the who & the what play guide | round house thea

PLAY GUIDEMAY 25 - JUNE 19, 2016 | 2015 - 2016 SEASON

WHO & WHATB Y

AYAD AKHTARD I R E C T E D B Y

ELEANOR HOLDRIDGE

THE PLAYWRIGHT

2 ROUND HOUSE THEATRE | The Who & The What Play Guide 301.585.1225 | www.RoundHouseTheatre.org

PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Ryan Rilette

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This play guide had been prepared by the Round House Theatre Artistic and Education staff, along with production dramaturg Otis Ramsey-Zöe.

Designed by Cheyenne Michaels.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE 3

THE PLAYWRIGHT 4

4 About the Playwright

4 Comments From the Playwright

4 Comments About the Playwright

THE PLAY 5

5 Comments About the Play

5 Comments About the Play From the Playwright

5 Synopsis and Characters

6 Excerpts from the Play

THE PRODUCTION 7

7-8 An Interview with Cast Member Anu Yadav

CULTURAL CONTEXT AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 9

9-10 Glossary of Terms & References

FOR THE CLASSROOM 11

11 Common Core/Curriculum

11 Practical Information & Theater Etiquette

12 Discussion Topics & Activities for the Classroom

12 Response Letter

Round House Theatre is a home for outstanding ensemble acting and lifelong learning. We seek to captivate audiences with stories that inspire compassion, provoke emotions, and demand conversation. It is our hope that this play guide will serve to not only enhance the understanding of students who attend as part of an education program, but also allow all audience members to deepen their own theatrical experience. Use this play guide as a starting point or as a way to continue engaging in the show long after the performance ends. We want to inspire you, our audience, in an ongoing dialogue of ideas while encouraging lifelong learning and participation in theatre.


TITLE PAGE

Tony Mirrcandani (Afzal) and Anu Yadav (Zarina) in The Who & The What. Photo by Cheyenne Michaels.

A R O U N D H O U S E T H E A T R E P R O D U C T I O N Ryan Rilette, Producing Artistic Director

presents

WHO & WHATB Y

AYAD AKHTARD I R E C T E D B Y

ELEANOR HOLDRIDGEScenic Designer:

LUCIANA STECCONICostume Designer:

KENDRA RAILighting Designer:

NANCY SCHERTLERSound Designer & Composer:

MATTHEW M. NIELSON

Props Master: KASEY HENDRICKS

Dramaturg: OTIS RAMSEY-ZÖE

Assistant Director: SARAH SCAFIDI

Production Stage Manager: BEKAH WACHENFELD*

CASTMahwish OLIVIA KHOSHATEFEH*

Eli BRANDON McCOY*

Afzal TONY MIRRCANDANI*

Zarina ANU YADAV*

* Member Actors’ Equity Association, The Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States+ Equity Membership Candidate

Sponsored in part through generous support from Cathy Bernard and Bonnie & Alan Hammerschlag,

sponsors of The Who & The What.

THE PLAYWRIGHT


THE PLAYWRIGHT

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

AYAD AKHTAR was born in New York City and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the author of American Dervish, published in over

twenty languages worldwide and a 2012 Best Book of the Year at Kirkus Reviews, Toronto’s Globe and Mail, Shelf-Awareness, and O (Oprah) Magazine. He is also a playwright and screenwriter. His play Disgraced played at New York’s LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater in 2012 and premiered at the Bush Theater in London in May 2013. Disgraced won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His play The Invisible Hand was nominated for the ATCA/Steinberg Award, and won Best New Work 2013 from the St. Louis Theater Critics Circle. As a screenwriter, he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay for The War Within. He has been the recipient of fellowships from MacDowell and Yaddo, as well as commissions from Lincoln Center Theater and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He is a graduate of Brown and Columbia Universities with degrees in Theater and Film Directing.

COMMENTS FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT

“ Culturally [I consider myself a Muslim], yes. I have a non-denominational religiosity about me. But I think there’s probably a very deep Islamic cast to my inner life.”

— CBS News interview, 1/25/2015

“ It is the duty and calling of an artist to speak truthfully. That’s it. There’s no further discussion beyond that as far as I’m concerned. Consequences are what they are.”

— CBS News interview, 1/25/2015

“ [B]eing Muslim. Being American. What are the overlaps? What are the contradictions? Are those contradictions real? Are they historical? Are they passed imply from parent to child, or is it something much larger? Is there an inherent conflict between Islam and the West?”

