Golden Thread Productions and Art2Action, Inc. are thrilled to co-produce and co-present the 4th annual convening of the Middle Eastern North African Theater Makers Alliance (MENATMA) hosted at Golden Thread’s ReOrient Festival of Short Plays in San Francisco.
This year’s convening is co-sponsored by Silk Road Rising, Noor Theatre, New Arab American Theater Works, Diaspora Arts Connection, and Theatre Communications Group THRIVE! Program. The Convening is made possible in part by generous support from the Ford Foundation.
View the Digital Program here.
In-person events take place at Potrero Stage and The Annex upstairs at 1695 18th Street, San Francisco, CA.
Digital sessions were livestreamed on Howlround. See the playlist of select sessions here.
Watch these sessions:
Convening Opening: MENA Theatre Advocacy Today
Sustainability and Self-Preservation: Palestinian Artists Speak Out
MENA Artists Leading in National Theatres
MENA Theatres in Schools and Universities
MENA Political Theatre At Home and in the Diaspora
Intercommunity Dialogue: Coalition Building with Other Networks
Kunafa and Shay Live: Possibilities for Affinity Spaces with MENA/SWANA and LGBTQIA+ Artists
All listed times are Pacific Time zone.
9:00 - 9:30 AM: Registration
@ Potrero Stage
9:30 - 9:50 AM: BIPOC Affinity Meditation Sit Facilitated by Amal Bisharat, RYT 500hrs
@ Annex (in-person only)
Open to all self-identified BIPOC. Come as you are! Bring your own cushion or mat.
10:00 - 11:15 AM: Town Hall: Building Community Among SWANA Theater Artists Moderators: Kathryn Haddad, Jamil Khoury, Debórah Eliezer
@ Annex (in-person only)
How do we support and uphold each other as artists and community members from the SWANA region? What do we need to do to ensure that we are including, supporting, and making space for each other in our community as theater artists?
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM: Convening Opening: MENA Theater Advocacy Today
Welcome by Golden Thread Executive Artistic Director Sahar Assaf, followed by Opening Remarks by Andrea Assaf and Torange Yeghiazarian on behalf of the MENATMA Founding Board
@ Potrero Stage/Hybrid (live-streamed on HowlRound)
12:00 - 1:30 PM: Lunch Break (on your own)
1:30- 2:45 PM: Panel: Sustainability and Self-Preservation: Palestinian Artists Speak Out Moderators: Sahar Assaf and Andrea Assaf, featuring Hanna Eady, Maya Nazzal, Manaar Azreik, Mama Ganuush
@ Potrero Stage/Hybrid (live-streamed on HowlRound)
Palestinians artists talk about Palestine.
3:00 - 4:30 PM: Panel: MENA Artists Leading in National Theaters Moderator: Evren Odcikin, and featuring Raymond Bobgan, Joseph Haj, Inji Kamel, and Pirronne Yousefzadeh.
@ Potrero Stage/Hybrid (live-streamed on HowlRound)
MENA artists are finally stepping into executive leadership positions at national theater organizations of size. What are the opportunities and challenges they face? Does a MENA leader necessarily mean it’s easier for MENA work to get produced?
4:30 - 4:45 PM: Coffee Break (provided) @ Annex
4:45 - 6:00 PM: Panel: MENA Theater in Schools and Universities Moderator: Amal Bisharat, featuring Heather Rastovac Akbarzadeh, Michael Malek Najjar, Hala Baki, and Peyman Shams.
@ Potrero Stage (live-streamed on HowlRound)
How do MENA theater makers and educators from K-12 to university settings navigate questions of cultural competency, representation, and omission? This panel considers all the ways in which students might engage with MENA theater, such as in production, as dramatic text, or in theater history lessons.
6:00 - 7:45 PM: Dinner Break (on your own)
8:00 - 10:15 PM: Performance: ReOrient Festival of Short Plays Featuring short plays by Katrin Arefy, Judith Bovajian Strang-Waldau, Yussef El Guindi, Adam Ashraf Elsayigh, Arti Ishak, and Hamed Sinno
@ Potrero Stage (in-person only)
All listed times are Pacific Time zone.
