ReOrient 2015

Michael French

Michael French (Director, LOST KINGDOM) has been an actor, director, and writer for over 20 years. He studied acting at The Drama School in England and The Acting Studio in New York City, and the art of directing under the auspices of renowned teacher and director Marjorie Ballentine. He has directed many of his own plays, including the award winning THE RAINY SEASON and the much acclaimed BELLYACHE. In 2004, he co-wrote and co-produced THE BUDDHA PRINCE, a play about the life of the Dali Lama. THE BUDDHA PRINCE has toured the US extensively, and was performed in Central Park in NYC in 2005 and 2008. Michael is currently the founder and artistic director for Aluminous, a multimedia theatre company based in Oakland, and a resident director for PlayGround. His next production for Aluminous will be a re-imagining of Edward Albee’s ZOO STORY in November 2015 at Flight Deck in Oakland.

Erin Gilley

Erin Gilley (Director, COUNTING IN AL SHA’AB and TURNING TRICKS) is currently the Artistic Director of Elastic Future and was previously the Artistic Producer of Magic Theatre. Most recently, she directed the digital theatre productions LONGITUDE and PEEK A BOO for London International Festival Theatre. Other directing credits include: THE TECHNOLOGY CAVE in Taylor Mac’s THE LILY’S REVENGE (Magic Theatre); THE UNAUTHORIZED AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KIM DEAL and BEAUTIFUL (Elastic Future), WRECKAGE by Caridad Svich (Crowded Fire); EQUUS by Peter Shaffer (Boxcar Theatre); THE WOODS by David Mamet (Theatre in the Woods); CRIMINAL GENIUS by George Walker and MAKING NOISE QUIETLY by Robert Holman (TheatreFirst). Assistant directing credits include KHANDAN (Royal Court Theatre/Birmingham Rep); THE LIFE OF GALILEO (Royal Shakespeare Company/Birmingham Rep); 12 ANGRY MEN (Bill Kenwright at the Garrick Theatre/Birmingham Rep). Next up, Erin is directing the immersive theatre production THE SPEAKEASY at a secret location in San Francisco. Erin studied theatre as an undergraduate at Princeton University and holds an MFA from Birkbeck, University of London. eringilley.com

Manijeh Mohamedi

Manijeh Mohamedi (Director, BITTERENDERS) is an award-winning theatre director and educator with over forty years of experience. She has directed over 100 plays in Iran and the U.S., introducing the works of distinguished Iranian writers to American audiences, and the work of American and European writers to Iranian audiences. Highlights include stage adaptation of Simin Daneshvar’s beloved novel, SOVASHONE, winner of numerous awards at the Fajr International Theatre Festival; translation and staging of plays by Arthur Miller, Dario Fo, and David Ives; and directing the works of major Iranian playwrights such as Gholamhossein Sa’edi. A faculty member of the Azad University in Tehran for the past 19 years, Mohamedi is a registered drama therapist and received her Master’s degree in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University. Manijeh is delighted to be back at ReOrient after directing in its inaugural production in 1999.

Sara Razavi

Sara Razavi (Director, THE HOUSE and SONGS OF OUR CHILDHOOD) first collaborated with Golden Thread as a performer in ReOrient 2007. She joined the team again in 2009, notably as the Monologist in THE MONOLOGIST SUFFERS HER MONOLOGUE by Yussef El Guindi. In 2012, she returned to ReOrient, but this time as director for Tala Manassah and Mona Mansour’s THE LETTER and Farzam Farrokhi’s 2012. In addition to Golden Thread, some of Razavi’s favorite collaborations include various productions with elastic future, Maryam Rostami’s PERSEPOLIS, TEXAS for CounterPULSE, and Denmo Ibrahim’s BABA for Alter Theatre (winner for Bay Area Theatre Critics’ Circle Award for “Best Original Script” and nominee for “Best Solo Performance”). Sara graduated from UC Davis with a degree in sociology and theatre studies, which included a year-long theatre focus at University of Birmingham in England. In 2013, she completed her MBA and is presently the COO of Working Solutions, a microlender which provides capital and consultation to local entrepreneurs. Razavi has been a proud member of the Golden Thread Board of Trustees since 2010.

