76 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • NOVEMBER 2, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
View this exhibit showcasing new and
old photos of Astoria’s Hell Gate Bridge
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com
To celebrate the 100th birthday of the
Hell Gate Bridge, a community group will
showcase dozens of photos of the structure
in Astoria next month.
Th e Hell Gate 100 Committee, which
has been organizing events to honor the
bridge since its 100th birthday on March
9, began asking people to submit their
best photos of the Hell Gate to their website
starting in August for a photo contest.
Dozens of people have submitted photos
of the bridge in black and white, in
color and throughout diff erent seasons.
People can submit their photos in a number
of categories including sunrise, sunset,
day, night, seasonal, celebrations and
artistic. Interested artists can also submit
their design for a Hell Gate logo.
“We wanted diff erent categories so
there is more variety and a chance for
multiple winners within each category,”
said Antonio Meloni, a founder of the
Hell Gate 100 Committee. “Th e diverse
categories are listed and people can make
their own if they feel it is not covered.”
On Nov. 8, Nov. 9 and Nov. 11, the
photos will be displayed at T Studio,
which is located at 38-01 23rd Ave. in
Room 203.
Th e “Celebrating the Hell Gate” exhibit
will be open from 6 to 8 p.m. on
Screenshot via hellgate100nyc.com
APAC to launch its 17th season with world premiere of ‘Veil’d’
Photo courtesy of the Astoria Performing Arts Center
Wednesday and Th ursday and 11 a.m. to
2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Entrance is free
and there will be people’s vote winners
and a judge’s pick winner for both the
photos and the logos.
“Th e only prize is knowing that you’re
as good as you think you are and other
people agreeing,” Meloni said.
An upcoming exhibit will showcase photos of the Hell Gate Bridge in Astoria.
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com / @QNS
Th e Astoria Performing Arts
Center (APAC) is kicking off its
17th season with the world premiere
of “Veil’d,” a play that explores identity
and how we see and represent
ourselves among diverse people.
Th e play, which is directed by
Pirronne Yousefzadeh, will run from
Nov. 2 to 18 at the Good Shepherd
United Methodist Church, located
at 30-44 Crescent St. (at 30th
Road), Astoria. Performances are
Th ursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., and
Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Tickets are $18 for adults and $12
for students and senior citizens.
Tickets can be purchased online at
www.apacny.org or in person at the
box offi ce an hour prior to each performance.
Th e play follows Dima, a 16-yearold
girl with a rare skin condition
who recently moved from
Afghanistan to New York with her
family. As she spends most of her
time hiding out in her room, her
parents fear that she’ll never have
the “normal” American teenage
experience that they hoped she’d
have. Little do they know that Dima
is getting by with some help from
her secret friends — Elliot, a poet
who hangs out under her window
hawking rhymes, and Speedo, a
talking nurse shark who saves the
day in more ways than one. But will
Dima have her happy ending?
Monet Hurst-Mendoza, the playwright,
originally wrote “Veil’d”
while she was in college. She found
that in writing this play, she is able
to subvert the status quo and reveal
the truth in universality, allowing the
play spark change.
“As the daughter of an immigrant,
my childhood was similar to Dima’s
— a combination of my father’s
Yucatecan roots and my mother’s
American life. Th at combination
had a profound infl uence on me,”
said Hurst-Mendoza. “As a result, I
explore how race, culture and gender
expectations infl uence family
dynamics in my plays, particularly
for young people as they ‘come
of age.’”
Nikhaar Kishnani, who plays Dima,
was excited to take on the role, especially
since her character never feels
the need to comment on her race.
When asked about if she learned anything
about herself or how she portrays
herself to the world in her character,
Kishnani responded:
“I wish I could say I see myself in
one way, but like most brown girls
in my generation, I code-switch,”
Kishnani said. “Th is modifi ed quote
from Selena (the best movie ever)
has the best answer I can give you:
‘We gotta be more brown than the
brown people and more American
than the Americans. Both at the same
time. It’s exhausting!’”
Sahar Bibiyan, who plays Dima’s
mother Rhami Mansour, was able to
connect to the relationship that her
character has with Dima.
“I connect to the unconditional
love of her child, Dima,” Bibiyan
said. “To being an immigrant and
leaving behind your home in order to
be safe. Wanting a better life for your
family despite the cost of a strange
new world. Sacrifi cing your own
needs for your family. Trying to fi t in
and fi nd who you are in two diff erent
cultures — as an immigrant myself,
I’ve experienced being an outcast and
misunderstood.”
Bibiyan also wants the audience
to take away that we are all Dima, in
some form or another.
“We all have things we veil, cover,
bury and have to overcome,” Bibiyan
said. “We also have the same desires
no matter where we are from. We
have more in common than we think.
And being diff erent is beautiful.”