PR SAN FRANCISCO -- Arab film festival this month

OPENING THIS WEEK!!!!

Golden Thread Productions Proudly Presents
ReOrient 2004—Sixth Annual Festival of Short Plays Exploring the Middle East

Eight plays presented in two alternating series, representing Iran, Turkey, Palestine, Israel, Armenia and the United States!

Series 1: Thursday & Saturday
Series 2: Friday & Sunday

Don’t miss Three-for-One previews Thursday & Friday night!!!

ReOrient Week 1- Special Events:
Thursday and Saturday – Series 1
Special performances by Bay Area native Betty Shamieh. Excerpts of CHOCOLATE IN HEAT - GROWING UP ARAB IN AMERICA, a critically acclaimed play of monologues about love, sex, and privilege told through the eyes of Arab-American characters.

*** FREE EVENT *** Saturday, September 18 at 4 pm, Noh Space
“Tazieh,” a Traditional Iranian Passion Play
Historical context & contemporary experiments
Presenters: Rebecca Ansary Pettys, theater scholar and artist, Haleh Hatami, poet

Sunday, September 19, 1:00 to 4:00 PM at Z Space. Tuition $50
Playwriting Workshop
Developing a Solo Performance Text. Led by Betty Shamieh

PROGRAM CHANGES:
Staged Reading of Shooting Magda has been rescheduled for October 20th at Ashby Stage.

Playwriting workshop by Yussef El Guindi has been cancelled.

ReOrient 2004
September 16 through October 10
Noh Space, 2840 Mariposa St., San Francisco

October 15 through 24
The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley

Previews - 3 admitted for the price of 1: September 16 & 17
Opening Night Performance & Reception: September 18, $25
Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8 pm & Sundays at 7 pm Matinees at 3 pm on Sunday, October 17 and 24

General Admission $18, TBA/Student/Senior $12
Info/ reservations: 510.986.9194 http://www.goldenthread.org/

FESTIVAL PLAY LINE UP

SERIES 1: Thursdays & Saturdays
Chocolate in Heat, Growing Up Arab in America by Betty Shamieh
Bay Area native will present excerpts of her critically acclaimed monologues about love, sex, and privilege told through the eyes of Arab-American characters. Performed by the author opening weekend ONLY.
Disheartened by Melis Bilgin directed by Hal Gelb
Set in a post apocalyptic world, two boys’ search for food produces an unimaginable outcome.
Between the Eyes by Naomi Wallace directed by Amy Mueller
An Israeli man remembers his father’s mistreatment of their Palestinian house-keeper. A deeply moving monologue by this recipient of the McArthur Fellowship, the Genius Award.
Falling by William Borden directed by Arlene Hood
An imaginary conversation between two people jumping off one of the Towers on 9/11.
Taziyeh by Novid Parsi directed by Arlene Hood
A Taziyeh troupe enlists an Iranian-American to play Shemr, the man who murders Hussain. It is a part no one wants to play, and no one will?
[“Taziyeh” is a Shiite passion play about the martyrdom of Hussain in Karbala.]

SERIES 2: Fridays & Sundays
Don’t Eat the Tomatoes by Fatma Durmush directed by Torange Yeghiazarian
Misery turns humans into a tomato. A Turkish couple first reject and then explore the commercial possibilities of this phenomenon.
Compression of a Casualty by Kevin Doyle directed by Lara Hope Owen
CNN news reporters stuck in the narrative of an American soldier’s death in Iraq. They can neither tell the deeper tale, nor move on.
Dinner/ Khnamakhos by Lilly Thomassian directed by Meredith Weiss Friedman
Two Armenian families gather to celebrate the union of their son and daughter. The only problem is, the daughter has become entirely invisible!

SPECIAL EVENTS, FREE TO THE PUBLIC

Saturday, September 18 at 4 pm, Noh Space
“Tazieh,” a Traditional Iranian Passion Play
Historical context & contemporary experiments
Presenters: Rebecca Ansary Pettys, theater scholar and artist, Haleh Hatami, poet

Sunday, October 3 at 4 pm, Noh Space
Playwrights’ Roundtable
Join the artists in an informal discussion on writing and the Middle East

Staged Reading Series:
Plays from Palestine, Israel, Turkey & Iran
POSTPONED TO OCTOBER 20TH at ASHBY STAGE
Shooting Magda by Joshua Sobol directed by Amy Mueller.
The line between fact and fiction blurs during this overnight film shooting by Israeli and Palestinian artists.
Wednesday, September 29@ Noh Space
The Beauty Inside by Catherine Filloux directed by Jessica Heidt
A touching story of an unexpected friendship between two very different women. Based on the true case of an honor killing that is averted in Turkey.
Tuesday, October 5 @ Noh Space
Guest of a Few Days by Mohsen Yalfani directed by Torange Yeghiazarian
A love triangle exposes the political conflict between two friends whose paths diverted in pre-revolutionary Iran.
Monday, November 1 @ A Traveling Jewish Theatre
Bounty of Lace by Susan Merson, directed by Rebecca Novick
This play follows a delicious afternoon tea party among four Israeli women which disintegrates into an exploration of the romantic boundaries of the politically fraught region.

Playwriting Workshops by Today’s leading Arab-American Playwrights
Developing a Solo Performance Text. Led by Betty Shamieh
September 19, 1:00 to 4:00 PM at Z Space. Tuition $50
Structuring a Scene, Crafting a Play. Led by Yussef El Guindi CANCELLED
October 4 & 6, 6:00 to 10:00 PM at Z Space. Tuition $100

Golden Thread Productions has been invited to present a play from last year’s ReOrient Festival at the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre in September 2004. Fundraising performance on 9/20 at Cell Space, 2050 Bryant St. San Francisco. Suggested contribution $10.

Golden Thread Productions is a San Francisco Bay Area ensemble dedicated to exploring Middle Eastern culture and identity as represented throughout the globe. We define the Middle East broadly and inclusively.

PLACING THE MIDDLE EAST CENTER STAGE
131 Tenth St. San Francisco, CA. 94103 TEL. 415.626.4061 www.goldenthread.org