Evren Odcikin

Evren Odcikin (Director of Marketing and New Plays) is a Turkish-American director based in San Francisco and the Director New Plays & Marketing for Golden Thread Productions since 2015 where he has been an artistic associate since 2005. For Golden Thread, he directed the premieres of Yussef El Guindi’s LANGUAGE ROOMS, in San Francisco and Los Angeles Theater Center (critic’s pick for LOS ANGELES TIMES), Mona Mansour’s URGE FOR GOING, Denmo Ibrahim’s ECSTASY | A WATERFABLE, as well as short plays by El Guindi, E.H. Benedict, Ken Kaissar, Ignacio Zulueta as part of ReOrient Festivals. For the company, he leads all new play development activities, including the annual new play reading series New Threads, assists in season selection, and helps produce the mainstage season including the biennial ReOrient Festival. His other credits include the world premiere of Christopher Chen’s MUTT: LET’S ALL TALK ABOUT RACE at Impact Theatre and Ferocious Lotus (“Top New Play of 2014”, Theater Dogs); the world premiere of Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s 410[GONE] (Production Notebook feature in AMERICAN THEATRE MAGAZINE) and the West Coast premiere of Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s INVASION! for Crowded Fire; his adaptation of Plautus’s THE BRAGGART SOLDIER, OR MAJOR BLOWHARD for Custom Made Theatre Company (Theatre Bay Area Awards Recommended Production, four Bay Area Theatre Critics’ Circle (BATCC) nominations including best director); THE OLDEST PROFESSION (two BATCC nominations) and MACHINAL (three BATCC Award nominations including best director and best production) for Brava Theater Center. A graduate of Princeton University, Evren was awarded the 2015 National Director’s Fellowship by O’Neill Theater Center, National New Plays Network, the Kennedy Center, and SDCF; the 2013 TITAN Award for Directors by Theatre Bay Area; and selected as an Emerging Theatre Leader by TCG for their American Express Leadership Bootcamp. odcikin.com

Hassan Abdulrazzak

Hassan Abdulrazzak is of Iraqi origin, born in Prague and living in London. He trained as a cell and molecular biologist and worked at Imperial College and Harvard University. His first play,Baghdad Wedding, premiered at Soho Theatre, London (2007). Other productions were at the Belvoir Theatre, Sydney (2009) and by Akvarious productions in India (2012). It was also broadcast on BBC Radio 3. It will have a staged reading by Golden Thread Theatre in the USA later in 2014. His second play, The Prophet was staged at the Gate theatre, London and had a reading by Noor theatre in NYC (2012). He has written several short plays including The Tale of Sindbad and the Old Goat that was part of the multi-author play Arab Nights (produced by Metta theatre), which premiered at Soho Theatre (2012) then toured the UK and *You Don’t Have To Be American To Get Laid But It Helps,*part of *Waiting for Summer,*produced and directed by Swivel Theatre Company (2014). He has also written two full-length screenplays and translated several plays for the Royal Court theatre (Arabic to English)

Yussef El-Guindi

Yussef El-Guindi’s most recent productions include The Ramayana (co-adaptor) at ACT; and Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World(winner of the Steinberg/American Theater Critics Association’s New Play Award in 2012; Gregory Award in 2011) also at ACT, and at Center Repertory Company (Walnut Creek, CA) 2013; andLanguage Rooms(Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award), co-produced by Golden Thread Productions and the Asian American Theater Company in San Francisco; at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia (premiere), and at the Los Angeles Theater Center. His play Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat was produced by Silk Road Theater Project and won the M. Elizabeth Osborn award. It’s included in the anthology Four Arab American Plays, published by McFarland Books. His plays Back of the Throat, as well as Such a Beautiful Voice is Sayeda’s and Karima’s City Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New Word was published in the September, 2012 issue of American Theatre Magazine, and will soon be published by Dramatists Play Service, along with his play, Jihad Jones and The Kalashnikov Babes.

Emma Goldman-Sherman

Emma Goldman-Sherman plays include Wombshot, Perfect Women, Antigone’s Sister, and Abraham’s Daughters. Her work has been produced in New York City, Washington D.C., Kansas City, Los Angeles, London, and Zagreb by Manhattan Theatre Source, Theatre Conspiracy, Circle Rep Lab, New Georges, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Women’s Project & Productions and All Out Arts Inc. Her plays have been developed at WordBridge, The Drama League, The Millay Colony for the Arts, The Ragdale Foundation. She earned her MFA from the University of Iowa where she received The Richard Maibaum Award for Plays Addressing Social Justice. Her play Why Birds Fly was a finalist at The Cutting Ball Theatre for their 2014 Risk Is This Festival. She is grateful to be included in The ReOrient Festival.