— PBS News Hour interview, 10/30/15

“ I think that, at its best, what theater does is, it gather us together. We, social herding animals, arrive together in a room, and we behold something that actually happens before us, not something mediated to us by a screen, but the presence of live performers, which hearkens back to a kind of experience of a ritual, and an experience of one mind, one body, a kind of communion that happens in the audience between audience and performers that allows us, reaches into us, where we can experience things more deeply than we can individually.”

— PBS News Hour interview, 10/30/15

“ [W]e are very attuned and aware of how the Old Testament and the New Testament have operated as literary traditions within Western civilization. I think that the process isn’t quite as fully developed when it comes to the Quran. So in a way, I think I’m just participating in that process.”

COMMENTS ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

“ This thing you did, this Pulitzer. I didn’t know what it was. But everybody’s coming up to me, patients, nurses, everybody. ‘Do you realize what your son has done?’”

— Ayad Akhtar’s father, who was disappointed that his son did not become a doctor

THE PLAY

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COMMENTS ABOUT THE PLAY

“ Like Mr. Akhtar’s “Disgraced,” which won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize and will be seen on Broadway this fall, this new work considers the itchy frictions that emerge when religious belief and contemporary life rub up against each other, as they do for the family at the center of the play, a Pakistani immigrant and his two grown daughters.”

— The New York Times 6/16/2014

FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT

“ [The Who and the What depicts] an immigrant tale…a very old tale which is told again and again. I’m just telling it in this particular community.”

— Slant Magazine, 6/30/14

“ I feel that whatever [The Who and the What] is doing, it’s doing with a profound sense of love and respect for the tradition…it’s not an attack on Muslim consciousness, but an exploration of these poles within the consciousness.”

— Slant Magazine, 6/30/14

SYNOPSISACT ONE opens on Zarina, a brilliant novelist with writer’s block, bantering with her younger sister, Mahwish; both girls still in the house of their Pakistani-American father, Afzal. While Zarina is beautiful and talented, she has no romantic life, in contrast to Mahwish, who plans to marry her childhood sweetheart. As they bicker, Mahwish reveals that she has a crush on her GRE teacher, while Zarina discloses that she is writing a book about “women and Islam.” As the scene ends, we learn that Zarina is heartbroken over a man named Ryan. We then move to a coffee shop where a white Muslim convert/imam named Eli believes he is meeting up with Zarina, whom he thinks he met through a Muslim dating site. In fact, it is Afzal who has created the profile, and who meets Eli, proceeding to interrogate the younger man. Afzal approves of Eli, and discloses to the furious Zarina what he has done; during this conversation, we also learn that Afzal asked Zarina to break up with Ryan, her fiancé, because he was not Muslim—and that Zarina agreed. To placate her father, she agrees to go on a date with Eli. An intellectual spark springs up between the two as they debate Freud, Marxism, and the role of women in Islam. Zarina reveals that she is attempting to write a book about the Prophet Muhammad and the women in his life, and Eli expresses enthusiasm. After the date ends, Zarina is inspired to begin writing.

ACT TWO commences a year later, with Eli and Zarina happily married, but fighting over her finished manuscript. Eli doesn’t agree with her portrayal of the Prophet as imperfect and all too human, and worries that publishing the novel may prove dangerous. He says that he must read the manuscript again. Eli then travels to Afzal’s home, where Afzal begins discussing the power dynamic within Eli and Zarina’s

marriage, implying that Eli must be firmer and more dominant with his wife. He also reveals what happened between Zarina and Ryan; shocked, Eli leaves to clear his head. While he is gone, Afzal discovers Zarina’s manuscript within Eli’s bag and takes it. Back at Eli and Zarina’s home, Mahwish has come with shocking news: although she’s married her childhood sweetheart, she’s just kissed her GRE teacher. Zarina tries to encourage her little sister, causing Mahwish to question her marriage. Eli comes in and Mahwish leaves—she’s received an urgent message from Afzal. Furious and hurt, Eli asks Zarina if she is still in love with Ryan. As the two fight, they realize that Afzal has taken the manuscript, and rush over to his house. There they find Afzal and Mahwish, both devastated, demanding to know why Zarina would desecrate the prophet and begging her to destroy the manuscript. Zarina tries to defend her book, but it is Eli who comes to the rescue, telling Afzal that he loves Zarina for her mind and her courage. The couple leaves, as Afzal vows never to see Zarina again.

