Golden Thread Productions Announces 2017 Season

Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East, continues the celebration of its 20th anniversary with an ambitious and truly international season of new work featuring artists and stories from or about Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine, Turkey, Iraq, Armenia, Japan, England, and the U.S.

The mainstage season includes the world premiere of Autobiography of a Terrorist, a fiercely funny dive into the absurdity of the immigrant experience by Whiting Award-winning playwright and memoirist Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, directed by Evren Odcikin (April 14-May 7, 2017) and the return of Golden Thread's signature program ReOrient 2017 Festival of Short Plays, featuring seven new plays from or about the Middle East (November 17-December 10, 2017). ReOrient 2017 writers selected from 79 submissions from 14 countries are Melis Aker, E.H. Benedict, Sevan K. Greene, Hannah Khalil, Junichi P. Semitsu, Betty Shamieh, and Torange Yeghiazarian. Both productions will be presented at Potrero Stage (previously Thick House) in San Francisco. Also included is Amir Nizar Zuabi's Oh My Sweet Land, a tour-de-force solo show based on the Palestinian writer's interviews with Syrian refugees in Jordan. Directed by Torange Yeghiazarianand featuring Nora el Samahy, Oh My Sweet Land will perform in a limited engagement tour of Bay Area kitchens in October 2017.

Golden Thread's annual celebration of International Women's Day, What Do the Women Say? moves to Brava Theater Center this year. Dedicated to Syria and named Syria Mon Amour: Food, Home, and Healing (March 8, 2017) will showcase the work of leading Middle Eastern female artists and chef Reem Assil. Also at Brava is audience-favorite New Threads staged reading series (July-August, 2017), introducing four new plays from and about the Middle East in development. Golden Thread Fairytale Players will tour Bay Area schools and libraries throughout the year with a brand new play: Leila's Quest for Flight, in which a menagerie of mythic birds helps a little girl's dream of becoming a pilot despite her poor eyesight. Find out more about Golden Thread and its 2017 Season at goldenthread.org/2017-Season.

"During precarious political times, nothing is more subversive than celebrating our community in all its beauty and complexity," said Founding Artistic Director Torange Yeghiazarian. "In 2017, I'm excited to renew our commitment to providing space for meaningful conversations inspired by thought-provoking plays; plays that are rarely seen anywhere but here."

Founded in 1996 by playwright and director Torange Yeghiazarian, Golden Thread Productions is the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East and its global dispora. For 20 years, Golden Thread has produced plays and events that represent excellence, defy stereotypes, and celebrate the multiplicity of perspectives and identities from the Middle East. The company has become an essential hub for artistic activism, supports challenging conversations, and champions representation and inclusion locally and nationally.

In 20 years, Golden Thread has premiered more than 100 new plays from or about the Middle East, including seven original plays for young audiences based on Middle Eastern folktales, and has employed more than 1,000 artists, many from underrepresented communities. Golden Thread has served nearly 50,000 audience members, with more than 40% self-identifying as Middle Eastern. To mark Golden Thread's 20th Anniversary, the City of San Francisco proclaimed December 18, 2016 as "Golden Thread Productions Day." Golden Thread has been recognized twice by American Theatre Wing, the producers of the Tony Awards, for its important work in the national theatre scene, and was featured in the Bay Area in ABC 7's Profiles of Excellence for its pioneering work in the local community. Last year, Founding Artistic Director Torange Yeghiazarian received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cairo International Theatre Festival.

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