Said Durrah
{{short description|American comedian}}
{{Infobox comedian
| name = Said Durrah
| image =
| image_size = 220
| caption =
| pseudonym =
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1982|2|9|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, United States
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| medium = Stand-up
| nationality = American
| active = 2009–present
| genre = Observational comedy, Satire
| subject = Arab culture, Religion, Political satire, Stereotypes
| influenced =
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| website = {{URL|http://www.saidsworld.com/}}
| footnotes =
}}
Said Durrah ({{langx|ar|سعيد درة}}; born February 9, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian of Arab descent.
Early life
Durrah is of Jordanian and Palestinian descent. His father, Hisham Durrah, is from Amman, Jordan, and mother, Hiyam Durrah, is from Gaza, Palestine.{{cite news |last=Prassl|first=Valerie|url=http://themidtowngazette.com/2012/11/laughing-away-cultural-barriers/|title=Laughing Away Cultural Barriers|location=Manhattan|publisher=The Midtown Gazette|date=November 2012|access-date=January 1, 2013}}
He was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States and he grew up in Mayo, Maryland, United States. He attended South River Senior and then studied General Business Administration at University of Maryland University College.
Career
Durrah worked in corporate marketing, travel agents and banking,{{cite news |last=Murtagh|first=Heather|url=http://archives.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=228972|title=Funny is funny: Comic brings 'Arab Comedy by the Bay' to Redwood City|newspaper=The Daily Journal|date=February 20, 2012|access-date=January 1, 2013}} before he focused entirely on comedy in 2009.
In October 2009, Durrah first hit the stage at Big Brown Comedy Hour in New York.{{cite news|url=http://www.fenmag.com/2010/01/22/nyc-big-brown-comedy-hour/|title=Big Brown Comedy Hour|publisher=FEN Magazine|date=January 1, 2010|access-date=January 1, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102150157/http://www.fenmag.com/2010/01/22/nyc-big-brown-comedy-hour/|archive-date=November 2, 2011}}{{cite news|last=Seif|first=Al-Din|url=http://www.fenmag.com/wordpress/2010/04/19/6qs-with-comedian-said-durrah/|title=Qs with Comedian Said Durrah|publisher=FEN Magazine|date=April 19, 2010|access-date=January 1, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113034223/http://www.fenmag.com/wordpress/2010/04/19/6qs-with-comedian-said-durrah/|archive-date=November 13, 2014}} He then got his start in Manhattan, New York, at Comic Strip Live. He then performed at the Town Hall Theatre on Broadway within his first year in comedy. Durrah has performed stand up comedy in a number of venues all over the United States.
In October and November 2010, he toured with other Muslim comedians on the "Arabs Gone Wild" tour. In 2011 and 2012, Durrah performed at the New York Arab American Comedy Festival at Gotham Comedy Club.{{cite news|last=Khan|first=Taimur|url=http://www.watan.com/en/The-Community/laughs-keep-coming-for-arab-us-comedians.html|title=Laughs keep coming for Arab-US comedians|publisher=Watan|date=October 2, 2011|access-date=January 1, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129010342/http://www.watan.com/en/The-Community/laughs-keep-coming-for-arab-us-comedians.html|archive-date=January 29, 2012}}{{cite news |last=Khan|first=Taimur|url=http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/laughs-keep-coming-for-arab-us-comedians|title=Laughs keep coming for Arab-US comedians|location=Abu Dhabi|newspaper=The National|date=October 2, 2011|access-date=January 1, 2013}}
From February 2013, Durrah will be touring with his show "Arab Is Me".{{cite news |url=http://events.pe.com/arlington_va/events/show/297798367-arab-is-me-starring-comedian-said-durrah|title="Arab is Me" - Starring Comedian Said Durrah|publisher=The Press-Entertainment|date=February 2, 2013|access-date=January 1, 2013}}
Comedy style
Durrah's comedy career is influenced by his parents and their Arab roots. His comedy has been described as an experience of off the wall energy in which he uses different voices, storytelling, impersonations, and crazy facial expressions.{{cite news|last=Al-Din|first=Seif|url=http://www.fenmag.com/wordpress/2010/10/06/arabs-go-wild-on-broadway/|title=Arabs Go Wild on Broadway|publisher=FEN Mag|date=October 6, 2010|access-date=January 1, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623190205/http://www.fenmag.com/wordpress/2010/10/06/arabs-go-wild-on-broadway/|archive-date=June 23, 2015}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.saidsworld.com/index/Home.html}}
- Al-Din, Seif. [https://web.archive.org/web/20141113034223/http://www.fenmag.com/wordpress/2010/04/19/6qs-with-comedian-said-durrah/ Qs with Comedian Said Durrah]. April 19, 2010
- Durrah, Said. [http://www.kabobfest.com/2010/10/broadway-theatre-review-arab-edition.html Broadway Theatre Review – Arab Edition]. KABOBfest. October 4, 2010
- Martinez, Michael. [http://www.ibsys.com/content-development/content-portfolio/Arab-Americans-watch-Israel-Gaza-conflict/-/8622374/17517828/-/uqo3jsz/-/index.html Arab-Americans watch Israel-Gaza conflict]. CNN. 2012
- Dodge, Carl. [http://www.blogtalkradio.com/therecoveryroom/2012/04/10/time-to-recover Said Durrah steps into the Recovery Room Podcast!]. Blog Talk Radio. April 11, 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durrah, Said}}
Category:Muslims from Maryland
Category:Muslims from Michigan
Category:American people of Palestinian descent
Category:American people of Jordanian descent
Category:American male comedians
Category:21st-century American comedians
Category:American stand-up comedians
Category:Muslim male comedians
Category:Comedians from Maryland
Category:People from Bowie, Maryland
Category:University of Maryland Global Campus alumni