EVREN ODCIKIN

(he/him) is a Turkish-American director, writer, and arts leader based in New York City and San Francisco. He is a celebrated champion of historically-excluded voices in the American theater through work that is heart-centered, politically engaged, globally minded, and centers joy as resistance. He is committed to building his work with and for the communities it represents. Evren is the proud 2024-25 Artist in Residence at Golden Thread Productions and a 2025 Iris Lab Fellow with UC Santa Cruz. Recent directing: The Great Privation (How to flip ten cents into a dollar) by Nia Akilah Robinson (Soho Rep, NY Times Critic’s Pick), Macbeth and Mona Mansour’s unseen (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Eric Reyes Loo’s Simple Mexican Pleasures (NCTC), christopher oscar peña’s our orange sky (Profile Theatre), Torch Song (Marin Theatre), Sylvia Khoury’s Selling Kabul (Northern Stage), as well as workshops of Adam Ashraf Elsayigh’s ALAA: A Family Trilogy (Golden Thread) and Lauren Gunderson’s Muse of Fire (Marin Shakes and Magic Theatre). Playwriting and translation: Commissions and productions at Cal Shakes, NYU Abu Dhabi, Golden Thread, Crowded Fire, and Custom Made. Evren is a founding board member of Middle Eastern North African Theater Makers Alliance. odcikin.com

ELIZABETH CARTER

Favorite productions include Fat Ham (OSF), Confederates (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), Crumbs from the Table and Stoop Stories (Aurora Theatre), Wolf Play (Shotgun Players), Sweat and The Legend of Georgia McBride (Center Rep), Steel Magnolias (TheatreWorks SV), As You Like It (California Shakespeare Theater), for colored girls… (African American Shakespeare Co.) and the new musical Sign My Name to Freedom (SF Bay Area Theatre Co.). She was associate director on the ripple the wave that carried me home (Berkeley Rep/Goodman Theatre) and assistant director on How I Learned What I Learned (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). She directed the groundbreaking 2020 virtual King Lear (SF Shakespeare Festival) and Feel the Spirit (Shotgun Players/Colt Couer NYC). Her directorial film debut Bottled Spirits won Best Narrative at the London Pan African Film Festival. She was the inaugural SDCF Lloyd Richards New Futures Resident Director at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and a current Lucas Arts Fellow. elizabethcarterarts.com

TORANGE YEGHIAZARIAN

is an award-winning playwright and director passionate about building community through theater. Her artistic practice reflects her values of radical hospitality and inclusiveness aimed at disrupting stereotypes of the Middle East both within the community and outside of it. A transplant from the 1979 Iranian revolution, Torange believes that life is inherently political and that the personal and the global are inseparable. Her plays frequently explore the cultural divide with tenderness and humor from an immigrant woman’s perspective. As a director, Torange’s focus has been on new plays, experimenting with Middle Eastern performance traditions, and staging poetry. Dubbed the “Margo Jones–founding-mother-figure of Middle Eastern–American theatre”, Torange founded Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East, and served as its Executive Artistic Director for twenty-five years. There she created visionary programs such as ReOrient Festival of Short Plays, premiered hundreds of plays, and launched the careers of countless artists. A recipient of the Gerbode Playwright Commission Award, Torange’s plays are published in New Iranian Plays, Performing Iran, and Salaam.Peace Anthology of Middle Eastern American Drama. Torange was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Cairo International Festival. torangeyeghiazarian.com

AFSANEH AAYANI

is a Houston-based scenic designer, puppeteer, puppet maker, mask maker, voice actress, and artist with over 15 years of industry experience. Regional Theatre (selected): English (The Old Globe and Alliance Theatre); A Christmas Carol and Alley All New Festival (Alley Theatre); Birthday Candles (Chautauqua Theater); Disgraced (American Stage); Romeo and Juliet (Two River Theater); The Ugly Christmas Sweater and Frozen (Theatre Under The Stars); and Alabaster (Trinity Repertory Company). Other Credits: Meow Wolf Houston; Extinctionist (Heartbeat Opera); Turn of the Screw, Innominate, Cleansed and Waiting for Godot (Catastrophic Theatre); Roe and Black Superhero Magic Mama (Stages); Frida and Sunday in the Park With George (El Paso Opera); Big Swim (Houston Grand Opera); King Lear (Houston Shakespeare Festival); Finding Nemo the Musical (Theatre of the Republic); Blueberry’s Clubhouse (Arkansas PBS); and Little Shop of Horrors (Moores School Of Music). Education: BFA in Puppetry from Tehran University of Art and MFA in Scenic Design from the University of Houston. afsanehaayani.com

JAMES ARD

is a noisemaker with a focus on new works, interactive media, and immersive stage productions. Recent theatrical Sound Design credits include Our Country (Octopus Theatricals / Under The Radar Festival / The Public Theater); This Much I Know, Exit Strategy, Actually, Dry Powder, The Royale (Aurora Theatre Company); This Is Who I Am (Playco / Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company / Guthrie Theater / Oregon Shakespeare Festival / American Repertory Theater); 9 Parts of Desire (Portland Center Stage); A Small Fire, Kings (Shotgun Players); Our Town (Center Repertory Company); Indecent (San Francisco Playhouse). Ard is a Resident Artist with both Golden Thread Productions and Crowded Fire Theater.

