Instructor
Office Location: ASC 283
(205) 934-1439
Office Hours: By appointment
Mona Eldahshoury is a North African American theatre artist, director, and educator whose work explores the intersection of performance, identity, religion, and education. Her practice questions and develops classical and contemporary performance, original work, and engaged theatre rooted in Global South perspectives.
Her performance credits include Penelope in The Penelopiad, Jody in Predictor, Cleopatra in Antony & Cleopatra, and Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She also creates original works such as Hiraeth and Stevie and the Real World, which explore themes of longing, cultural memory, and resilience.
Mona has taught and collaborated with theatre programs at institutions including Berklee Abu Dhabi (BAD), the American University of Sharjah (AUS), Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (PSUAD), and Michigan State University (MSU). Her published scholarship investigates how arts education shapes cultural and religious life in the Middle East in comparison to the West.
She is the recipient of several honors, including the TYA/USA Access for All Award, the Dawām Seminary Award, and the MSU Academic Achievement Grant. She is the founder of acting studio Amana and currently serves on the executive board of the film institute, American Ummah and is a Curator for Houston’s Islamic Arts Society. Mona holds an MFA in Acting from Michigan State University, an MA in Performing Arts Management from PSUAD, and a BA in Journalism from AUS.
At UAB, Mona continues to bridge scholarship, performance, and engaged theatre — while nurturing inclusive spaces where students explore who they are, how to use the arts to amplify their voices and communities, and how to become citizen artists capable of meaningful impact and change.