Silk Road Theatre Project Announces Launch Of New Website

Silk Road Theatre Project announces the debut of SouthAsianPlaywrights.Org, a dynamic new website created to showcase and promote American and Canadian playwrights of South Asian descent. SouthAsianPlaywrights.Org aims to create greater visibility for the twenty five playwrights currently featured on the site and promote each playwright's work to theatre companies, cultural organizations, and academic institutions, as well as to artistic directors, producers, directors, literary managers, editors, publishers, and all other interested parties. The belief is that enhanced exposure will result in an increase in the number of productions these talented playwrights receive.
SouthAsianPlaywrights.Org defines South Asians as persons with ancestry in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, including persons of mixed ancestries.

This first-of-its-kind on-line resource was developed by Silk Road Theatre Project in association with SATAM, the South Asian Theatre Arts Movement.  The origins of SATAM and the catalysts for SouthAsianPlaywrights.Org can be traced to the first two National South Asian American Theatre Conferences - Desi Drama I, hosted by Silk Road Theatre Project, Chicago, Illinois, July 19 - 22, 2007, and Desi Drama II, hosted by Pangea World Theater, Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 4 - 5, 2008.  The number of participating playwrights on the site is expected to grow from twenty five to approximately thirty playwrights within the next few months. The current roster of playwrights includes:

Sarovar Banka, Sujata G. Bhatt, Sudipta Bhawmik, Anita Chandwaney, Naveen Bahar Choudhury, Deen, Snehal Desai, Taniya Hossain, Mrinalini Kamath, Aditi Brennan Kapil, Ravi Kapoor, Shishir Kurup, Rohina Malik, Rehana Mirza, Shyamala Morti, Anuvab Pal, Lina Patel, Shailja Patel, Shane Sakhrani, Nandita Shenoy, Aamera Siddiqui, Ranbir Sidhu, Meera Simhan, Sujay Sood, and Brenden Varma.

According to Silk Road Theatre Project Artistic Director Jamil Khoury, "SouthAsianPlaywrights.Org represents a new frontier in Silk Road Theatre Project's commitment to playwrights of South Asian descent. North America's vibrant and fast growing South Asian communities forecast not only demographic changes and increased economic and political power, but also demands for greater cultural representation and artistic influence. It is our opinion that Americans and Canadians of South Asian backgrounds are poised for a theatrical explosion! And as a non-South Asian, I can't get enough of this rich Diaspora of artists. The stories and aesthetics emanating from these diverse and highly talented communities are bound to have significant impact on our 21st century theatre. As producers and cultural activists, we call upon our colleagues in the theatre world to engage these playwrights and integrate more South Asian stories within the broader repertoire of produced and published plays."

According to Silk Road Theatre Project Executive Director Malik Gillani, "As a South Asian American arts executive, it gives me great satisfaction to utilize internet technology as a cost-effective means of creating a forum for South Asian playwrights. The desire to see and to share one's own stories, to weave South Asian plays within the fabric of immigrant and second generation narratives, and to support voices that are specifically South Asian yet quintessentially North American, is a unique honor for which I am both humbled and grateful. We all long to see ourselves on stage and for others to see themselves in our lives. It is our hope that SouthAsianPlaywrights.Org leads to many more such opportunities."

Silk Road Theatre Project showcases playwrights of Asian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean backgrounds, whose works address themes relevant to the peoples of the Silk Road and their Diaspora communities. Through the creation and presentation of outstanding theatre, we aim to promote discourse and dialogue among multi-cultural audiences in Chicago. For more information, please visit www.srtp.org.

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