GABRIELLA HOWELL

is thrilled to join Golden Thread Productions for the first time as a member of the ORIENTAL team. She has spent the past decade stage managing for beloved Bay Area institutions such as San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Stanford University, Berkeley Playhouse, 42nd Street Moon, Lamplighters, and more. Gaby most recently stage managed Art at Shotgun Players and will be deck managing Two Gentlemen of Verona with SF Shakes after this.

JENNIFER LE BLANC

is grateful to be part of this reading. Jennifer has acted with Prague Shakespeare Company, TheatreWorks, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, SPARC, Pear Theatre, San Jose Stage Company, Perspective Theatre Company, Pacific Rep, Aurora Theatre Company, Capital Stage, and Colorado Shakespeare Festival. Jennifer received her MFA from the National Theatre Conservatory. She is an Associate Artist with Prague Shakespeare Company and SPARC, and a Playground Writers’ Pool Alumna. jenniferleblanc.com

KINA KANTOR

(she/her) is a Bay Area actor, artist, cellist. Selected Regional credits include: Uncle Vanya (Shakespeare Theatre Company/Berkeley Repertory Theatre), the West Coast premiere of Mrs. Christie (TheatreWorks), world premiere of Naomi Iizuka’s Garuda’s Wing in repertory with her PlayOn! translation of Richard II (The Magic Theatre/Campo Santo), originating the role of Gao-Ming in the world premiere of The Great Khan (San Francisco Playhouse), The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin (San Francisco Playhouse), Tiny Beautiful Things (San Francisco Playhouse), The Far Country u/s (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), The Great Wave u/s (Berkeley Repertory Theatre). Other credits include: American Conservatory Theatre, Aurora Theatre, Marin Theatre and touring with The San Francisco Mime Troupe. Kina is a company member of the Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC) and PlayGround SF. She is a teaching artist for SF Shakespeare Festival, StageWrite, Academy of Art University. Film: Free (2024), You’ll Lose a Good Thing (2024)

FATEMEH MEHRABAN

is a queer Iranian performing artist, receiving her associate’s of arts in theatre from American River College. She has had the privilege of participating in various theatrical productions ranging from classics, staged readings, devised works, and musicals. Her most recent work includes English (Capital Stage), Georgiana & Kitty (Capital Stage), Twelfth Night (California Stage), The Newlywed Game (B Street Theatre), The Most Massive Woman Wins (Capital Stage), For the Love of Dog (The Stage at Burke Junction), and Sawyer Thompson (The Geery Theatre). Fatemeh is beyond thrilled to make her Golden Thread debut with ORIENTAL!!! She hopes you laugh as much as we did!! Instagram: @fatemeow

MAYA NAZZAL

is a Palestinian-American actor and writer in the Bay Area. She has a BA in Theatre Arts and conservatory training from the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York. Her acting credits include ensemble performer in 11Reflections: San Francisco, Baran in the world premier of The Tutor at New Conservatory Theatre Center, Maryam in Noura at Marin Theatre Company, and Asya in Vice Arabia’s short film selections. She also works as a visual artist through murals across San Francisco homes and as an elementary school educator at The Hamlin School.

AIDAA PEERZADA

(she/her) is a Black and Pakistani American theatremaker based in the Bay Area. Her plays have been developed with the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Prop Thtr, Catalyst: C3T, Meet Cute LA, Northern Sky Theatre, and SF Bay Area Theatre Co. where she is also part of the artistic staff. She is part of Crowded Fire Theatre’s 2024-2026 Resilience & Development Cohort. Some of her favorite local performance credits include Sign My Name to Freedom (SFBATCO) and The N Lovers* with Magic Theatre. Aidaa studied at the Baltimore School for the Arts and went on to receive her BFA in Drama from Carnegie Mellon University.

NIMA RAKHSHANIFAR

returns to Golden Thread, where they recently appeared as Young Alaa in the workshop production of Alaa: A Family Trilogy. Other credits include Seth in Bald Sisters (World Premiere, Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Farhad in Andy Warhol in Iran (World Premiere, Barrington Stage Company), Taroon in Selling Kabul (Northern Stage), Henry in Sanctuary City; Sebastian in Twelfth Night (TheatreSquared), Lucky in Waiting for Godot (Victory Gardens), Angelo in The Comedy of Errors (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), and Belle’s Husband in A Christmas Carol (Milwaukee Rep).

LEAH SANGINITI

(she/her) is a queer, multiethnic director, choreographer, writer and performer specializing in new work development and theatre for young audiences. She currently partners with Berkeley Repertory Theatre to design original arts programming for youth and teaching artists and produces the globally-acclaimed Bri Reads YouTube series. She is a member of Alternative Theater Ensemble and facilitates workshops for all ages that empower communities across the Bay Area with frameworks for consent, self-advocacy, and resistance strategies through art. As a performer, Leah has worked with Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Davis Shakespeare Festival, and toured for years across the continent with Bay Area Children’s Theatre. She was last seen in From Above through the Indigenous Performing Arts Residency at UC Berkeley’s Arts Research Center, and her upcoming original production When They Ask If We Were Real is a 2024 Kenneth Rainin Foundation award recipient. Leah frequently collaborates with theatres around the world, and her experiences in Palestine, Jordan and Turkey have immeasurably shaped her artistry. She is honored to make her Golden Thread debut. leahsanginiti.com IG: chleah