Rough Draft Brochure

belongs tolaguardiaperformingarts.org

A window into the creative process, The RoughDraft Festival is a showcase of exciting newwork currently under development by LPACand other companies. All RD events are aboutthe process and thus followed by interactiveQ&A sessions.



RD InternationalFor Opening Night and World Theater Day, RDInternational features a panel hosted by RobertaLevitow (co-founder of Theatre Without Borders) andwill stream International festival makers via SKYPEinto the conversation to discuss their festivals.RD in ProductionThe result of a long-term residency, RD inProduction is a finished piece that has beendeveloped and work-shopped on the LPAC stages.Red Wednesday by Built for CollapseRD LabThe RD LAB is dedicated to artist/companies who havebeen rewarded with shorter LPAC residencies.Speak! by Natalie BirrielCould You Please Look into the Camera?by Mohammad Al AttarThe eMANcipation Proclamation ofGoGo Gadget by Alberto Denis

RD New Play DevelopmentTwo LAB resident playwrights debut new work.Naveen Bahar ChoudhurySarah SakaanRD ReadingInja o Oonja by Matthew SpanglerGUN COUNTRY by Houses on the MoonTheater CompanyGrey Skies by J Carlos ArenadoThe Strangest by Betty ShamiehRD Workshop“Art Imitates Life” Workshopby Hala Alyan“Writing Race and Religion” Workshopby Rehana MirzaWorkshop by Alberto DenisWorkshop by Ping Chong & CompanyFor more info on these programs andticketing details for the Rough Draft Festivalgo to laguardiaperformingarts.org.

International Fri, March 27, @ 6:00pm Little Theater World Theater Day with Roberta Levitow This event in conjunction with World Theater Day aims to establish a greater understanding of interna- tional theater. This year Rough Draft focuses on the theater festivals abroad. A panel hosted by Roberta Levitow (co- founder of Theatre Without Borders) willbring festival makers via SKYPE into the conversa-tion to discuss their festivals.

in Production Fri, March 27, 8pm, Main Stage, & March 28, 9:00pm, March 29 @ 5:00pm RED WednesdayConceived by Built for CollapseWritten and Directed bySanaz GhajarrahimiAgainst the brutality of time and politics, REDWednesday seeks to rescue and redefine ourcivilization’s legacy. Confessions of unrest,reformation, decadence, and loss conspire toprovide conclusive evidence of the glamor ofan era that is dying and the valor of a new agethat is emerging. Inspired by the controversialstory of Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, Iran’s ForeignMinister during the 1979 hostage crisis, andwritten by his great-niece, the production paysspecial attention to those left to clean up themess when we blow each other up. Built for Collapse

LabSat, March 28, @ 7:30 pm Little Theater Speak!by Natalie BirrielDirected by Andreas RobertzHave you ever experienced that moment Natalie Birrielin life when something holds you backfrom saying what you really, truly want-ed to say? For some, it’s fear that holdsthem back, for others it’s a language bar-rier, for me it was stuttering. In Speak!,not only do you get to bare witness tothe journey of a stutter trying to findher voice, but you also get to meet thevillage of people who inspired her withtheir own need to be heard.Sun, March 29, @ 7:30 pmLittle Theater Aktina StathakiCould You Please Look into the Camera?by Mohammad Al Attar, Directed by Aktina StathakiCould you Please look into the Camera? by Mohammad AlAttar is based on testimonies by detainees of the Syrianregime in the early stages of the revolution. In doing thispiece we ask: how do we perform testimony? What is ourresponsibility to remember in a world where war becomes“old news” on our TV screens within months?

Lab Alberto DenisMon, March 30, @ 6:00 pm Main Stage Theater The eMANcipation Proclamation of GoGo Gadget by Alberto Denis is an evening length exposi- tion, told through monologue, dance, projections, live surveys, storytelling, humor, and vulnerable exposure, of one man’s struggle to understand his continually changing sense of self awareness and development through the taxing lens of“body image”. At its core, the work is centered around compassion for one’s self and others, within an incredibly intimate setting, built to emulate a ca- sual cabaret and designed to disarm the audi- enceby exposing the performer (myself), mentally, emotionally, as well as physically.

