Interview: Hend Ayoub of HOME? A PALESTINIAN WOMAN'S PURSUIT OF LIFE, LIBERTY & HAPPINESS at San Francisco Playhouse

What does “home” mean to you? Is it the place you were born? Is it something you have to seek out and create for yourself? In our ever more fractured world, is it even something that still exists – for anyone? These are the questions at the heart of actor-writer Hend Ayoub’s surprisingly funny and uplifting autobiographical solo show, Home? A Palestinian Woman’s Pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness. Commissioned by San Francisco Playhouse to mark the relaunch of its Sandbox Series, the production is making its world premiere there July 26 to August 16 before heading to Off-Broadway’s 59E59 Theaters in the fall. And – great news for longtime Bay Area theatergoers -  A.C.T. Artistic Director Emerita Carey Perloff is directing.

Ayoub is Palestinian, yet born and raised in Israel and now living in New York, so the very concept of home is necessarily a complicated one for her. Having been kicked out of childhood Purim parties, denied waitressing gigs and typecast as terrorists' wives in America as a result of her Arab identity, she has experienced plenty of rejection and discrimination, even sometimes from her fellow citizens. In spite of this, she has remained determined in her pursuit of happiness and a place she can truly call home.

The New York-based actor and writer’s theater credits include Broadway’s Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo with Robin Williams and Arena Stage’s A Thousand Splendid Suns. Her extensive television credits include buzzy series such as Homeland and Orange Is the New Black, plus recurring roles on Transparent and Damages. On film, she co-starred in the Emmy-winning Death of a President, the multi award-winning Private and If You See Something.

A couple of weeks ago, I caught up with Ayoub by phone from New York before she headed to San Francisco for final rehearsals. We talked about what it’s like to never really fit in anywhere, how she developed the show with the assistance of late theater guru Wynn Handman and was able to snag Perloff to direct, what she hopes audiences will take away from her show, and why its themes have only gained more relevance in the years it’s taken her to get it up on its feet. In conversation, she struck me as a no-nonsense, nose-to-the-grindstone type with a uniquely wry sense of humor. The following has been condensed and edited for clarity.

What led you to create the piece?

When I tell people I was born and raised in Israel and I’m Palestinian, there’s a lot of, like, “Huh..?” And then they’re not comfortable asking questions because they feel like they don’t know anything about that. It’s totally understandable that most Americans, most people in the world really, don’t know much about Palestinians who are Israeli citizens, even though we are 20% of Israel’s population. So I thought “Well, why don’t I tell my story and invite my fellow Americans into our world?” My hope is to invite people to see a Palestinian beyond labels, beyond what they think they know. It’s a human, personal story, and it’s one that’s never been told before.

And I have to say that I was especially interested in talking to you because I don’t feel like I’ve heard this story before.

Right. We did a workshop in DC and I assumed that Americans who don’t know a thing about Arabs wouldn’t know our story, but what was so surprising was to see Arabs from Arab countries who don’t know it either. They were like “Wow, I didn’t know anything about that.” So I think the show is educational for everyone - and hopefully entertaining, because the play has a lot of humor.

How did you manage to weave so much humor into a story that explores such serious issues?

Well, my goal is to reach people, and I think it’s easier to do that and really get them to hear the story when you tell it with humor. It’s not a 100% comedy; it’s a mix of things. At the DC workshop, people came to me and said, “Thank you. I cried, I learned something, and I laughed.” That’s what I hope people will leave with.

Home? is being directed by the estimable Carey Perloff who is very well known to Bay Area audiences from all her years leading A.C.T. How did you get her to come on board?

I auditioned for her in New York for A Thousand Splendid Suns at Arena Stage and was cast, and I had a great time working with her. I mentioned to her, “I’m working on a solo show. I’d love to share it with you.” So I did a reading for her, [producer/playwright] Ari Roth - he’s the one who did the workshop production in DC - and the cast, and shared my story with them. Carey really loved it and said, “I want to work on this.”

How did the San Francisco Playhouse commission come about?

Carey led A.C.T. for 25 years and knows [San Francisco Playhouse Artistic Director] Bill English, and when we were looking for a place to develop it, she mentioned it to him. We invited him for a Zoom reading, he loved it and I got two writing workshops from Bill, so it felt natural that he would produce it after that.

The piece includes some challenging experiences you’ve had as a working actor. Have you ever taken yourself out of contention for a job after getting a bad vibe from an audition?

No, but if the content is problematic I have refused to audition, and it’s not easy because we get so few auditions as a minority. It sucks, and I’ve had that happen in Israel and in the States. Sadly, the industry in both countries views us as nothing worth putting on TV unless you’re a terrorist - or the terrorist’s wife, in my case, [laughs] where I don’t even get a line. It’s really ridiculous. It’s sad, just sad.

You’ve appeared on three of my all-time favorite TV series - Homeland, Damages and Transparent. Is that just plain luck, is it a matter of talent recognizing talent, or are you just very selective about what shows you’ll go in for?

No, I’m not that selective! [laughs] It’s just that you have a responsibility when you come from a minority. I’m selective only if the content is very problematic and shows us as villains for no reason. I don’t know if it’s an agenda, honestly, but I don’t want to take part in that. And I really do want to work.

You were part of the amazing Broadway cast of Bengal Tiger at the Zoo led by Robin Williams, Arian Moayed and recent Tony nominee Glenn Davis. What was that experience like?

It was great. Robin Williams was wonderful and it was amazing to watch him rehearse. He was so funny and humble. It was surprising to me what a real person he was. You love seeing that because sometimes celebrities think they’re gods and he was the complete opposite. He was just a delight.

Circling back to the title of your piece, what does the word “home” mean to you?

Home… is a great place, where you’re safe and happy and included and welcomed and embraced. The logline for my play is “In Israel, she’s Palestinian. In the Arab world, she’s Israeli. In America, she’s an ‘Other.’” And that’s the reality. I’m not able to find a place that will say “You’re part of us. Come. Welcome. This is your place, this is your language, this is your flag, this is your country.”

Most people have that and take it for granted, and I envy that. I wish I was born in a place where I’m part of the scene. But I think my piece is not just for Palestinians, you know? I think the piece is universal. A lot of people don’t feel “part of,” even in their own country where they’re the majority. There’s always a minority in everything, right?

I have to say that as someone who was born in America and whose family’s roots go back for centuries here, these days I don’t feel at home in my own country anymore. Which is something I never expected to happen.

I’ve heard that a lot. I started hearing it when I developed the piece with Wynn Handman. He was an amazing, amazing guy and teacher and artist. He ran the American Place Theatre for many years and was the assistant of Sandy Meisner and then he had his own studio. He taught Richard Gere and started the career of Aasif Mandvi and John Leguizamo, all the solo shows, that all started with Wynn. When I was working on the piece in his class, Americans were saying exactly what you just told me, and that was a few years ago. So imagine how much people are saying that now? Sadly, this means lots of people can relate to it.

(Header photo by Erin Lamar)

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