THE EPILOGUE of the play takes place two years later, with Afzal sitting on a park bench with Mahwish who has left her husband and moved back in with her father. She exits briefly, only for Zarina to enter; she has come to tell her father that she and Eli are moving away. Afzal tells his daughter about all the negative events her book has caused, and she responds that it has had positive effects for many Muslims too. Mahwish re-enters, as does Eli, and the two reveal that Zarina is pregnant. Overcome with emotion, Afzal asks his family to leave so that he can pray, begging Allah to bless the child and to let it be a boy. Unseen, Zarina enters and hears her father’s prayer—the play ends with her revelation that, “It’s a girl.”

ZarinaPlayed by Anu Yadav

AfzalPlayed by Tony Mirrcandani

MahwishPlayed by Olivia Khoshatefeh

EliPlayed by Brandon McCoy

CHARACTERS

THE PLAYEXCERPTS FROM THE PLAY

AFZAL: Only good thing I did in my life, young man, is my two girls. They are the sum achievement of an otherwise cosmically useless existence.

ZARINA: I’m not sure I know what love is anymore, Dad.

AFZAL: In this country…when things start between two people, the water is already boiling. All it can do is cool off. Like your mother used to say, in the East we start with a cold kettle, so it has room to heat up over the years.

ZARINA: I have this sense of Muhammad, of who he was. We know all these things about the Prophet. Or we think we do: He was an Arab, Aisha was his favorite wife, he had a gap between his teeth, whatever…And all the stories we hear, that have gotten told for hundreds of years, don’t point to a real person. It’s all like this monument to what we’ve made of him. But who he really was? We don’t know. That’s what I’m calling [my book]. The Who & The What.

AFZAL: [T]he truth is, what’s an advantage in a man isn’t always in a woman. It can be an impediment to a woman’s happiness. She’s my daughter. I know her. She needs room to breathe. But not too much room. She has more power over you than she really wants. She can’t help it. And she won’t be happy until you break her, son. She needs you to take it on, man....ELI: Women don’t need to be broken. They need to be heard.

MAHWISH: When we were kids you always used to say you wanted to marry Dad when you grew up…I thought I was going to marry the Prophet.

ELI: Are you in love with me? ZARINA: When we met, all I had was that book…You know what changed? You came into my life. You are what changed it. I thought: Here’s somebody I can actually be with.

ZARINA: [My book’s] about the Prophet, Dad. And the Quran. And how what we think we know about those things is not real. Not human.

MAHWISH: Reading this [book] actually makes me want to start wearing a veil. Just to purify myself of it…you can pretty it up with a lot of expensive words and fancy books, but, it’s just filth.

AFZAL: I have made so many sacrifices for this family. I have sacrificed so much for the two of you. For you to be happy. You have to destroy this book.

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Olivia Khoshatefeh (Mahwish) and Tony Mirrcandani (Afzal) in The Who & The What. Photo by Cheyenne Michaels.


THE PRODUCTION

Edited and condensed for clarity by Artistic Apprentice Gabrielle Hoyt

As the rehearsal process commenced, cast member Anu Yadav (who plays the character of Zarina in The Who & The What) discussed themes

of feminism, the burden of artists of color, and her important reminder to the play’s audience.

What qualities to you believe you share with the character of Zarina? How do you relate to her on a personal level?

As women, I believe that we often get taught to take care of everyone but ourselves. There’s this kind of impossible choice that I think many women are faced with on a minute-by-minute basis—yourself or your family, yourself or your community, yourself or your nation... Whether or not one agrees with the route Zarina takes, or with her viewpoint, there’s something very powerful about this woman fighting for her own mind, and a kind of heartbreak

in realizing that you may need to choose between your principles and the people you love—especially the men in your life. The power of stories like The Who & The What tells is, how do you connect this to your own life? Sexism is different in different cultural contexts, but the devastation of sexism is universal to different societies. That’s how I connect to Zarina, and I think the question is going to be, where are the places that audience members—regardless of background—will connect to Zarina’s fight?

How do you cope with the controversial issues that the play brings up?

A lot of times, as an artist of color, I feel a burden of representation. Any person who faces a set of –isms, whatever story you tell, in the eyes of those who don’t face the –isms, you represent all those who do. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has this great talk about “the danger of a single story.” Zarina is not telling a single story that represents all of Islam—she is wrestling with her own

AN INTERVIEW WITH CAST MEMBER ANU YADAV

Anu Yadav (Zarina) in The Who & The What. Photo by Cheyenne Michaels.