Ken Kaisar

Ken Kaisar was born in Ramat Gan, Israel and grew up in Indianapolis, IN. His adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales was commissioned by Columbia University in 2008. His play The Victims or What Do You Want Me to Do About(an absurdist take on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) was a runner-up for the 2009 Princess Grace Award and was honored by Golden Thread Productions, Silk Road Rising, and the Lark Play Development Center as part of the Middle East America Play Commission. His play Chai was a finalist in the Oxford Theatre’s National Ten Minute Play Contest. His work has been developed by the Philadelphia Theatre Company, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Fusion Theatre Company, and Mildred’s Umbrella. He holds a BFA in directing from Carnegie Mellon University and an MFA in playwriting from Columbia University. He teaches playwriting and theatre history at Rider University and Stockton College.

Hannah Khalil

An award-winning Palestinian-Irish writer, Hannah Khalil’s first short play, Ring, was selected for Soho Theatre London’s Westminster Prize and her first full- length piece, Leaving Home, was staged at The King’s Head. Further work includes Plan D, which was produced at Tristan Bates Theatre and nominated for the Meyer Whitworth Award. Most recently Hannah’s playBitterenderswon Sandpit Arts’ Bulbul 2013 competition and was staged at The Nightingale in Brighton. Her monologue The Worst Cook in the West Bank was performed as part of an evening of short plays about Arab women in the Arab Spring at the Old Red Lion in London and the Unity Theatre as part of the Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival. Hannah also writes for radio, and her new play Last of the Pearl Fishers will be on BBC Radio 4 early next year. In 2015 Plan D will be published as part of Inside/Outside: Six plays from Palestine and the Diaspora edited by Naomi Wallace and Ismail Khalidi.

Tala Jamal Manassah

Tala Jamal Manassah is deputy executive director of Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility, the national leader in school-based social and emotional learning programs. As a playwright, she has co-written, with Mona Mansour, The House, Noor Theater and the American Institute for Architecture; The Letter, Golden Thread/ReOrient Festival; After Cuny/Queens College; and Dressing, part of Facing Our Truths: Short Plays about Trayvon, Race and Privilege. Manassah and Mansour were awarded a residency at Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor in 2013 to develop a musical play called The Wife. Most recently, they were given an Ensemble Studio Theatre/Sloan commission to write a play about 1970s Iraq. Manassah received her A.B. (honors) in philosophy and A.M. in the humanities at the University of Chicago.

Mona Mansour

Mona Mansour’s The Way West had its world premiere in spring 2014 at Steppenwolf, directed by Amy Morton. The play received the 2013 Sky Cooper New American Play Prize from Marin Theatre Company, where it will get its West Coast premiere in 2015. The Hour of Feeling (directed by Mark Wing-Davey) premiered at the 2012 Humana Festival, then was part of the High Tide Festival in the U.K.Urge for Going received a LAB production in 2011 at the Public Theater, and had its West Coast premiere at Golden Thread (directed by Evren Odcikin). The Vagrant, the third play in the trilogy, was workshopped at the 2013 Sundance Theater Institute. Mona was a member of the Public Theater’s Emerging Writers Group and is part of New Dramatists. With Tala Manassah she has written The House, After, and The Letter, and Dressing, part of Facing Our Truths: Short Plays about Trayvon, Race and Privilege; they have an EST/Sloan commission to write a play about 1970s Iraq. 2012 Whiting Award. 2014 Middle East America Playwright Award. monamansour.com

Nahal Navidar

Nahal Navidar is an Iranian-born playwright who was raised in upstate New York. Her play 110 Flights has been workshopped at the Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive and produced at the University at Albany and Proctor’s Theatre New Play Festival. While teaching Speech and Drama internationally in the Micronesian Islands, Nahal founded Fabulous Invalid Theatre Company whose mission was to promote the voices of the Pacific and East Asian Diaspora. Short plays include ‘Flicted (WAM Theatre, NY), and The Real Pain (The Vagrancy, L.A.). In 2015, Nahal will premiere her first opera, Donia, written in collaboration with music composer Julia Adolphe. This will mark the team’s first project in their effort to empower female voices on the American stage. Nahal is a member of The Vagrancy Playwright’s Group. She holds an M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from the University of Southern California, and splits her time between Los Angeles and New York.

