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Biography

Overview:

Sami Ismat is a Research-Practitioner in Performance & Theatre from Damascus, Syria. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor at ����vlog�ٷ����app. His interdisciplinary artistic practice integrates performance art, devised theatre, documentary techniques, ethnographic research, filmmaking, and choreography. Across cultural institutions in Egypt, Tunisia, UAE, UK, and USA., Sami has contributed as writer, director, creator, performer, collaborator, and consultant on a variety of projects spanning across major theatres and museums to street performances and unconventional spaces. Additionally, Sami is a semi-professional soccer coach and sports administrator working nationally across the US at the adult and youth levels. Currently, he works at Edgewater Castle FC as a coach and assists in sporting operations. He also serves on the board of the foundation for the club. Sami is passionate about developing talent and creating cultural belonging through the arts and the beautiful game, globally known as football. 

Artistic Bio: 

Lemon & Oil (Pivot Arts Festival), and Every Time I Step Towards Freedom (Dfbrl8r Art Gallery/Zhou B Art Center). As a performer, I have collaborated on acclaimed works such as New Normal by Jonas Becker at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and Atlas Unlimited by Karthik Pandian and Andros Zins-Browne, presented at Logan Center Exhibitions and the Graham Foundation. My work also includes the immersive performance Veni, Vedi, Vici as part of The Future of Our Plans at SAIC, a street performance activism with Sitting in Our Lap & Plucking Our Beards in Chicago's Loop, and By a Shore Rests a Body at New Blood Festival/Links Hall. On screen, my film Transfixed premiered at Collaboraction's Peacebook Online. 

As a theatre director, I have staged compelling productions such as Muzzled by Reza Shirmarz (Chopin Theatre/Gwyndion Theatre), Was Dinner Good, Dear Sister? (Steppenwolf LookOut), Mihbaj by Riad Ismat at Stratford East, London, Picnic Summit with Collaboraction, and Ghosts of Freedom at Trellis Residency/Greenhouse. New play development and stage readings include Pureland (Silk Road Rising/Goethe-Institut Chicago) and OFF WHITE or the Arab House Party (Backstitch Story Arts), which reflect my commitment to amplifying diverse voices and stories. Through my practice, I seek to connect testimony, place, and embodied performance to inspire dialogue, reflection, and social change. 

Teaching Philosophy: 

My teaching philosophy is rooted in creating a classroom environment that prioritizes the four C's = Community, Care, Collaboration, and Culture. I am a firm believer that a successful classroom strives to dismantle traditional hierarchies through fostering a space where learning is dynamic and shared. By using practices such as un-grading that emphasize process-based learning and constructive feedback models, I encourage students to take ownership of their work and approach it with a creative curiosity, self-awareness, and a commitment to growth. I highlight intercultural and polycultural aspects in the classroom to encourage students to draw from their own experiences and express themselves. We try to balance play and intellectual discourse through game-like activities, class field trips, and embodied practices connecting the physical, emotional, and cognitive to creative practice and academic work. Ultimately, my goal is to empower students to become cultural producers, innovators, and holistic leaders in their respective fields

Research Focus: 

My research explores Syrian identity, diaspora, and Arab representations in performance, including investigations of Islamic art and ritual. Through performance, I examine the dynamics of presentation and representation, particularly concerning war-torn landscapes, trauma, loss, grief, memory, and collective cultural consciousness. 

My academic writing includes several production reviews in Arab Stages journal, essays in art & cultural publications, and book chapters in specialized books. See select publications below. 

Academic Writings: 

Ismat, Sami. “Visualizing Unutterable Realities: Al-Bukai and Abdelke adapt various forms to express Syria’s Crisis”. Arab Art and the Geography of Post-Imperialism, edited by Sultan Al Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi & Patrick M. Kane, Barjeel Art, Sharjah (expected 2026)

Ismat, Sami. “Embodied & Socially Engaged Dramaturgical Forms Inspired by Contemporary Ethnography & Cultural Studies”. Decolonizing Dramaturgy in Global Context, edited by Dr. Jimmy Noriega: Bloomsbury, London (expected 2026)

Ismat, Sami. "Beyond Ruins: Exploring Architectural Nostalgia in Syrian Diaspora Art and the Resilience of Utopian Imaginings." Mizna, August 16, 2025.

Ismat, Sami. The Cave by Sadieh Rifai, Arab Stages, (expected fall 2025)

Ismat, Sami. Little Syria by Omar Offendum, Ronnie Malley, Thanks Joey, Arab Stages, volume 14, 26 November, 2023.

Ismat, Sami. Layalina written by Martin Yousif Zebari, directed by Sivan Battat. Arab Stages, Volume 14, 17 March 2023.

Ismat, Sami, “Deconstructing Myths via Performance Strategies: Experiences of a Contemporary Practitioner.” , edited by , Xenia Gazi, Sam Bowker: Routledge, March 21, 2022, pp. 199-212

Academic Background: 

My academic journey includes earning an MFA in Performance Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and an MFA in Theatre Directing from East 15 Acting School at the University of Essex, where I was honored as a Said Foundation Scholar.

Degrees

B.A., Mass Communication American University of Sharjah 2013
M.F.A., Theatre Directing University of Essex 2016
M.F.A., Performance Art School of The Art Institute of Chicago 2020