THE PRODUCTION

story, and her own wounds. It’s very important for people not to assume that this play is a “single story,” and that any one character articulates the “correct” version of Islam.

What conversations do you hope this play sparks in its audience?

I hope for more understanding about the existence of Islamic feminists. I hope for an understanding of the plurality that is Islam, and also the kind of vast diversity within what we know as Islam. There’s no one interpretation. What I appreciated in researching this play was understanding how particularly feminist the Quran at its heart really is, which was amazing to read about. I hope conversation will bubble into questioning what people can take from this play regardless of background, while also understanding more about the beautiful and vast range of people who identify as Muslim. There is a lot more room than is currently given in US society for that culture.

What have you taken away from this rehearsal process that you hope to share?

There is power in storytelling, and the stage is politicized, inherently, by what stories, what words, what characters we choose to highlight for audiences. We need to be aware and mindful of that, and to understand that there is so, so much more than any one “single story.” Every play you see is one piece of many.

Anu Yadav (Zarina) and Brandon McCoy (Eli) in The Who & The What. Photo by Cheyenne Michaels.

ANU YADAV is delighted to make her Round House debut. Credits include Meena’s Dream (touring) at Forum Theatre, Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, and Studio Safdar (New Delhi); ‘Capers (touring) at Forum Theatre; In Love and Warcraft at No Rules Theatre Company (Helen Hayes Nomination for Lead Actress); Midsummer Night’s Dream at the National Academy of Dramatic Arts (Beijing). She is a 2016 Catalyst Grant Recipient and a DC Artist Fellow & City Arts Grantee. Her work was featured in the documentaries Chocolate City and Walk with Me. Training: University of Maryland at College Park, MFA in Performance; Center of the Theater of the Oppressed Residency (Brazil). Anu will next be performing ‘Capers in Minneapolis and Boston, and Meena’s Dream at Delta College. www.AnuYadav.com


A copy of the Quran. Photo by Shahin Olakara on Flickr (goo.gl/q3uNER).

CULTURAL CONTEXT &

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

GLOSSARY OF TERMS & REFERENCES

Playwright Ayad Akhtar has called The Who & The What a romantic comedy with a degree in comp lit. Here we offer a brief glossary of Akhtar’s many

references, from Elvis to Pascal to Malcolm X to the favorite wife of the Prophet Muhammad. In so doing, we hope not only to enrich your understanding of the play, but also to illustrate the breadth and depth of the influences on The Who & The What.

Allah—the Arabic word that refers to God.

The Quran—the holiest text in Islam, the Quran lays out the central tenets of the Muslim faiths. Worshippers believe that Muhammad transcribed the Quran in the 7th century CE after Allah revealed it to him via the Angel Gabriel. Written after both Jewish and Christian holy texts, the Quran incorporates elements from both, and represents Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mary (among many others) as holy figures.

The Prophet—the most common title for Muhammad, the central figure of the Muslim faith, who is believed to have transcribed the Quran after receiving a revelation from Allah. The personal story of Muhammad constitutes a vital portion of the Islamic faith; different characters within The Who & The What find different pieces of evidence for his humanity and imperfections within the Quran.

Masjid—a Muslim house of worship. English speakers call this place a mosque.

Imam—in the Sunni tradition of Islam, an imam leads an Islamic congregation in prayers, in a role analogous to that of a priest, minister, or rabbi. While there is no formal ordination process for imams, they are generally men of great learning who command respect within their communities.

Dozakh—an Urdu word meaning “Hell”; Urdu is the national language of Pakistan

Pascal—a 17th-century philosopher and mathematician, Pascal created a thought experiment called “Pascal’s wager” based on whether or not God existed. He came to the conclusion that all humans should act as if God did; to live a life without sin would require only finite sacrifices, whereas sinning and going to Hell would lead to infinite punishment.

Mashallah—an Arabic phrase, “mashallah” literally means, “God has willed it”; it is used to express praise or thanks.

Subhanallah—an Arabic phrase, “subhanallah” means, “Glory be to God.”

Inshallah—an Arabic phrase, “inshallah” means, “if God wills.”

Ayaan Hirsi Ali—African-born, but raised internationally, including in Saudi Arabia, Hirsi Ali became a fierce advocate for reform in Islam, drawing on her own experiences with genital mutilation and forced marriage in order to make her point. Hirsi Ali often uses inflammatory language in order to express her views; some hail her as a clear-eyed reformer, while others believe her criticism of Islam is extreme and exaggerated.

