In a time marked by rising islamophobia, antisemitism, and cultural division, SWITCH asks:
What does it mean to be American when every part of you is viewed with suspicion?
How do mixed-heritage people navigate systems that invalidate their existence?
A new world premiere play in progress by Aviva Arts Artistic Director Debórah Eliezer in collaboration with
Director: Amal Bisharat
Environmental Designer: Noor Adabachi
Composer: Bahar Royaee
Production Manager: Bora "Max" Koknar
Dramaturg: Denmo Ibrahim
Cultural Consultant: Hadar Cohen
Organizational Partners: MEEM Collective & Golden Thread
Debórah Eliezer
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Writer, Debórah Eliezer is an Arab Jewish theater maker, social activist, post-zionist and California fire survivor, is Founder of Aviva Arts an Associate Artist with Golden Thread and serves on SWANA Alliance of TheatreMakers Board. Her work focuses on disrupting assumptions about art, human values and society. She has devised and performed in numerous world premieres, recently creating the multidisciplinary walkthrough installation and live performance Burning Wild with Aviva Arts in SF. With foolsFURY, Eliezer wrote and performed (dis)Place[d] about Iraqi Jews, which toured the US and UK as well as 15 other world premieres including producing the FURY Factory Festival of Ensemble and Devised Theater for 15 years. She holds a BA Cum Laude from SFSU and a certificate in Sound, Voice Music Healing from CIIS. www.avivaarts.org
Amal Bisharat
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Amal Bisharat (she/her) is a Palestinian-American multidisciplinary artist- a theater director, producer, writer, musician, actor and photographer based in LA and San Francisco. She is Artistic Director & Co-founder of Meem Collective م, currently developing "Morning in Jenin Musical", a Palestinian refugee story adapted from the best-selling novel “Mornings in Jenin” by susan abulhawa. Bisharat holds a BA in Music and Theater and, for 12 years, worked as a theater director and music director in partnership with the San Francisco Unified School District. In 2023, as Artist-in-Residence with Golden Thread Productions in San Francisco, she co-produced and directed their signature program ReOrient Festival of Short Plays (2023), and directed an online reading of "The Gaza Monologues" by Ashtar Theatre-Palestine (2023). Bisharat is a current member of the board of MENATMA (MENA Theater Makers Alliance) and served on the Community Council for Golden Thread’s 2024 Season for Palestine. She is grateful to have received support for her work from the following organizations: San Francisco Arts Commission Artist Grant (2023), Theater Bay Area CA$H Creates Grant (2022), TBA Arts Leadership Residency Grant (2023), Investing in Artists: Artistic Innovation CCI (2024), Zoo Labs: FUND (2024), Doria Feminist Fund (2025). https://www.meemcollective.com/about
Denmo Ibrahim
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Dramaturg, is an American writer, actor, and educator of Egyptian descent. Her plays include Arab Spring (Bay Area Playwrights Festival 2022) Kal & Dija Save the World (Civilians’ R&D Group, Findings Series 2022), the hybrid experience Brilliant Mind (Marin Theatre Company), BABA (Alter Theatre), Ecstasy / A Waterfable (Golden Thread), and The Day Naguib Mahfouz Was Stabbed In The Neck And Almost Died a.k.a. The Selkie Play (Finalist: NNPN’s Showcase of New Plays). Denmo’s recently released audio-immersive book, Zaynab’s Night of Destiny (Fons Vitae, Commonwealth Theatre Center) engaged thousands of elementary and middle school students in 2022. https://www.denmoibrahim.com/
Bahar Royaee
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Composer, is the Co-founder of Meem Collective. The acoustic and electro-acoustic music of Iranian composer/sound designer has been acclaimed as “succeed(ing) as a poetic incantation, brimming with ideas and colors” (Classical Voice North America). Recent Theater: Alliance Theater, Golden Thread, Kitchen Theater, Rattlestick Theater, University Settlement, Gloucester Stage Company, and Tank. A recipient of the prestigious Opera America Discovery Grant 2025. Recent music performances include: Ojai Festival, ECLAT Festival, Germany with FabrikQuartet, Biennale Venice with Hannah Levinson, Festspiele festival in Germany with Opus21. https://www.meemcollective.com/about
Noor Adabachi
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Environmental Designer, Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Noor Adabachi. He moved to California in the 80’s, studied Stage & costume design at CalArts and collaborated on film & stage productions before expanding to environmental sculptural installation. Noor’s stage designs for theater include Aviva Arts’ Burning Wild directed by Deborah Eliezer, Dionysus Was Such a Nice Man and (dis)Place[d], directed by Ben Yalom and Faulted, directed by Evren Odcikin. His design work has been featured in architectural magazines and on E the Entertainment Channel. https://www.avivaarts.org/noor-adabachi
Hadar Cohen
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Cultural Consultant, is an Arab Jewish scholar, mystic and artist. She teaches spirituality and Jewish mysticism and founded Malchut, a school of mysticism. Born and raised in a Sephardic Jewish home 10 generations in Jerusalem with additional roots in Syria, Kurdistan, Iraq and Iran. She works between Jerusalem and the US. She has written for The New Arab, JTA, Lilith, +972 Magazine, DoubleBlind and more. Her podcast, Hadar’s Web, features community conversations on spirituality, healing, justice, and art. https://www.hadarcohen.me/
Bora "Max" Koknar
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Bora "Max" Koknar is a Turkish-born producer, immersive experience designer, and multi-disciplinary theatre artist. His work focuses on storytelling as a technology for social cohesion and change. As the founder of StoryPunk his recent work includes creating San Francisco Chronicle Critic’s Picks About Last Night… a playable crime thriller, The Super Secret Society: a playable play, and the award winning horror aerial dance short film Becoming Beautiful. Formerly the Chief Visionary Officer of the Dragon in Redwood City and Associate Artistic Director at Epic Immersive, his past projects have been featured in outlets including The New York Times, American Theatre Magazine and AP News, and supported by funders including the California Arts Council and the Knight Foundation. Max is a recipient of the Center for Cultural Innovation's CALI Catalyst Award and a member of Silicon Valley Creates’ SVMindshare Cohort. https://www.storypunk.org/about
What are we willing to risk to know the truth?
SWITCH is a bold, immersive new play, audio series and participatory installation that explores the processes of believing and un-believing.
This new world premiere play will dismantle binary narratives, reveal unexpected solidarities across SWANA identities — Arab Jewish, Palestinian, Lebanese, Iranian, and Egyptian — and encourage audiences to confront detrimental cultural scripts they may carry.
How do we dismantle deeply-ingrained belief systems?
Rooted in the lived experiences of people of SWANA heritage — including Arab Jewish, Palestinian, Lebanese, Iranian, and Egyptian backgrounds — SWITCH uplifts the least-heard stories of SWANA identity, with particular focus on multiracial, multi-faith, and mixed-heritage first-generationals navigating a world which demands assimilation at high costs, code-switching as a survival response to cope within a system that was not designed for us.
SWITCH draws inspiration from Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, psychologist Margaret Singer’s brainwashing studies, and sociolinguist Einar Haugen’s research on code-switching.
Contemporary Storytelling
SWITCH uses real-life oral histories from California-based people of SWANA heritage, woven with original music, projections and audio installations to create a visceral narrative interrogating belief systems.
The audio series extend the reach of SWANA visibility, through real-life SWANA artists and their stories.
Photos by Makeen Osman Photography
