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Theater festival’s productions aim to provoke thought, talk

ANN ARBOR (AP) — A three-week festival that features what organizers called “provocative” theater productions and performances in southeastern Michigan was preparing its debut this week.

No Safety Net 2.0 was scheduled to open Wednesday at University of Michigan’s Arthur Miller Theatre with the first of five performances of Javaad Alipoor’s “The Believers Are But Brothers.” It’s described as a multimedia show exploring online radicalization among young men domestically and internationally.

Other festival offerings include Tania El Khoury’s “As Far As My Fingertips Take Me,” which organizers called a “one-on-one encounter through a gallery wall” between a refugee and audience member. Performances were scheduled from Friday through Sunday at the university’s Institute for the Humanities, and Feb. 4-9 at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn.

After all non-opening night shows, panels of community leaders, activists and others planned to interact with the audience on themes related to the performances. The festival also was expected to feature educational and community engagement events.

The festival, produced by the school-affiliated University Musical Society, launched in 2018. UMS officials said they recognized the importance of showing provocative work, yet respectfully engaging with people in a culturally and politically polarizing time.

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