Reading Mon, March 30 Betty Shamieh @ 8:00 pm Little Theater The Strangestby Betty ShamiehDirected by Handan OzbilginMidway through Camus’s classic The Stranger, an un-named Arab is killed. Leaping from this moment andworking backwards through possible histories of tangledromance, ethnic conflict, and random violence, playwrightBetty Shamieh has crafted a new play inspired by this un-known character. Infused with elements of Middle Easternoral storytelling traditions, The Strangest is an absurdistmurder mystery about three Algerian brothers who vie forthe love of the same woman. Their bitter rivalry ends withone brother being inexplicably gunned down by a Frenchstranger.Q & A with Betty Shamieh moderated by MarvinCarlson, The Sidney E.Cohn DistinguishedProfessor of Theatre, Comparative Literature andMiddle Eastern Studies.

Fringe Verses Open Mic Series Tue, March 31, @ 7:00 pm Little Theater Rough Draft Open MicThe evening will include performances by po-ets and spoken word artists within LaGuardiaCommunity College, as well as a select numberof diverse, accomplished poets from the greaterNew York community. The theme of this year’sseries is Art in Muslim societies, and poetrywill encompass a range of empowering andcreative voices. Hala Alyan, Curator of the Fringe Verses Open Mic Series wasHala Alyan awarded the 2013 Arab-American Book Award in poetry. Art Imitates Life Workshop by Hala Alyan @ 5:00 pm Little Theater

Reading & New Play DevelopmentStefanie Sertich Wed, Apr 1 @ 5:30 pm Main Stage Theater Grey Skies Written by J Carlos Arenado Directed by Stefanie SertichWhen tragedy occurs, a Pakistan family is thrown intodisarray as they attempt to keep their dreams fromspiraling away. Grey Skies tells the story of Bilal andFahkira as they try to raise a family while living under thedual terror of American suspicions and drone strikes.Wed, April 1, @ 2:30 pm& Thu, Apr 2, @ 7:30pm Main Stage Theater The Art of Hijab, Kohl Black and the Right Way to Pray Written by Sarah SakaanSarah Sakaan Inspired by Sakaan’s upbringing in the Bible Belt of America and an online cache of religious and beauty tutorials for the Muslim woman, this play explores feminism, freedom and oppression in Islam through multi- media and live performance.

New Play Development Wed, Apr 1, @7:30 pm & Thu, Apr 2,Naveen Bahar Choudhury @ 2:30pmLittle Theater TBDWritten by Naveen Bahar ChoudhuryJoseph, a Bangladeshi American college fresh-man, falls in love with his dormmate, Lee, acloseted Southerner from a conservative family.While he encourages Lee to come out about hissexual orientation, Joseph has secrets of hisown that threaten their relationship. An explo-ration of homosexuality within Muslim culture,pre-9/11 Islamophobia, and the intersection ofmultiple identitiesWed, Apr 1 & Thu, Apr 2, @ 5:30pm, “Writing Race and Religion” with Rehana Mirza

Reading Fri, Apr 3, @ 6 pm Main Stage Theater Inja o OonjaWritten by Matthew SpanglerInja o Oonja, by Matthew Spangler, is an adaptation ofstories about Iranian immigration to the United States.The play explores the multi-sited nature of “home” withinan Iranian immigrant community. The stories adaptedhere include: Jasmin Darznik’s “Masquerade” and PersisKarim’s “Something to Pray For.”Q & A with Persis Karim following the reading. Matthew Spangler

Reading Houses on the Moon Fri, Apr 3, @ 8 pm Little Theater gUN CountryBy Houses on the MoonAn evening of true stories told by people whoselives have been touched by guns AND “1000words” (working title) a new play about anEnglish professor and one of her students, whoseprovocative writing leads her to believe he mayhave been involved in her own son’s murder.

The 2015 Rough Draft Festival is presented in conjunction with the “Beyond Sacred” year. LaGuardiaPerforming Arts Center (LPAC) presentsan interdisciplinary artistic and academic program entitled Beyond Sacred: Unthinking Muslim Identity for theentirety of its’ 2014-15 season. The goal of “Beyond Sacred” is to create a cohesive cultural program that illuminates life experiences of culturally identified Muslims in 21st century, post 9/11 New York City, and results in greater understanding among Muslim and non-Muslim communities in NYC. @lpaconthemap #BeyondSacred