Silk Road Rising Stages Midwest Premiere of Jonas Hassen Khemiri's INVASION!, Now thru 9/1

Silk Road Rising Artistic Director Jamil Khoury and Executive Director Malik Gillani are proud to announce the Midwest Premiere of Invasion!, written by Jonas Hassen Khemiri, translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles, directed by Anna C. Bahow. Invasion! runs today, July 30 - September 1, 2013, in Pierce Hall at The Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 W. Washington St, Chicago.

Invasion! is a tornado of words, images and ideas, all centered around a magical name: Abulkasem. The play assaults our deepest prejudices about culture, race and language. At once hilarious, disturbing and poignant, this mischievously subversive play deconstructs a "threatening" identity - the Arab male - and forces us to confront our own complicated identities.

"Silk Road Rising has long explored matters of identity. Invasion!, on the other hand, explodes identity, leaving the audience sifting through the debris," states Artistic Director Jamil Khoury. "Swedish - Tunisian wunderkind playwright, Jonas Hassen Khemiri, has yet to meet a taboo he won't dare detonate. Remain seated, ladies and gentlemen, there is turbulence on stage!"

Invasion! was originally written in Swedish and premiered in 2006 in Stockholm, Sweden. It was first translated from Swedish to English for a production in London in 2009. In 2011, a new translation was commissioned and performed in New York City. This new translation, by Rachel Willson-Broyles, comes to Chicago for the Midwest Premiere.

The cast of Invasion! includes: Kamal Hans*, Dan Johnson, Amira Sabbagh, and Glenn Stanton.

The design team includes: Dan Stratton (Set), Sarah Hughey (Lighting), Carol J. Blanchard (Costumes), Peter Storms (Sound), Jesse Gaffney (Props), and Neal Ryan Shaw (Dramaturg). The stage manager is John Grant-Phillips. Assistant Director is George Bajalia.

Previews of Invasion! are tonight, July 30 at 7:30 pm, Wednesday, July 31 at 7:30 pm, Thursday, August 1 at 7:30 pm, and Friday, August 2 at 8:00 pm. The press opening is Saturday, August 3 at 4:00 pm. The production runs through Sunday, September 1. Curtain times are Thursdays at 7:30pm; Fridays at 8:00 pm; Saturdays at 4:00 pm, and Sundays at 4:00 pm. Tickets are $25.00 - $35.00. Tickets for Invasion! ($25 for previews, $35 for regular run) are now on sale and can be purchased at www.silkroadrising.org or by phone: 312.857.1234 x 201.

About the Playwright, Director & Cast

Jonas Hassen Khemiri (Playwright) was born in Sweden in 1978. He is the author of three novels and six plays. His first novel, One Eye Red, received the Borås Tidning award for best literary debut. His second novel, Montecore, (published by Knopf in 2011) won several literary awards including the Swedish Radio Award for best novel of the year. Jonas Hassen Khemiri's works have been translated into more than fifteen languages, and his plays have been performed by over 40 companies internationally. In 2011 Invasion! premiered in New York City and the author was awarded a Village Voice Obie Award for playwriting.

Rachel Willson-Broyles (Translator) is a freelance translator specializing in literature. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin. She received her BA in Scandinavian Studies from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2002 and her Ph.D. in Scandinavian Studies from UW-Madison in 2013. Her other translations include Jonas Hassen Khemiri's novel Montecore--The Silence of the Tiger.

?Anna C. Bahow (Director) is committed to the development of new work and a diversity of voices. She is an Associate Artist at Premiere Theatre and Performance, the side project, and Chicago Dramatists. She served as the 2011-2012 Michael Maggio Directing Fellow at Goodman Theatre. Anna's direction has received an After Dark Award and her productions have received Jeff Awards for New Work and Use of Multi-Media. Chicago credits include the Jeff recommended Comrades Mine for City Lit, Brewed for Tympanic Theatre and The Ruckus Theatre, and The Rocks and Rewind for the side project; the Jeff nominated Odin's Horse for Infamous Commonwealth and New Orleans for the side project (both Top Five Fringe List plays); Gray City for Premiere Theatre and Performance, St. Colm's Inch for Chicago Dramatists, Martin Furey's Shot for Timeline (winner of a Special Jeff Award for use of Multi-Media), and Vintage Red and The Dust of the Road for Vision & Voices (winner of a Jeff Award for New Work and a Steinberg Nominee).

Kamal Hans (A) most recently appeared as Avinash in Disconnect at Victory Gardens and as Mourad in Impenetrable at Stage Left Theatre. Favorite roles include Mayor in Fuckin' A (Urban Theater), Marius in Fanny (ITC), Caliban in Shakespeare's Tempest (ITC), Devendra in Merchant On Venice (Silk Road), Salieri in Amadeus, and Anatoly in Chess (Phoenix). Kamal is the managing director for Rasaka Theater, a company of South Asian artists. Kamal has studied at the Theatre School at DePaul, Julliard, The U of C GSB, Illinois Wesleyan, and with Uta Hagen.

Dan Johnson (D) hails from Independence, Missouri but has called Chicago home for the past five years. He attended The Theatre School at DePaul University, graduating in June of 2012. His previous theatre credits include The Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo with director Heidi Stillman at the Lookingglass Theatre, and Cheek to Cheek under director Krissy Vanderwaker at the Pine Box Theatre Co. Dan also guest starred on the scripted comedy series Underemployed on MTV, as well as guest starring on NBC's Chicago Fire.

Amira Sabbagh (C) has previously appeared at Silk Road Rising in Re-Spiced: A Silk Road Cabaret, Merchant on Venice, Precious Stones, a number of staged readings, and the video play The Balancing Arab, currently on Silk Road's website. Amira has worked with Eclipse Theatre, Theatre Seven, Vitalist Theatre, Court Theatre, and Erasing the Distance. Amira has a degree in modern dance and is an active member of the Bodhi Spiritual Center.

Glenn Stanton (B) is a Chicago based actor and fight director. Glenn was most recently seen in the role of d'Artagnan in Lifeline's Theater's Three Musketeers and also in Measure for Measure at the Goodman Theater. Other Chicago credits include: Romeo & Juliet and SS! Macbeth (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Motion (Signal Ensemble), The Apple Tree (Illinois Theater Center), Cyrano (House Theater), Soul Samurai (Infusion Theater), Ghost of Treasure Island (Adventure Stage Chicago), Once on this Island (Porchlight), A Christmas Carol (Metropolis), among others. Regional credits: Titus Andronicus, Mary Stuart and To Kill A Mockingbird (Utah Shakespeare Festival), Beauty and the Beast, Pirates of Penzance and Crowns (Cumberland County Playouse). TV credits: Jeami in Desperate Measures (Investigate Discovery), Isaiah Hunter in A King's Way (Pilot). Film: Altered. Glenn has also done voiceover work for Comcast and the state of Oklahoma.