9:00 - 9:30 AM: Registration
@ Potrero Stage
9:30 - 9:50 AM BIPOC Affinity Meditation Sit Facilitated by Amal Bisharat, RYT 500hrs
@ Annex (in-person only)
Open to all self-identified BIPOC. Come as you are! Bring your own cushion or mat
CONCURRENT SESSIONS 10:00 - 11:30 AM
10:00 - 11:30 AM: Panel: MENA Political Theatre at Home and in the Diaspora Moderator: Catherine Coray
@ Potrero Stage/Hybrid (live-streamed on HowlRound)
This panel with MENA international artists explores the dynamics and artistic expressions of political theatre in the MENA region and in the diaspora. Artists will share their creative processes and the ways in which they navigate the intersection of politics, identity, and theatre.
10:00 - 11:30 AM: How Do We Fit In? An Embodied Session on MENA/SWANA Identity Co-facilitated by Kholoud Nasser, Debórah Eliezer, Amal Bisharat
@ Annex (in-person only)
*MENA/SWANA affinity workshop/discussion. A MENA/SWANA-identified affinity workspace cultivating horizontal dialogue, navigating fluid and intersectional identities and celebrating the joy of belonging. This session will center embodied experiences in which to explore the challenges and resources navigating our identities in the bigger American social context.
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM: Coffee Break (provided)
@ Annex
12:00 - 1:00 PM: Presentation: Performing Change by Wafaa Bilal Introduced by Sahar Assaf
@ Potrero (in-person only)
Iraqi-American artists Wafaa Bilal will discuss specific bodies of work including Domestic Tension (aka Shoot an Iraqi), 168:01, and his most recent project In a Grain of Wheat.
1:00 - 2:15 PM: Networking Lunch (provided) @ Annex
A platform for MENA creatives to share their work and build connections. Registration required.
2:15 - 3:45 PM: Intercommunity Dialogue: Coalition-Building with Other Networks Moderator: Kate Moore Heaney with introduction by Emilya Cachapero
@ Annex/Hybrid (live-streamed on HowlRound)
The creation of MENATMA has been greatly influenced and supported by other theatre networks of color. How can we continue to build on our connections with these networks and work together towards shared goals for our communities?
3:00 - 5:15 PM: Performance: ReOrient Festival of Short Plays Featuring short plays by Katrin Arefy, Judith Bovajian Strang-Waldau, Yussef El Guindi, Adam Ashraf Elsayigh, Arti Ishak, and Hamed Sinno
@ Potrero Stage (in-person only)
4:00 - 5:00 PM: Kunafa and Shay Live: Possibilities for Affinity Spaces with MENA/SWANA LGBTQIA+ Artists Co-hosted by Nabra Nelson and Marina Johnson
@ Annex/Hybrid (live-streamed on HowlRound)
This live recording of the Kunafa & Shay Theatre Podcast in partnership with Mizna+RAWIfest discusses the benefits and complications of queer MENA and SWANA affinity spaces.
5:15 - 6:00 PM: Performance Conversation with ReOrient artists: Navigating Boundaries in Role-Playing and Cultural Specificity Moderator: Nakissa Etemad
@ Potrero (in-person only)
This conversation between ReOrient artists and audiences explores the intricate dynamics of crossing boundaries between playing roles from different parts of the Middle East.
Sahar Assaf, Executive Artistic Director, Golden Thread Productions
Hala Baki, Director/Dramaturg/Scholar/Educator, California Polytechnic State University
Amal Bisharat, Golden Thread Resident Artist
Debórah Eliezer, Golden Thread Resident Artist, Artistic Director, Aviva Arts
Kathryn Haddad, Artistic Executive Director, New Arab American Theater Works
Denmo Ibrahim, Writer, Actor
Marina Johnson, Director, Dramaturg
Jamil Khoury, Founding Co-Executive Artistic Director, Silk Road Rising
Kate Moore Heaney, Artistic Producer, Noor Theatre and Artistic Associate, Literary, Long Wharf Theatre
Nabra Nelson, Playwright
Heather Rastovac Akbarzadeh, Scholar-Artist and Dramaturg
View the Digital Program here.
Golden Thread Productions and Art2Action, Inc. were thrilled to co-produce and co-present the fourth annual convening of the Middle Eastern North African Theater Makers Alliance (MENATMA) which livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Saturday 28 October and Sunday 29 October 2023. See the playlist of select sessions here.
Watch these sessions:
Convening Opening: MENA Theatre Advocacy Today
Sustainability and Self-Preservation: Palestinian Artists Speak Out
MENA Artists Leading in National Theatres
MENA Theatres in Schools and Universities
MENA Political Theatre At Home and in the Diaspora
Intercommunity Dialogue: Coalition Building with Other Networks
Kunafa and Shay Live: Possibilities for Affinity Spaces with MENA/SWANA and LGBTQIA+ Artists