Beti—the Hindi word for “daughter,” often used as a term of endearment

MuslimLove.com—yes, a real, live app! Its website informs us that it is “coming soon.”

Mehdi Hassan—a famous Pakistani singer of the 20th century, Hassan popularized a type of singing called ghazal, so much so that he was called “the King of Ghazal.” This type of singing frequently centers around heartache, the beauty of love, and the pain of loss.

Marx—the intellectual father of Communism, the thinker wrote the Communist Manifesto, arguing that capitalism was based in exploitation and inequality. Critical of


CULTURAL CONTEXT &

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

religion, he referred to it as “the opiate of the masses.”

Freud—the founder of psychoanalysis, Freud believed that different disorders could be categorized under mythic archetypes. For instance the Oedipus complex, which Zarina mentions, describes an instance in which a son feels unhealthily close to his mother, and resents his father. It refers to the Greek myth of Oedipus, in which the main character kills his father and marries his mother.

Tupac and Public Enemy—influential African-American figures in the rap/hip-hop scenes of the late-20th century. By referencing them, Eli is explaining his immersion in black culture, despite his white heritage.

Dave Matthews and Jeff Buckley—both singers play acoustic guitar, and are known for alternative rock and blues. Zarina, despite her Pakistani heritage, appears to enjoy thoroughly American music.

Malcolm X—an influential leader in the Black Power movement, Malcolm X eventually converted to Islam; he wrote about his journey in The Autobiography of Malcolm X. When he made a pilgrimage to Mecca, he came to believe that Islam could bring together the different races in worship and harmony.

Zaynab bint Jahsh—originally the wife of Muhammad’s adopted son, Zaynab bint Jahsh married the Prophet himself soon after the couple divorced. In the Quran, Muhammad experiences a great deal of internal conflict over the union. This passage has become a controversial one, with some scholars believing that it reflects selfish traits within the Prophet.

“He Frowned”—a passage in the Quran during which Muhammad frowns and turns away from a blind man. Some scholars believe that this passage demonstrates Muhammad’s humility, as he understands the incorrectness of his actions.

Tabari—a commentator on the Quran who lived in the 9th and 10th centuries CE, al-Tabari is the source of a story

in which Muhammad sees Zaynab bint Jahsh unclothed in his son’s house, and becomes aware of her beauty. Although the truth of this story is highly disputed, Zarina uses it as the basis of her novel.

Hijab—the hijab is a veil that covers a wearer’s head and chest. While in Arabic it literally means barrier or partition, the term extends more broadly to represent a principle of modesty to which many Muslim women subscribe.

Aisha—Muhammad’s favorite wife, Aisha met and married him when she was a child. Though the couple was only together for nine years (after which Muhammad died), Aisha spent the rest of his life studying his teachings and protecting his legacy.

Graceland—the home of Elvis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. Zarina and Mahwish’s mother, Afzal’s wife, was obsessed with Elvis.

Evening prayer—devout Muslims pray five times a day while facing in the direction of Mecca, the holiest city in the Islamic tradition; this practice is called salat.

Tauba—in the Quran, “tauba,” which means “a return,” refers to leaving behind sins against Allah and returning to what he has sanctioned; it essentially means repenting and atoning.

Tasbih—a form of prayer that involves counting your praises for Allah on your fingers, or on a mishaba (essentially a Muslim type of rosary).

Nana-Abba—“Grandfather” in Urdu

“Allah hu Akbar…Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim…Ya Allah…”—an Arabic phrase in Islamic prayer, meaning, “God is the greatest…in the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful…Dear God…”

Allahmia—this phrase essentially means “Allah, sir,” in Urdu. Interestingly, many believe that one should not refer to Allah by the human title “sir,” and that the phrase is therefore inappropriate.

A young woman wears a hijab. Photo by Herman Yahaya on Flickr (goo.gl/ylx5W7).


FOR THE CLASSROOM

COMMON CORE/CURRICULUM

Ayad Akhtar’s The Who & The What and this play guide address specific educational objectives.

Common Core State Standards CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.3Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.8 Evaluate an author’s premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other information.

National Core Arts Standards

TH.Re7.1 Perceive and analyze artistic work.

TH Re8.1 Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.

TH Re9.1 Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.

TH Cn10.1 Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.

TH Cn10.2 Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION AND THEATER ETIQUETTE

Location and Arrival: Round House Theatre is located at 4545 East-West Highway in Bethesda, MD. The cross streets are East-West Highway and Waverly Street. Feel free to use the restrooms and water fountain in the lobby before the show begins, at intermission, or after the show.

