Journey of a Muslim Filipina immigrating and settling in Canada

Journey of a Muslim Filipina immigrating and settling in Canada

MORO GIRL will be playing at the 2022 Toronto Fringe Festival this July 6th – 17th, 2022 at the Tarragon Solo Room

TORONTO–Award-winning artist, comedian and author Alia Ceniza Rasul debuts her brand new and highly-anticipated hilarious solo show MORO GIRL which puts a spotlight on her journey as a Muslim Filipina immigrating and settling in Canada. The show will play at the 2022 Toronto Fringe Festival from July 6th – 17th, 2022 at the Tarragon Solo Room (30 Bridgman Avenue).

In this heartfelt and irreverently funny show, Filipina comedian, Alia Ceniza Rasul shares stories about growing up half-Muslim, half-Christian and obsessed with her very Catholic country of birth. The show is looking to push beyond just representation and confronts what it means to look/be/seen as Filipin*.

The Moro people or Bangsamoro people refers to the 13 Muslim-majority groups of Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan, native to the region known as the Bangsamoro. As Muslim-majority ethnic groups, they form the largest non-Christian population in the Philippines and comprise about five percent of the country’s total population.

Alia is technically a “Moro” but never quite felt like that label fit, but then none of them really fit. All she knows is that she was a Filipina Muslim whose Christian mom would send her to Sunday School. Now mid-thirties, grappling with her seemingly conflicting identities, she is looking to finally figure out who the heck she is, and why she likes charcuterie so darn much (her bank account wants to know), why every single school she went to was haunted and whether or not she really was descended from pirates.

Painting by Alia Ceniza Rasul

“Sure, having a plethora of identities is catnip for grant applications, but this Taurus needs to get on the path to self-actualization.” said Alia Ceniza Rasul. “Self-reflection clearly isn’t enough (sorry Deepak Chopra). For this show, I search for answers through my childhood, family stories and history; going back to the mighty Tausugs of the from the Sultanate of Sulu and to the Mestizos de Sangley, Chinese immigrants to the Philippines who were persecuted by the Spanish for their economic prowess (aka Taurus energy). Will I find what I’m looking for? You’ll just have to come and see.”

MORO GIRL is part of the Fringe is Funny program, a grassroots movement by a collective of some of the best live comedic writers, performers and producers in Toronto. With spaces opening up, the Fringe is Funny crew is looking to rebuild the community they haven’t had access to in a while and to share some awesome comedy with their fellow Torontonians. The Fringe has always been a platform for independent producers to put up the freshest comedy shows.

Showtimes for MORO GIRL

• Wednesday, July 6, 6:30pm

• Friday, July 8 – 9:45pm

• Saturday, July 9 – 1:15pm

• Sunday, July 10 – 3:30pm

• Monday, July 11 – 7:00pm

• Thursday, July 14 – 6:00pm

• Saturday, July 16 – 6:30pm

• Sunday, July 17 – 6:15pm

To purchase tickets: https://fringetoronto.com

About Alia Ceniza Rasul

Returning after 2019’s award-winning smash hit Tita Jokes, comedian and published author, Alia Ceniza Rasul, debuts a hilarious and personal solo show, Moro Girl, at the 2022 Toronto Fringe Festival, putting a spotlight on her journey as Muslim Filipina immigrating and settling in Canada.

Rasul is an award-winning Filipina artist based in Toronto. On her mother’s side of the family she is Bisaya, from Dumaguete. On her father’s side she is Tausug, from Jolo, Sulu. She identifies as a “Moro”. She was born in the Philippines but grew up in the Middle East, spending most of her childhood in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. She officially became a Canadian immigrant after completing her Economics and Psychology degree at McGill University in Montreal.

With a passion for telling stories about the Filipin* diaspora, Alia has created, produced and performed in multiple award-winning projects including Tawa and Island Womxn Rise, annual, sold-out Filipin* comedy festivals, Kwento, Filipin* musical folktale, the sketch comedy revue Tita Jokes, and her debut play, Tang Ina. Alia is a member of the Tita Collective, a sisterhood of Filipina theatre artists. Additionally, she has recently published her first collection of poetry “Super Important Filipina Thoughts” which was included in CBC’s “55 Poetry Collections To Read This Spring”.

For more information, please visit: www.aliarasul.com

(PRESS RELEASE)