The Electronic Intifada 11 June 2004
At the 21st National Convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in Washington DC, from June 10th-13th, EI’s Nigel Parry shot video footage of two performances by Palestinian comedians — Maysoon Zayid and Dean Obeidallah, who are definitely rising stars in the American comedy circuit and host their own New York-based FM radio show, Fen Majnoon (“Crazy Art”) with Dean and Maysoon. Video is available in MPEG-4 format, which can be viewed using QuickTime.
Maysoon Zayid performing at the ADC Convention.
Maysoon Zayid (Comedian, Actor) is an actress and professional stand-up comedian. She received a BFA in acting from Arizona State University. She has appeared on As The World Turns, MTV and 20/20. She has performed comedy in top New York clubs, including Caroline’s, Gotham, and Stand Up NY. She has toured her stand-up act extensively in both the USA and abroad. Maysoon was the first comedian to perform stand-up live in Palestine performing in Nazareth, Haifa, Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Jerusalem. Maysoon spends 3 months a year in Palestine where she runs an art program for disabled and wounded refugee children She is also Co-Chairperson of the New York Arab American Comedy Festival as well as co-host of the radio show “Fen Mejnoon.”
- Watch Maysoon’s performance at ADC
[20 min, 4 sec, 13.7 MB, MPEG4/Quicktime video format]
Dean Obeidallah performing at the ADC Convention.
Born in the Great State of New Jersey, Dean’s comedy comes in large part from his unique background of being the only son of a Palestinian father and a Sicilian mother. Dean has been featured in segments about Arab-American comics on ABC’s “20/20,” CNN’s “Newsnight with Aaron Brown,” and MSNBC’s “Nachman.” He has written jokes that have appeared on Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” and CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn.” Dean has appeared on Comedy Central’s “Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn” and in numerous sketches on “Saturday Night Live” and “Late Night with Conan Brien.” He also is the co-host of a monthly radio show in NYC called “Fen Mejnoon with Dean and Maysoon” (“Crazy Art”) that focuses on Arab-American artists.
- Watch Dean’s performance at ADC
[17 min, 31 sec, 11.7 MB, MPEG4/Quicktime video format]
Related Links
- Maysoon.com (coming soon)
- www.DeanObeidallah.com
- www.ADC.org
- BY TOPIC: Arts, Music & Culture
- BY TOPIC: Comedy
Video at ADC 2004 by EI’s Nigel Parry.