Former Bahrain resident Karma Alami is having a full-circle moment as she steps onto the Off-Broadway stage in New York next month as Scheherazade – a role that she first took on while studying in the kingdom at the beginning of her theatrical journey.

The Jordan-born Palestinian-Syrian, who grew up in Bahrain, has been busy rehearsing, as she takes on the iconic role of legendary Arabic storyteller Scheherazade in a theatrical adaptation of The Thousand and One Nights, to be staged at La Mama Experimental Theatre Club on 4th Street in New York from February 19 to March 1.

“It is an honour to play her and find parts of myself within her,” the 22-year-old former St Christopher’s Bahrain student told GulfWeekly.

“She continues to teach me so much! And to get to bring it to such an iconic Off-Broadway theatre with such a rich history that has shaped theatre in New York – La MaMa – makes it all the more special.

“Funnily enough, I played Scheherazade when I was in Year 4 at St Chris for a school production – full circle moment!”

Karma grew up in Bahrain after moving with her family at the age of three, studying at St Christopher’s and graduating in 2021.

Despite now being based in New York, Bahrain remains close to her heart, with much of her family and many close friends still based in the kingdom.

“Growing up in Bahrain means inherently growing up with a global perspective,” she explained. “I always tell people that New York and Bahrain are very similar in that regard. They’re both total melting pots.”

Bahrain’s multicultural environment shaped not only her worldview but her artistic instincts.

Her passion for performance was nurtured early by teachers at St Christopher’s encouraging her to pursue drama and music seriously.

“They were far more than teachers to me,” she added. “They were my whole support system.”

Karma’s earliest stage experiences took place at venues like the Dilmun Club, where she performed in a pantomime at the age of seven. Her purpose for performance eventually took her to New York University (NYU), where she graduated from the Tisch School of the Arts last year.

While initially worried about competing with classmates immersed in the US performing arts scene, her background became a strength.

“I thought I might be at a disadvantage, but little did I know my superpower was where I came from and the stories I brought with me,” she explained.

During her final year at NYU, she auditioned for an adaptation of The Thousand and One Nights, directed and written by Ghina Fawaz.

The production’s first run took place in February last year, and Ghina offered the play as a sanctuary during the ongoing conflict in Gaza, allowing audiences to experience joy, anger, imagination and mourning side-by-side.

Karma was almost passed over for her role, but fate had other plans.

“It was only a couple of weeks before the show began rehearsals that I received an email from Karma in which she wrote to me about how much this show meant to her and how she would be honoured to be considered for a part in the show,” Ghina added.

“I was surprised I hadn’t seen her application, so I went back through and found a video of her singing at Young Musicians of The Gulf, hosted at St Chris.

“She was enchanting on that stage, and her voice was so resilient.

“Some of my family lives in Bahrain too, so that was a wonderful connection.

“I called her back and remember asking her what the ways she liked to express herself artistically were; her answer- photography, poetry, my voice, and protest.

“It was then, I knew she would be a north star for this production.”

As Al Hakawati (the Arabic term for storyteller) Theatre Collective prepares for the show’s Off-Broadway run, Karma reflected that the power of the play lies in its roots in oral traditions passed down across regions and centuries while the stories remain deeply human.

“They’re timeless,” she said. “Wherever you’re from or whatever is happening in the world, they remain relevant.”

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