Noor Theatre to Open THE MYTH PROJECT On 5/1

Noor Theatre Artistic Director Lameece Issaq, Executive Director Maha Chehlaoui, and Producing Artistic Director Nancy Vitale announce the world premiere of The Myth Project. This director-driven workshop production in three parts from Director/Writers Kareem Fahmy, Noelle Ghoussaini, and Pirronne Yousefzadeh, will run from Thursday, May 1 - Sunday, May 4 at New York Theatre Workshop's 4th Street Theatre.

Noor Theatre's workshop production of The Myth Project will include the work of three emerging directors tasked with creating a contemporary piece inspired by a Middle Eastern myth of their choice. Exploring and illuminating universal themes, and breaking open modern and ancient misperceptions, the result is three unique theatrical experiences: The In-Between, phoenicia flowers, and I Am Gordafarid.

The In-Between, written and directed by Kareem Fahmy, is a tense supernatural thriller about the oppositions that define our existence and the eternal conflict between light and dark, where humankind is caught perilously in the middle. The cast includes Leila Buck, Sara Buffamanti, Eric T. Miller, and Babak Tafti.

phoenicia flowers, written and directed by Noelle Ghoussaini, tells the story of forgotten Phoenician gods living on a tourist site in modern day Lebanon. Through dialogue, dreams and storytelling, the play explores the struggles faced by gods and humans as they try to cope with loss and rediscover the spirit of their lives and land. The cast includes Monte Bezell, Lacrisha Brown, Peter Ganim, Fahim Hamid, and Imran Sheikh.

I Am Gordafarid, conceived and directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh, weaves together the story of the female warrior Gordafarid, the modern-day naqqal (storyteller) of the same name, who fights to keep her art form alive, and the contemporary, Iranian-American theatre makers themselves. Through poetry, myth, movement and music, they grapple with the question of ownership, and the myths and realities of being Iranian, American, and somewhere in between. The cast includes Layla Khoushnoudi, Leyla Modirzadeh, and Sade Namei.

The scenic design for The Myth Project is by Starlet Jacobs; costume design by Lisa Reneé Jordan; lighting design by Joseph Thompson; sound design by Mark Van Hare; production stage manager is Nicole Marconi.

Kareem Fahmy is a Canadian-born director of Egyptian descent who has worked extensively in new play development with companies including Soho Rep (Writer/Director Lab), Berkeley Rep (The Ground Floor), Sundance Institute Theatre (PEN World Voices Series), Second Stage, New York Theatre Workshop, EST and Partial Comfort Productions. He was a Van Lier Directing Fellow (Second Stage), a Drama League Classical Directing Fellow (Red Bull), and an Emerging Artist of Color Fellow (NYTW). He has served as Assistant Director to Michael Mayer (The Illusion, Signature Theatre) and John Tiffany (Once, NYTW). Kareem is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Rising Circle Theatre Collective, is a founding member of |the claque| and is a NYTW Usual Suspect. M.F.A.: Columbia. www.kareemfahmy.com.

Noelle Ghoussaini is a playwright, director, activist and arts educator. Her work is dedicated to using arts to examine and re-imagine our society within a political, social and historical context. phoenicia flowers is Noelle's fifth original play. She has curated numerous community arts events, which have taken place at site-specific locations and community gardens throughout NYC. As a director, she has worked with companies such as Culture Project, the Jenin Freedom Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, Sepia Works, Noor Theatre, the Bolshoi Drama theatre, and Movement Theatre Company. She received her Masters in Arts Politics at NYU. www.noelleghoussaini.com.

Pirronne Yousefzadeh has directed and developed new work at The Public, New York Theatre Workshop, Ars Nova, Soho Rep, The Playwrights Realm, Noor Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Rep, InterAct Theatre Company, Perseverance Theatre, and Hangar Theatre, among others. She is the 2014 SDC Denham Fellowship recipient, a Usual Suspect at NYTW, New Georges Affiliated Artist and member of The Jam, and an alumna of the Emerging Artist Fellowship at NYTW, Drama League Directors Project, LCT Directors Lab, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, and EST's Resident Director Program. M.F.A.: Columbia. www.pirronne.com.

Founded in 2010, Noor's mission is to support, develop and produce the work of theatre artists of Middle Eastern descent. Meaning "light" in Arabic and Farsi, Noor aims to illuminate diverse perspectives to foster greater understanding and diversify America's rich theatrical tapestry. Noor is a Company-in-Residence at the award-winning New York Theatre Workshop, which provides artistic and organizational support to further the company's development. www.noortheatre.org.

The Myth Project plays at New York Theatre Workshop's 4th Street Theatre at 83 East 4th Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery. The performances will be at 7pm and 9pm on Thursday, May 1 and Friday, May 2; at 5pm, 7pm and 9pm on Saturday, May 3; at 5pm and 7pm on Sunday, May 4. Tickets for this Actors Equity Association Showcase Production will be on sale in April. Visit noortheatre.org/myth for more information.

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