Silva Semerciyan

Silva Semerciyan is currently a writer on attachment at the UK’s National Theatre. In 2013, she was awarded a BBC Fellowship to be writer on attachment at the Bristol Old Vic where she is under commission to write a new original play. Her plays include The Window (Bristol Old Vic), The Tinderbox (Bristol Old Vic, adapted from the story by Hans Christian Andersen) Gather Ye Rosebuds (Theatre 503) winner, Best New Play, Brighton Fringe Festival, UK; I and the Village, shortlisted for the 2011 Bruntwood Prize; Flashes (Young Vic Theatre, London). Her first radio play, Varanasi, was shortlisted for a BBC audio drama award in 2013. She holds an MPhil (B) in Playwriting from the University of Birmingham, and she lectures in Contemporary Performance for the University of Gloucestershire.

Nora el Samahy*

Nora el Samahy’s (Selma, BITTERENDERS; Nisrin, PICKING UP THE SCENT) professional acting career began in 1998 as a Fairy in San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. She then went on to work with with Campo Santo, Golden Thread Productions, Alter Theater, Aurora Theatre, Magic Theatre, foolsFURY, Traveling Jewish Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Exit Theater, Theatre Rhinoceros, Woman’s Will, Shotgun Players, African American Shakespeare Company, among others. In 2013, Nora founded a performance company called Affinity Project with Atosa Babaoff, Beatrice Basso, and Emily Hoffman. Nora is a Pilates teacher and co-owner of studio 74 pilates with business partner Jennifer Moulton. She received her BA in psychology from Wellesley College. Love and thanks to Patrick and Ziyad.

Abdulrahim Harara

Abdulrahim Harara (Rizwan, CEASEFIRE; Ali, COUNTING IN AL SHA’AB; Sean, LOST KINGDOM) is very excited to be working with Golden Thread on the ReOrient Festival. He recently graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Linguistics and Theatre Arts, and has trained at American Conservatory Theater. His community work includes volunteering with the Asian Law caucus to fight for minority housing rights in the inner city and against tough immigration laws. As a Palestinian Muslim, Abdulrahim has led rallies in the Bay Area to bring awareness to the injustices, apartheid, and illegal occupation going on in Palestine. Abdulrahim aspires to aid Golden Thread in their mission to bring Middle Eastern plays to the Bay Area and sharing the struggles of all people. He credits his upbringing, his culture, and religion for instilling a strong passion to advocate for humanity. He thanks God and his family—especially his two brothers, who are with him everywhere he goes.

Denmo Ibrahim*

Denmo Ibrahim* (Alia, THE HOUSE; Reghad, LOST KINGDOM; Jasmine, TURNING TRICKS) is an award-winning actor and writer living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her most recent play, BABA, won Best Original Script (SFBATCC) and was nominated for Best Performance of a Solo Show (SFBATCC & TBA Awards). She has collaborated with multi-instrumentalist Carla Kihlstedt and OBIE winning director Rinde Eckert in the title role of NECESSARY MONSTERS (YBCA). Favorite moments include understudying all female roles in Bill Irwin’s SCAPIN (A.C.T.), Intisar in George Packard’s haunting drama BETRAYED (Aurora Theatre), Katy in Thomas Bradshaw’s THE BEREAVED (Crowded Fire), and Velouria in Sue Butler’s BEAUTIFUL (Elastic Future). Her work has been generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Zellerbach Family Foundation, Wallace Gerbode, and Theatre Bay Area for which she wrote her first full-length play, ECSTACY I A WATERFABLE, a two-year commission produced by Golden Thread and directed by Evren Odcikin. Denmo holds an M.F.A. in Lecoq-Based, Actor-Created Physical Theatre from Naropa University and a B.F.A. in Acting from Boston University. She is a founding artistic director of mugwumpin. adenmoproject.com

Emily Keyishian

Emily Keyishian (Shaima, COUNTING IN AL SHA’AB; Mira, SONGS OF OUR CHILDHOOD; Jasmine, TURNING TRICKS) is thrilled to be a part of the ReOrient Festival this year and performing in such diverse and complex pieces. She is an actor and dancer recently returning to the stage after a hiatus to have her two children and move from the East Coast. Her favorite roles have been in FOOL FOR LOVE and SURE THING. She trained in San Francisco at A.C.T. and the Seydways Acting Studios. She also loves yoga and painting.

