Americans Love it, So Why Don’t We?

Americans Love it, So Why Don’t We?

The San Francisco Bay Guardian hails it as a “Triumph” and Berkley Daily Planet says it’s “becoming a Bay Area institution without losing that sense of being a well-kept secret that delights whomever discovers it”.

So how come most Iranians I talk to don’t even know what this is? I’ll give you a clue: It’s about us; you, me, and our Middle Eastern culture. It deposes propaganda, and fosters understanding at a time when we can’t afford not to have it.

I’m talking about Golden Thread Productions’ hallmark event, ReOrient: the annual festival of short plays about the Middle East, that is back for another thought-provoking and transformative season. Each short play reflects the diversity of the region as well as the urgency with which we must engage with it. At a time when the Middle East is at the forefront of the news on a daily basis, the ReOrient festival provides a rare opportunity for artists and audiences alike to engage deeply and directly with the Middle East in a creative and supportive setting that displaces misinformation and encourages understanding.

The event which premiers in San Francisco, Saturday Jan 12th and runs through Feb 3rd, showcases writing by award-winning writers such as Naomi Wallace, deeply admired Iranian poet, Simin Behbehani; emerging Bay Area playwright Ignacio Zulueta and one of today’s most sought after Middle Eastern-American playwrights, Yussef El Guindi.

“ReOrient is not just about the Middle East” shares Golden Thread’s Artistic Director, Torange Yeghiazarian, “ReOrient is about us and our relationship to the world as Americans.”

This show offers an excellent, no excuses, opportunity to do more than pay lip service to dialogue about our culture, and our image in the West. It’s time to gather up a few friends, support the great work of Golden Thread, and go see what the American’s are talking about.

PREVIEW: Thursday and Friday, January 10th and 11th @ 8 pm

OPENS: Saturday, January 12 @ 8pm

RUNS: Thursday – Saturday, January 17, 18, 19 @ 8 pm

Sunday, January 20th @ 7 pm

Thursday – Saturday, January 24, 25, 26 @ 8 pm

Sunday, January 27th @ 7 pm

Thursday – Saturday, January 31, February 1, 2 @ 8 pm

Sunday, February 3rd @ 7 pm

VENUE: The Magic Theatre (Fort Mason Center, Bldg. D, 3rd Floor, San Francisco)

TICKETS: Previews: Pay-what-you-can

Thursdays – Sundays: $25 general admission, discounts available

BOX OFFICE: (415) 626-4061; www.goldenthread.org

The 2007/08 ReOrient Festival presents five world premieres:

The Monologist Suffers for Her Monologue by Egyptian-born playwright Yussef El Guindi, directed by Arlene Hood. A Palestinian-American explores her identity in this poignant and comedic monologue. In the dialogue of nations, do you ever get the feeling that Palestine is just a whiny monologue?

Pistachio Stories by Lebanese-American playwright Laura Shamas, directed by Mark Ruthier. This funny and touching play boils down the issues of government surveillance, censorship and freedom of speech to one simple question: What would you do if you received an unexpected bag of red pistachios from Syria?

Between This Breath and You by Naomi Wallace, MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, directed by Amy Mueller. A Palestinian man refuses to leave a clinic unless he speaks to the Israeli nurse in charge. She soon recognizes a hidden connection between them—a connection much stronger than their cultural divide could ever be.

22 Minutes Remaining by Oakland playwright Ignacio Zulueta, directed by Evren Odcikin. An Israeli soldier is doing his job: warning the residents of a village in Southern Lebanon to vacate before an imminent attack. With only 22 minutes remaining before the next bomb hits, one of the calls he makes is about to alter his world completely.

I Sell Souls by Iranian poet Simin Behbehani, directed by Golden Thread Artistic Director Torange Yeghiazarian.