Presidential Scholar Yaser Salamah's thesis performance, "Toler(h)ated," took place not just on the stage of the Ring Theatre, but in locations all across campus.
Why did you choose these locations for your performances?
Each day of M-F had a theme, and that theme was associated with the location. "Monday was Mental Health, in the lobby of Scales. I split my time sophomore year largely between Scales and my suite just up the hill, and my sophomore year was a pit of mental illness. Tuesday discussed going to school on Eid, so I did that one surrounded by academic buildings. Wednesday was Life and Death, hosted at the heart of campus—Wait Chapel. Thursday was Muslims vs Islam, hosted in vicinity to the MSA lounge. Friday quoted a joke I made on lower quad and a meeting I had in Benson, so I held the event in Tribble Courtyard."
Saturday was the full show and held in the Ring—in part because I wanted a larger venue, and in part because as the first Muslim in a long time to come through this theatre dept, I wanted to reclaim it. That was true for every location. A way to say, “I am brown, I am Muslim, and I belong here.”
Tell us a little about your background
I started doing theatre my freshman year of high school. It was an elective that sounded somewhat interesting but I didn’t feel strongly about it. Then I auditioned and I had such a great time—I made some great friends and it made high school enjoyable. Before theatre, I had hated my time freshman year. Now, I can still look back on fond memories from high school. By the time I graduated from West Forsyth just down the street in Clemmons, I had acted in 12 shows at school, directed 2 out of my living room, and performed in 3 in community theatre. I think it’s safe to say it’s a pretty big part of my life now!
The Presidential Scholarship was a big pull for my coming to Wake from the start. When I got it it was a huge help and made me that much closer to being able to afford this school. But once I got here, it served as a catalyst for my involvement.
My first acting project was actually a senior’s directing scene—I met that senior during Pres Scholar weekend. Since then, it has provided me with resources and connections that gave me significant help in learning more about the dept and contributed to roles and opportunities throughout my college career.
In regards to my activism, the first protest I attended was against Kavanaugh’s appointment to the SCOTUS. They threatened arrest.
I remember thinking, “Oh God, what if they take my scholarship.” But that reaction lit a fire in me. I was furious that something good, something right, could cost me my future. My sense of urgency for activism started there.
How did this piece come about?
The Interdisciplinary Arts Center brought performance artist Tim Miller to Wake Forest and I and 6 other creators worked with him all week to create a performance art project called “Body Maps.”
After the show closed, Miller pulled me aside and told me no one was writing stories about the Muslim experience in a post 9-11 world, and told me I should keep writing, that I should fill that gap. So I did! 3 years and 20 pieces later, I chose the 10 most relevant ones to perform this year.
What do you hope the audience will take away from your performances?
I want the audience to do something. Not a single one of these issues have been solved, and they are all ongoing, and are all solvable. The more of us who fight and the harder we fight, the sooner equity and justice can be achieved. I want to inspire others to work towards that goal, to get them to enact change. And, for the Muslims in the audience, I want to be the representation we’ve never had. The first time I heard my name on TV, “Yaser” was labeled a terrorist. I want to flip that script and make sure that never happens to anyone else. By creating art, by pushing for representation in media, we can change national, and even global, opinions of us for the better. I want Muslims to feel seen, and I want non-Muslims to see.
See the performance playlist here:
Links to resources
What's next for you?
I plan on moving to the LA area after graduation to pursue acting! I hope to not only create that representation for Muslims but to be it. There’s a small and growing presence of Muslims in Hollywood—Mahershala Ali, Riz Ahmed, Ramy Youssef, Blair Imani—and I want to be there. I want to be there and help other Muslims join the process.
I want my 7 nephews and nieces, and all the Muslim kids in America to look at their TV screens and see superheroes and monarchs and kids and adults and spies and doctors and lawyers and students and normal people who look and practice like them.
I didn’t get to, and it hurt. I want to be part of the group that changes that. And I think my best way there is through acting and maybe some writing!