinois
March 2, 2020 | Benedictine University, Lisle, Illinois
May 11, 2020 | Asian Human Services, hosted online, Chicago, Illinois
May 18, 2020 | DePaul University, hosted online, Chicago, Illinois
August 6, 2020 | Houston Coalition Against Hate, hosted online, Houston, Texas
October 8, 2020 | DePaul University, hosted online, Chicago, Illinois
March 31, 2022 | Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, Illinois
October 10, 2022 | The Saints, Chicago, Illinois
March 23, 2023 | Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio