This week, justArts spoke to Yasmin Yousof ’15, coordinator for the ’Deis Impact and Brandeis Immigration Education Initiative event “Dream Monologues,” about the performance on Friday.

justArts: How did you get involved with ’Deis Impact and BIEI?

Yasmin Yousof: BIEI I started my [first] year, so I remember when we were trying to get the club chartered and everything. So, that was like four years ago. [How I got involved with] ’Deis Impact—I like ’Deis Impact, so I was like, why not try and take the [BIEI] club and make it a part of [’Deis Impact]? We were lucky because [’Deis Impact] accepted our application, and so we get to a part of it. We get to be one of the first events, so that’s super exciting.

JA: Is this the first year that the club and ’Deis Impact have partnered?

YY: Yeah, it’s the first year—so exciting.

JA: What do you want the audience to take away from the show?

YY: Two things—[the first is] a sense of solidarity. We’re purposely picking stories that nobody hears about and bringing that to the front, whatever that story may be. We want the audience to hear these stories and see these performances and think, “Wow, I never thought of it in that way, but I am in solidarity with you.” And then we want [the audience] to walk away with a deeper understanding of the idea behind the stories. ... There’s always something else behind [the stories and experiences], so we want people to have that sense of understanding after the events end.

JA: Is there a particular piece or story that you feel really adds to the night, and if so why?

YY: We’re going to be having poetry about belonging and not belonging in spaces—different spaces, whatever that space is—so I think that is really going to be the epitome of the entire evening. Just hearing this person tell their story of how they felt like they belonged in a particular classroom, or [how] they went to a party and they felt like they didn’t belong at that party. I feel like those particular poetry pieces are going to be the thing that pulls all of “Dream Monologues” together.

JA: What kinds of subjects will the authors and artists touch on?

YY: Anything and everything. In previous years, we had thought about making [the event’s content and theme] very specific. But then we realized that if you make [them] as vague as possible, you hear stories that you generally don’t. I told the performers I want something that isn’t heard often—something that people are not used to seeing or hearing. Other than that, it’s like, “Whatever you want, bring it to the stage.”

JA: Have people taken that freedom?

YY: Yes, because you’ll have people [talking] about their experiences as immigrants, and then you’ll have people talk about how difficult a [biology] class is. You get a huge range of different ideas and different perspectives on so many different topics.

JA: How do you feel the event will interact with Brandeis’ culture of social justice and the ongoing dialogue surrounding it?

YY: My idea or my understanding of social justice is creating spaces for people to express themselves— particularly, creating those spaces for people who usually don’t have the opportunity to express themselves. So I think if that is what social justice is, then “Dream Monologues” is a critical part of the overall idea of social justice. Because we’re creating this platform, and we’re like, “We want to hear stories that you don’t get a chance to present; we’re giving you this opportunity, onstage, to express your lived experiences in whatever mode or way you want.” I think we’re kind of taking the idea of social justice and running with it.