The Balancing Arab tells the story of Hanan (played by Amira Sabbagh), a politically active Arab American, and Heidi, her Irish American personal fitness trainer (played by Leslie Frame). Set in a downtown Chicago gym during a training session, the mood turns tense as the two women recount an event at the Arab American Cultural Center a few nights earlier -- an event at which the evening’s political discourse got filtered through decidedly different lenses.
The Balancing Arab explores conflicts that exist within and between political cultures and what happens when messaging gets stranded in context and lost in translation.
Written by
Directed by
Executive Producers
Assistant Director
Director of Photography
Original Score & Sound
Assistant Camera
Gaffer
Editor
Script Supervisor
Production Manager
Sound Mixer
Make Up and Hair
Athletic Consultant
Props Master
Amira Sabbagh as HANAN
Leslie Frame as HEIDI
3Arts
Boeing
The Field Foundation of Illinois
The First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple
Karen Atwood
Sheila Chapman
Geeta Citygirl
Jo Anne Davis
July 6, 2012 | The University of Chicago Startalk Program, hosted at Silk Road Rising, Chicago, Illinois
October 4, 2012 | Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
November 13, 2012 | Benedictine University, Lisle, Illinois
April 5, 2013 | Braiding Rivers Festival, hosted at Links Hall, Chicago, Illinois
November 10, 2013 | Wilmette Public Library, Wilmette, Illinois
December 10, 2013 | American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
April 25, 2014 | Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois
May 20, 2014 | University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
February 26, 2015 | Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois
April 28, 2016 | Evanston Township High School, Evanston, Illinois
March 31, 2017 | Religion Communicators Council Convention, hosted at St. James Cathedral, Chicago, Illinois
October 17, 2018 | 150 North Michigan Ave Building, hosted by Silk Road Rising, Chicago, Illinois
May 17, 2019 | Steppenwolf Theatre, hosted at Silk Road Rising, Chicago, Illinois
June 11, 2019 | American Center, Moscow, Russia