Julian Lopez-Morillas*

Julian Lopez-Morillas* (Abu Omar, COUNTING IN AL SHA’AB; Kamal, THE HOUSE; Old Man, LOST KINGDOM) has previously appeared with Golden Thread in the 2008 ReOrient Festival and in Mona Mansour’s URGE FOR GOING. He most recently played Clotaldo in the California Shakespeare Theatre’s LIFE IS A DREAM, and has performed with American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Rep, San Jose Rep, and most of the other major theatres in the Bay Area. Julian has appeared professionally in all 38 of Shakespeare’s plays and was a two-day winner on JEOPARDY!

Lawrence Radecker*

Lawrence Radecker* (Ahmed, BITTERENDERS; Joe, LOST KINGDOM; Mark, TURNING TRICKS) has appeared in numerous Golden Thread productions, readings, and workshops, including ISFAHAN BLUES, LEARN TO BE LATINA, WORM, SECURITY, and NIGHT OVER ERZINGA. He is a resident artist with Crowded Fire Theater Company where he has developed and debuted roles in many world premieres. He has also worked with Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Brava! For Women in the Arts, Cutting Ball, Impact Theatre, and Uncle Buzzy’s Hometown Theatre Show. He can also be seen and heard in a variety of industrials and voiceovers, as well as a few films and television series.

Roneet Aliza Rahamim

Roneet Aliza Rahamim (Maha, BITTERENDERS; Annabel, PICKING UP THE SCENT; Sanaz, SONGS OF OUR CHILDHOOD) is ecstatic to be back with Golden Thread Productions for this year’s ReOrient festival. You may remember her from ReOrient 2012 as Orh in IN THE DAYS THAT FOLLOW. After receiving her BFA from Marymount Manhattan College in NY, she spent time working in the theatre scene in Minnesota before returning to California. Since her return, Roneet has had the pleasure of working with local companies such as Playwrights’ Center of SF, Dragon Productions and, most recently, Pear Avenue Theater (ARCADIA). Some favorite roles include: Constanza in AMADEUS and Young Shirley Abramowitz in CONEY ISLAND CHRISTMAS with City Lights Theater Company, Helen of Troy in THE HELEN PROJECT, part of DIVAfest at Exit Theater, Janice in CRUMBLE (LAY ME DOWN JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE), and Elizabeth in DEFYING GRAVITY with Swandive Theatre (Mpls, MN) and HIJAB TUBE with Mixed Blood Theatre (Mpls, MN). See what’s next at roneetrahamim.com.

Adam Roy

Adam Roy (Yossi, CEASEFIRE; Shaban, SONGS OF OUR CHILDHOOD; Kiran, TURNING TRICKS) is excited to join Golden Thread Productions for ReOrient 2015. Recent Bay Area credits include SHIT & CHAMPAGNE and SEX AND THE CITY LIVE at SF Oasis. Other credits include Playground, Peaches Christ, SF and Marin Shakespeare, AlterTheater, 42nd St. Moon, New Conservatory Theatre, The Breadbox, Mountain Play, and Berkeley Playhouse. Adam is a resident teaching artist with Marin Shakespeare and a company member at Playground (The Bay Area’s Leading Playwright Incubator).

Damien Seperi

Damien Seperi (Udi, CEASEFIRE; Khoresh, COUNTING IN AL SHA’AB; George, LOST KINGDOM; Hisham, PICKING UP THE SCENT) is beside himself to be making his debut with Golden Thread. Sometimes he is found beside other people, but that is a whole different story. His recent appearances were with Virago Theatre, Role Players, Cutting Ball, and Theatrefirst. He’d like to give big thanks to the cast and production crew and all supporters of the arts. Je suis Charlie!

Bella Ward

Bella Warda (Sitti, BITTERENDERS), an Iranian-born Berkeley resident, is a founding member of the Darvag Theater group, which is celebrating 30 years of its existence this year. She is happy to be back and working once again with Golden Thread Productions. Bella has worn many hats in the world of theater, including acting, directing, set and costume design. Some hats looked better than others. She hopes the hat she is wearing this time will fit and please you.