Kim Schultz takes audiences on a journey to experience life as an Iraqi refugee.

“How could one person summarize so much pain, pride, traumas, love and suffering like an Iraqi refugee while she is, in fact, not an Iraqi refugee herself?” asked Ibrahim, an Iraqi refugee, after attending a reading by Kim Schultz of the play to come out of Intersections’ Iraqi Voices Amplification Project. “As a refugee myself, I gave up to the fact that no one can hold the complexity of the crisis, it’s so complicated and different. Yet I was wrong. In this event, I was captured from the first word until the end. It was brilliant.”

Those were the sentiments echoed after Intersections held the first public reading of No Place Called Home, a new play written and performed by IVAP artist Kim Schultz and directed by Sarah Cameron Sunde. More than 40 people –– including members of the NYC theater community and humanitarian aid organizations –– attended the reading, which marked the beginning of a larger collaboration with those who gathered.

The play tracks one American woman’s experience with Iraqi refugees as she accidentally falls in love with one of them. This one-woman, multimedia show with music opens this fall in a nomadic run throughout New York City. Each venue will provide unique opportunities to engage different audiences throughout the city, including the outer boroughs. There also will be opportunities to unveil other IVAP elements — dance, photo exhibits and film — as events are scheduled in conjunction with the play.

No Place Called Home is a compelling vehicle for American audiences to journey to meet Iraqi refugees without having to leave NYC. After Monday night’s reading, there is no doubt that it will be a strong motivator for people to take action to support Iraqis. Internationally known journalist Mona Eltahawy exclaimed in an e-mail after the reading, “Kim did a great job of acting as our eyes and ears to the refugees she met. She both humanized them, but just as importantly, clearly delineated the horror of their situation. It’s essential that more Americans get to hear an American retell those stories to them. It was a very cathartic experience for me –– it felt like a punch to the heart, but also inspired me and filled me with resolve.”

The play will open in New York City in early October. More details about the nomadic run of No Place Called Home are coming soon!