Iran is one of the oldest civilizations in history. Persian theater, influenced by Arab, Assyrian, and other cultures of the Middle East, has created many rich traditions of performance from ancient times through the modern day. Yet this vibrant heritage remains woefully underrepresented on American stages.
March 3 – 26, 2011
The Brick Theater: 575 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn NY
The Brick Theater, Inc is a not-for-profit theater company dedicated to nurturing the work of emerging artists at its performance space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn—The Brick.
The Brick proposes to expand the boundaries of this cultural moment, and collaborate with Iranian theater artists in the US and abroad, by hosting and producing the first festival in New York devoted solely to Iranian Theater.
The festival will include plays in Persian and English, such as Something Something Über Alles written by Iranian exile and Hellman/Hammett Grant–winner Assurbanipal Babilla, Two Stories That End in Suicide by Piehole (inspired by Sadegh Hedayet’s The Blind Owl), a preview excerpt from Brendan Regimbal and Samara Naeymi’s Aviary, Leila Ghaznavi’s Silken Veils, newly-commissioned contemporary works from Iranian-based playwrights and participants of the Fadjr International Theatre Festival, and a special celebration of the traditional Iranian New Year’s holiday, Nowruz.
A special celebration of the late theater legend Reza Abdoh will include exclusive screenings of complete films of his original productions The Hip-Hop Waltz of Eurydice and Quotations from a Ruined City with special panel discussions by Dar a Luz company members, including Sabrina Artel, Juliana Francis-Kelly, and Tony Torn.
For more info: http://bricktheater.com/