Review Fix Exclusive: Mohammed Saad Ali Talks ‘Canaan’

Review Fix chats with playwright Mohammed Saad Ali about his newest production “Canaan,” currently running at this year’s Midtown International Theatre Festival in New York City. Ali also breaks down the learning experience from his previous production, “Old Men are Full of S**t,” as well as his creative process.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for the production? How did it all come together?

Mohammed Saad Ali: The inspiration for the production came from a drug-induced trance; which caused a deep reflection of my life and the lives of close friends and loved ones; which resulted in a severe existential crisis. This horrible event happened a few years ago, and I wrote a rough draft in a workshop sponsored by Genesis Repertory under the direction of Robert Liebowitz. It has since been workshopped at The M Center.

Review Fix: What do you think you learned from last year’s festival?

Ali: I learned about the business aspects of the arts, along with the stresses, depression but ultimately the incomparably wonderful joy of seeing amazingly talented people take your work and giving it a life of its own. Basically, I learned why producers are prone to heart attacks.

Review Fix: How is this production different from last year’s?

Ali: My characters have a wide range of obstacles to face. OLD MEN dealt with a more political problem to them: deportation. This family – a mixed religion family of Muslim and Jewish – is here legally, doesn’t mean it’s any easier.

Review Fix: What’s your writing process like?

Ali: Simple, I procrastinate till there are enough people yelling and threatening to cut all ties with me if I don’t do my damn job.

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy this production the most?

Ali: Brown people. …and their brethren communist liberal white people; but seriously though, I hope anyone can relate to the struggles of these characters, regardless of age and race. How much different are these immigrants than the Irish and Italians of the turn of the [20th] century; the Jews of pre/post WWII, or any other. I guess that’s the point of art.

Review Fix: What’s your favorite element of the show?

Ali: My award-winning writing. Yeah, I know what that sounds like but I’m not saying it to be funny or arrogant. I’ve written many pieces that stay in my drawer. Through the amazingly talented artists involved in this production, finally people are hearing my words and saying they connect with its message. This is a feeling I can’t describe.

Review Fix: How do you want the production to be remembered?

Ali: I hope it’s looked at as an honest representation of the struggles of youth and their feeling of abandonment from the establishment.    

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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