A coming-of-age solo play about a queer Middle Eastern American boy's soul-stirring search for self. Essa, the son of refugees, confesses the experience of growing up in a country that doesn’t have a place for him. Join Essa as he navigates sexuality, the demands of a religion passed onto him from his parents, learning the English language, the fleetingness of youth, and a nicotine demon that won't leave him alone. Hilarious, raw, and untold.
This is a story born out of being unheard and unrepresented. Through poetry, comedy, and authenticity it sheds light on the everyday experiences of individuals not commonly given a voice on stage, screen or indeed elsewhere. People often ignored, unseen, or deemed irrelevant. An autobiographical piece, Dummy in Diaspora draws on the writer's own lived experiences to share these truths. Although a very specific narrative, Dummy in Diaspora also divulges into the experiences that tie us all together as people, tightly knitting our common humanity.
Esho Rasho, writer and performer, is a Chicago-based American actor and writer. He is the child of an Assyrian-Iraqi refugee and an Assyrian-Lebanese immigrant, both of whom are war survivors. He holds a BFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University and works primarily in developing and acting in new works. Recently, he was a part of the 2024 “Criminal Queerness Playwriting Studio” Cohort at The National Queer Theatre in New York. His writing exists at the intersection of poetic realism and comedy, often weaving the two together. Esho passionately believes that unheard and honest stories can awaken our innate empathy for each other and aims to bring these narratives to mass audiences, uncovering truths that have historically been suppressed.
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