Noor Theatre Company

Maharana Pratap

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Noor Theatre Company is a New York City-based theatre organization founded in June 2010 that supports, develops, and produces the work of Middle Eastern Americans and artists of the diaspora.[1] The group's aims to counter negative stereotypes through theatrical work that overcomes cultural differences.

"Noor" means "light" in both Persian and Arabic, reflecting the intention to enlighten audiences to the experiences of Middle Eastern people.[2]

## Background

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Noor Theatre Company was founded by Lameece Issaq, Executive Director Maha Chehlaoui, and Nancy Vitale joining as Producing Artistic Director.[3] Issaq serves as the first and only artistic director. Noor Theatre Company is a company-in-residence at the New York Theatre Workshop.[2] Through this partnership, the company has been able to workshop and develop new plays.

Noor Theatre Company has partnered with other institutions and universities to engage with the larger New York community. Notable partnered events include "Queer Stories from New York, Berlin, and Beyond" presented with The Lark, a reading from Saadallah Wannous's Rituals and Signs of Transformations with the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, and "Building a New" with New York Center for Architecture.[4][5]

## Notable Productions

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The company has premiered six original productions since its inception in 2010.[6]

### Food and Fadwa

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The inaugural production, Food and Fadwa, was written by Lameece Issaq and Jacob Kader. Performed from May 18 to June 24, 2012, this comedy-drama follows the intimate life of a Palestinian family in Israeli-occupied Bethlehem. The protagonist Fadwa (played by Lameece Issaq herself) is living at home to care for her increasingly demented father Baba (Laith Nakli). Fadwa's sister Dalal (Maha Chehlaoui) is set to marry her betrothed Amir (Arian Moayed) so family members begin to arrive for the wedding. An American-assimilated cousin Hayat (Heather Raffo) arrives, sparking envy in Fadwa. Specifically, this is the catalyst for the return of Emir's older brother Youssif (Haaz Sleiman) who Fadwa had a childhood romance with.[7] Amidst the realities of mandated curfews and Israeli checkpoints, interpersonal relationships continue. Fadwa spends her time imagining she is hosting a cooking show for a live audience while preparing food for Dalal's wedding. She makes traditional Arab recipes such as Baba ghanoush and Hummus while talking to her imagined studio audience and making comments on the unfolding events.[8] While some critics were unimpressed by the melodramatic plot because it did not center on the violence of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, others found richness in character details and comedy.[9][10]

### Dead Are My People

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Dead Are My People is the company's first full-length production which ran from November 4 to 11, 2018.[11] The title draws from the Kahlil Gibran poem "Dead Are My People" about the Great Famine of Mount Lebanon.[12] The play follows the character Nicola Najjour (played by Adam Bakri) as he arrives from Mount Lebanon to the United States to find his uncle. This journey leads Nicola to a small town called Lakewood, located in the Jim Crow south where he befriends a black man named Weavel.[12] The two navigate the racial landscape of 1918's American South as the play explores the themes of immigration, assimilation, and the legacies of white supremacy in the United States.[13]

The play combines the writing and lyrics of Ismail Khalidi (writer) with music by Hadi Eldebek from the Silk Road Ensemble for a blend of classical Arabic music with the blues and folk sounds of the Deep South.[14]

World Premieres[6] Year  | Production  | Writers  | Director  | Partnerships (if applicable)

|
|
|
|

2012  | Food and Fadwa | Lameece Issaq and Jacob Kader  | Shana Gold  | New York Theatre Workshop
2013  | Myth In Motion | The ensemble  | Pirronne Yousefzadeh  | Students of New Jersey Institute of Technology/Rutgers Theatre
2014  | The Myth Project: Phoenicia Flowers, The In-Between, and I am Gordafarid[15] | Noelle Ghoussaini; Kareem Fahmy; and Pirronne Yousefzadeh  | Noelle Ghoussaini; Kareem Fahmy; Pirronne Yousefzadeh and Sanaz Ghajarrahimi  |
2018  | Dead Are My People | Ismail Khalidi (writer) | Leah C. Gardiner  |

## Annual programming

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Each fall the company hosts the "Highlight Reading Series" and each spring the company hosts the "48 Hour Forum." The profits from both are directed back into Noor Theatre Company.[16]

### Highlight Reading Series

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The Highlight Reading Series was created by Former Producing Artistic Director Nancy Vitale. Since its inception in 2010, this event has operated as a space to support and spread the work of playwrights of Middle Eastern descent when the company cannot afford to produce all works.[17][18][19]

Several plays in the Highlight series are later produced by other organizations. For example, Heather Raffo's play Noura, which was read in 2016, later opened at Playwrights Horizons in 2018.[20]

Highlight Reading Series Works  Year  | Date  | Production  | Writers

|
|
|

2010  | September 13  | Forgotten Bread | Sevan Greene
October 18  | Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babies | Yussef El Guindi
November 15  | The Hour of Feeling | Mona Mansour
December 13  | Fit for the Queen: A Tragicomedy | Betty Shamieh
2011  | September 19  | I Am Yusef and This is my Brother | Amir Nizar Zuabi
November 14  | The Strangest | Betty Shamieh
December 5  | BABA | Denmo Ibrahim
2012  | November 12  | The Prophet | Hassan Abdulrazzak
2013  | September 23  | Sabra Falling | Ismail Khalidi (writer)
October 7  | The Shadow Spirit | Translated by Dr. Safi Mahfouz and Dr. Marvin Carlson
November 18  | The House of Strength | Rahaleh Nassri
2014  | September 15  | Threesome | Yussef El Guindi
October 7  | What Happened to Noura? | Nine Courageous Women at Queens College
November 18  | The Vagrant | Mona Mansour
December 9  | Behfarmaheen (If You Please) | Barzin Akhavan
2015  | September 29  | Taha | Amer Hlehel
October 12  | Nahda: Five Visions of an Arab Awakening | Sevan K. Greene
November 17  | Brother Gary | Ramiz Monsef
December 8  | Oh My Sweet Land | Amir Nizar Zuabi
2016  | September 26  | Dead Are My People | