How much of yourself do you edit for the room?
Born in Mississippi to Egyptian-Muslim parents, Suehyla El-Attar Young grew up learning how to read a room—and how much of herself to adjust to make everyone else comfortable.
Nope. That’s Just My First Name. turns that calculation into a solo performance about self-compromise and the decision to stop making it. Moving from kindergarten roll call to a Mississippi traffic stop, Suehyla traces the moments when her name, religion, politics and identity became things to soften, explain or negotiate.
But the path through the story isn’t entirely hers to choose. The audience decides which stories are told and in what order, creating an evening that can unfold differently each time.
MEET THE ARTIST
Suehyla El-Attar Young is an award-winning actor/writer/audiobook narrator based in Atlanta, GA. As an actor, her 25-year career spans stages across the United States and screens, big and small. She’s received recognition for her performances with multiple nominations from the Atlanta Suzi Bass Awards, including a win for Outstanding Supporting Performer; and the 2013 Gene-Gabriel Moore Playwriting Award for her script Third Country. She was named Mississippi Playwright of the year in 2011 and was one of two candidates chosen to kick off the inaugural year of The Alliance Theatre Directing Fellowship in 2014. In 2021, she was inducted into the Georgia Theatre Hall of Fame. She lives happily with her guy and their dog and kitty.
