Cleyvis Natera (author of Neruda on the Park)

Zuzanna Szadkowski (actress of Gossip Girl)

Garnette Cadogan (essayist and journalist)

Sumitra Mattai (textile designer and writer)

Rojo Perez (comedian)

Austin Zhang (musician)

Hosted by Sofija Stefanovic (author of Alien Nation, Miss Yugoslavia)

THIS ALIEN NATION IN COLLABORATION WITH UNITED NATIONS

Join us for a celebration of immigration, presented in collaboration with United Nations Human Rights.

Host Sofija Stefanovic welcomes some of her favorite authors, artists, comedians, and musicians to the stage. Hear true tales about language barriers, cultural missteps, rumbles, romance, and more. Come for the stories, leave with some feelings – and enjoy drinks, laughs, and cries in between.

TICKETS

Doors: 6pm

Show: 7pm

Ticket price: $15

Please note: performers & audience will be adhering to The Public’s safety policies, including masks, proof of vaccination and boosters as detailed here.

More about UN Human Rights Commission’s mission:     

• UN Human Rights believes that there is a compelling need to shift the narrative on migration from one of hate and division to one that focuses on what we have in common. We want to replace narratives of fear, division and exclusion with those of hope, inclusion and the change we want to see.

• We want to create shared spaces for people to come together, allowing us to reflect on what migration, identity and human rights mean to us no matter where we come from or what we look like. 

• We want to counter hate with laughter. Laughter is, ultimately, a common language that we all share. It brings us together and unites us. 

America would not be America without its immigrants. A new anthology, adapted from the storytelling event “This Alien Nation,” captures firsthand the past and present of immigration in all its humor, pain, and weirdness. Spanning comedy and tragedy, Alien Nation is a poignant reminder of our shared humanity, and that immigration is not just a word in the news that you’re either “for” or “against. It’s a world—rich with unique voices, perspectives, and experiences.

Contributors to Alien Nation share flash readings from the book. Their stories, spanning comedy and tragedy, illuminate what it’s like to be an immigrant in America.

Featuring readings by:

Sofija Stefanovic
André Aciman
Christine Yvette Lewis
Abeer Hoque
Magogodi oaMphela Makhene
Matt Huynh
Xochitl Gonzalez
Rufat Agayev
Roxanne Fequiere
Cleyvis Natera
Tatenda Shumirai Ngwaru
Suketu Mehta

This show was later livestreamed as part of JOE’S PUB LIVE! From the Archives!

André Aciman (author of Call Me By Your Name and Find Me)
Dr. Mateus F. Carneiro (particle physicist)
Mo Kheir (comedian, Mohamed’s Green Card Special, Alien Of Extraordinary Ability)
Tanaïs (née Tanwi Nandini Islam: author of Bright Lines and the forthcoming In Sensorium, founder of Hi Wildflower Beauty & Fragrance)

With a musical performance by
Jaime Lozano (A Never-Ending Line, Children of Salt, Joe’s Pub Working Group 2020)

Special wildcard announcement: We will feature a story from an audience member. If you have an immigration story to tell, bring it along and put your name in the hat to join our guests on stage! (You can read, or tell the story with notes.)

Photo: Arin Sang-urai

Let's celebrate immigration with music and stories at Joe's Pub! Come for the tales, leave with some feelings – and enjoy drinks, laughs and cries in between.

On Wednesday, November 13th, uncensored on our stage, we bring you:

MOHAMMAD EWAZ (student and subject of MOHAMMAD, MY MOTHER, AND ME)
SUKETU MEHTA (author of THIS LAND IS OUR LAND: AN IMMIGRANT'S MANIFESTO)
DANIJELA POPOVIC (multidisciplinary artist, creator of DANIJELA WITH A J)
FARIHA ROISIN (author of HOW TO CURE A GHOST)
JULIO TORRES (comedian and star of LOS ESPOOKYS)
with music from ROOPA MAHADEVAN

SPECIAL WILDCARD ANNOUNCEMENT: WE WILL FEATURE A STORY FROM AN AUDIENCE MEMBER – IF YOU HAVE AN IMMIGRATION STORY TO TELL, BRING IT ALONG AND PUT YOUR NAME IN THE HAT TO JOIN OUR GUESTS ON STAGE!

MARY HK CHOI (author of EMERGENCY CONTACT and PERMANENT RECORD)
DINA NAYERI (journalist and author of THE UNGRATEFUL REFUGEE)
EMMA RAMOS (actress and comedian)
VIPLAV SAINI (associate professor of Economics, and poet)
DAVID SLUCKI (associate professor of Jewish Studies, and author of SING THIS AT MY FUNERAL: A Memoir of Fathers and Sons)
with music from singer/songwriter TREYA LAM

Alexander Chee (author of HOW TO WRITE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL)
Tanael Joachim (comedian)
Nina Kiri (star of THE HANDMAID'S TALE)
Cleyvis Natera (writer)
Jess Salomon (comedian)
Zuzanna Szadkowsky (star of GOSSIP GIRL)
... with music from Aya Aziz

Mike Cho (comedian)
Noël Duan (writer, entrepreneur, and founder of ARGOS & ARTEMIS)
Laura Gómez (Star of ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
Samhita Mukhopadhyay (executive editor of TEEN VOGUE)
… with Haitan Roots music by Öneza Lafontant

Rufat Agayev (comedian)
Hasan Agili (the only refugee admitted to the US from Libya in 2016)
George Civeris (comic)
Mira Jacob (author of graphic memoir Good Talk)
Colm Toibin (award-winning writer, playwright, poet and journalist)
...and music from violinist Maria Manousaki

This Alien Nation, on April 10, is part of the Onassis Festival 2019: Democracy Is Coming, co-presented by The Public Theater and Onassis USA.

Hisla Bates, MD (artist and psychiatrist)
Siri Hustvedt (essayist, novelist, author of Memories of the Future)
Christine Lewis (domestic worker, activist and poet)
Daniel Simonsen (award-winning comedian)
Estelle Tang (Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com)

... with music from tabla player Roshni Samlal!

Rabyaah Althaibani (community activist)
Moustafa Bayoumi (author of THIS MUSLIM AMERICAN LIFE: DISPATCHES FROM THE WAR ON TERROR)
JP Brammer (Staff Writer and Hola Papi! at THEM)
Ravi Ragbir (immigration rights activist facing permanent exile from the U.S.)
Danusia Trevino (actor and storyteller)
... with music from Teresa Lee and Patrick Moloney from Paper Doll!

Jake Flores (stand up comic and 'New York Observer' columnist)
Abeer Hoque (author of Olive Witch and The Lovers and the Leavers)
Gabriel García Román (artist and creator of 'Queer Icons')
Kay Iguh (writer and educator)
Eli Reiter (storyteller and host of the Muslim-Jewish storytelling show)
...with music from violinist and composer Michelle Ross

Subhah Agarwal (comedian and writer for 'The Jim Jefferies Show')
Kat Mustatea (playwright and technologist)
Patricia Park (Jane Eyrehead and author of 'Re Jane')
Felipe Torres (storyteller and writer)
... with music from Ahmed Shareef