Salat

While his classmates study Ancient Sumer, Daniel struggles with his own relationship to Iraq, where his father was blinded in the First Gulf War.  As Rasha, a young girl in modern Basra, writes hopeful letters to her imaginary American friend, two Iraqi boys wrestle with how to take patriotic and meaningful action as burgeoning adults in a time of great change. Eventually we learn of Rasha’s heartbreaking connection to Daniel’s family and her own shocking course of action as her hope turns to hate after the death of her own father. The ancient Sumerian story of Lugalbanda, the prince who was granted great speed by the gods to help his country in war, is woven through the piece. Three or more dancers create the environment and reenact the stories of the past told throughout the play.