The Who & The What runs approximately one hour and 45 minutes with one intermission.

Theater Etiquette:

It would be a good idea to take a minute to give your students these quick theater etiquette reminders:

• The actors can hear the audience and appreciate the laughter, gasps, and quiet attention. We encourage you to engage in the performance—laugh when things are funny, listen closely, and remember that the actors experience the audience in a tangible way. They can hear and see you! Talking, moving around, or other activities are very distracting to others and can dampen the energy of what is happening on stage.

• There is no food or drink permitted in the theatre.

• Cell phones and other electronic devices must be turned off and put away during the performance. Do not text during the show.

• Blackouts may happen during the show. Please remain seated and quiet.

• There is no photography allowed in the theatre.

• Once seated, please stay in your seat through the performance. If you leave the theater during the show, re-entrance is at the discretion of the house manager.

• We prefer chaperones sit among the students rather than gathering together.


FOR THE CLASSROOM

DISCUSSION TOPICS & ACTIVITIES FOR THE CLASSROOM

For Discussion• Akhtar has stated that the story of The Who & The

What should be a familiar one to any American family, regardless of cultural context. When did you feel the play provided you with a window into a culture different than your own? Conversely, when did you feel the play held up a mirror to your own family and experience?

• The Who & the What is a play that asks big ideas on a small scale. Why is this an effective technique? Additionally, why does Akhtar choose a comedic form to present such serious subject matter?

• While Zarina’s narrative about Islam—that it erases women and falsely idealizes Muhammad—is a dominant story within the narrative, it is not the only one. What story does Afzal tell himself about Islam? What story does Eli tell himself? How do these stories interact with each other within the play? What is the reason for showing the audience so many competing viewpoints?

• What factors lead these characters to identify the way they do with Islam?

• In Akhtar’s work, culturally Americanized characters find themselves grappling with deep-seated urges and obligations related to their backgrounds and family history. Before The Who & The What begins, Zarina, an independent-minded feminist, breaks up with her fiancé Ryan because he is not Muslim. Explore why she does so, and what factors drove her decision.

• Examine the complex relationship between art and religion. Can art challenge or question religion without being considered sacrilege? Why do religion and art come into conflict? Is there a right or wrong way for art to encounter religion, or for religion to encounter art?

• Eli, a devout Muslim, falls in love with Zarina, who sharply questions his faith and values. Afzal fell in love with his wife, with whom he had an arranged marriage. Mahwish thinks she is in love with her husband Haroon, but has strong feelings for Manuel. Zarina, meanwhile, never actually tells Eli that she loves him, despite having married him. What is Akhtar saying about the complexities of love and marriage in this play?

• Akhtar incorporates a huge number of references into this play, from Marilyn Monroe to the 9th-century Islamic scholar al-Tabari. What is the reason for using so many external thinkers, quotes, and texts? How

does it affect your experience of the play?

• Akhtar calls the final scene in The Who & The What the “epilogue.” Why does he separate this scene from all others in this way? How is this scene a conclusion rather than a continuation?

Activities• This play has several time jumps—between Act One

and Two, a year passes and both Zarina and Mahwish get married. Between Act Two and the epilogue, two years pass. Write a scene between any two of the characters that takes place during one of these spans of time.

• The set of The Who & The What incorporates realistic and abstract elements, both of which are informed by the familial life, values, and culture of the Jatt family. Create a set that can do the same for your family. Consider background, history, hobbies, and beliefs as you choose which room in your house might best represent your family, and what elements you will include within it.

RESPONSE LETTER After you’ve seen the show and discussed your reactions in the classroom, let us know what you thought! Your response letter lets us know what parts of the play were important or meaningful to you, and what you’d like to learn more about. All of the letters we receive are forwarded to the artists involved in our productions. Ask a great question and you may get a response.

Here’s what to do:

• Choose an artist involved in The Who & The What whose work was particularly memorable or interesting to you—perhaps an actor, the director, or a designer.

• Write a letter to the artist including the following:

• A description of your experience seeing The Who & The What at Round House Theatre

• Your feedback on the artist’s work

• Any questions you have about the artist’s work or the production

• Be sure to include your name, age, school, and mailing address in your letter, so we know where to send a response!

• Send your letter to RHT Education viaEmail | [email protected] mail | 925 Wayne Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20910

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