Six Plays en Short

Rimm, the Gazelle

Written by Fatima Gallaire. Directed by Laura Chakravarty Box

Rimm, la gazelle was first performed in December 1992 at the Théâtre de la Tête Noire in Saran, France by Compagnie Trait pour Trait D’Orléans. It was reprised at the Festival Avignon-off in July, 1993, with Franςoise Tixier in the title role. Copyright (c) 1993 by Éditións des Quatre-Vents. Used by courtesy of the author.

Rimm, the Gazelle is part of an unofficial quasi-autobiographical trilogy by Fatima Gallaire that includes another one-woman one-act, A Burn on the Heart, and also Gallaire’s most famous full-length tragedy, Princesses. In sum, the three plays pay tribute to her family and explore the process of dislocation through time and space that accompanies migration. Rimm is going home to Algeria after living for years in France, but can home ever be the place one expects it to be?

I Am Not A Serial Killer

Written by Caveh Zahedi. Directed by Torange Yeghiazarian

There is more repetition in our lives than we would like to admit. We crave it, count on it, hope for it. When it comes to matters of the heart, we all hope to meet the “right person” in one of our repetitious cycles. And when we do… then what?

Caveh Zahedi is an independent filmmaker of Iranian descent. His most recent feature, I Don’t Hate Las Vegas Anymore, won the critics prize at the Rotterdam Film Festival. With Greg Watkins, he also co-wrote, co-directed, and acted in A Little Stiff.

World Premiere

Publicly Resting

Written by Torange Yeghiazarian. Directed by Manijeh Mohamedi

A public men’s room of an airport becomes the unexpected setting for a suicide and a secret triste. This world premiere dark comedy is all about not getting what you want and the lengths to which we go to change our circumstances.

World Premiere

The Gangrene

Text developed by Laura Chakravarty Box. Directed by Carl Eye

The text for The Gangrene was drawn verbatim from the following sources, and is used with the kind permission of the publishers listed: The Gangrene, edited by Lyle Stuart and translated by Robert Silvers, Copyright (c) 1960. Courtesy of Les Éditions de Minuit. “‘Hassiba Ben Bouali, If You Could See Our Algeria’: Women in Public Space in Algeria,” written by Susan Slyomovics, in Arab Women: Between Defiance and Restraint, edited by Suha Sabbagh. Copyright (c) 1996. Courtesy of the author. “Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak”, edited by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea and Basima Qattan Bezirgan, Copyright ©1977. Courtesy of the University of Texas Press. “S.O.S. Algeria: Women’s Human Rights Under Seige,” written by Karima Bennoune, in Faith and Freedom: Women’s Human Rights in the Muslim World, edited by Mahnaz Afkhami, Copyright (c) 1995. Courtesy of I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd. WRETCHED OF THE EARTH by Frantz Fanon. Used through arrangement with Georges Borchardt, Inc. Copyright (c) 1963by Presence Africaine and copyright (c) 1961 by Francois Maspero editeur S.A.R.L. All rights reserved.

World Premiere

The Revolution Never Ended

Written by Tina Ehsanipour. Directed by Torange Yeghiazarian

Revolution has many faces. For those of us who are cast into a “borderland” identity as a result, its face take on a very personal rather than just political shape. This piece hopes to share that while revolution can at first be damaging, it also has the potential to empower us and strengthen our sense of self.

Grapes And Figs Are In Season, A Palestinian Woman’s Story

Written by Emily Shihadeh with Victoria Rue

This is the story of Emily Shihadeh, a Palestinian woman who at the age of seventeen immigrates to the United States of America to join her husband in San Francisco. ‘A friend, told me as I shared with him my life in America, “You came to a country populated by your mother.” How true that statement was! So many were so busy, they ignored me and were unable to express any feelings of warmth to me. That was just like my mother! I wanted to tell the people of this country about my people and their beauty and struggle. The devastation that happened in Palestine is known to very few. Through my personal stories I open a glimpse into life in Palestine.’ Through a series of short letters addressed to her mother, the audience will share some of the challenges Emily faced coming to a new country trying to understand the people and their rules.