Heather Raffo spent months researching what desire meant to Iraqi women. The result was her renowned play "9 Parts of Desire." It was performed on campus on May 3.
Amir ElSaffar who sang, played a santoor and a trumpet accompanied her. This play is a one-woman performance that tells the lives of nine Iraqi women.
One moment Raffo performed a monologue about a woman with two husbands and laughed about how fat she was. The next moment she explained how men were digging up graves with their bare hands.
All it took was an alteration of her abaya, an overgarment that serves as a cloak for some women in parts of the Islamic world, and Raffo was a different woman.
The subject matter went from funny to disturbing to realistic. Torture, grief, anger, love and all other human emotions came out through these monologues. If nothing else, the play showed the universal language of human emotion that struck a nerve with the audience.
One audience member from Afghanistan said, "I don't think that I've seen something like this that is so powerful, it has touched me deeply."
Raffo gathered her information for the play through interviews with Iraqi women. Raffo explained that she had to spend months with them and build up their trust to get their complete stories.
Her play originated from her work towards her master's degree in fine arts from The Old Globe/University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program and from her studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
The international productions in Brazil, Greece, Sweden, Turkey and France can attest to the popularity of the "9 Parts of Desire."
What adds a special touch to Raffo's monologue is the music by ElSaffar, the composer for "9 Parts of Desire." He combines the traditional Iraqi Maqam and jazz music for a truly unique sound. The music does not only accompany, but helps build the dramatic nature of the women's stories.
The blend of American and Iraqi music represents the performers. Both Elsaffar and Raffo are Iraqi-Americans. Raffo said that she was, "Reconstructing the two cultures, which is often what music does."
The combination of two cultures is what inspired Raffo to create this play, "Being Iraqi-American makes you feel like you're living in two places. It makes you wonder why you're born here and they're born there."
Raffo wanted her play to be a "Celebration for the males and females of Iraqi descent," by being able to relate to the monologues and Iraqi culture. ElSaffar and Raffo received a standing ovation at the end of the performance.
