Four Middle Eastern Directors Found Consulting Group

By: Mar. 04, 2019
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Four Middle Eastern Directors Found Consulting Group

Maia Directors was created as a consulting service for organizations and artists engaging with stories and cultures from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA). Services provided by Maia Directors include casting and personnel support, production cultural consulting, script and dramaturgical support, and outreach and communications advising. Founded by theatre artists Kareem Fahmy, Evren Odcikin, Megan Sandberg-Zakian, and Pirronne Yousefzadeh, Maia Directors is an advocate for the inclusion of MENASA artists and stories as a vital part of the American cultural conversation. maiadirectors.com

Maia Directors has already worked with organizations of different sizes on a wide-range of projects. Current and former clients include California Shakespeare Theater, Pan Asian Rep, Chester Theatre Company, StoryWorks, and The Muse Project, among others. One of the current Maia projects, The Corpse Washer, adapted to the stage by Ismail Khalidi and Naomi Wallace from the novel of the same name by Sinan Antoon and directed by Mark Brokaw, bagan performances at Actors Theatre of Louisville's Humana Festival last weekend. It will perform through April 7.

"Working with Maia Directors has been a fantastic experience. Their collective knowledge, vision, and network enabled our StoryWorks team to tell vital stories with accuracy and authenticity." said Jenna Welch, artistic director of StoryWorks. Maia Directors worked with Welch to create a commission program for a Muslim writer to create a verbatim piece based on Huffington Post's ongoing reporting on Islamophobia. Selected writer Rehana Lew Mirza collaborated with Welch to create Tomorrow, Inshallah, which ran July 18-August 5, 2018 at Living Room in Kansas City, MO.

"Having the Maia team serve as consultants in the casting process for House of Joy was invaluable," said LeeAnn Dowd, casting manager for California Shakespeare Theater. "We were able to benefit short-term from really nuanced and thoughtful information about how particular actors might fit into the production, and we will also benefit long-term from having a wider network of MENASA actors to consider for future projects." Maia Directors provided casting support for for House of Joy by Madhuri Shekar. The production will run August 14-September 1, 2019 at California Shakespeare Theater in Orinda, CA.

Maia Directors is committed to bringing more stories and artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA) to the stage and screen, with respect for the multiplicity of cultures, languages, and religions of these regions. Maia Directors believe in the power of storytelling to deepen our shared humanity, Along with their experience as artists of Middle Eastern and North African descent, the four founders of the company have decades of professional expertise in directing, theatermaking, education, and advocacy.





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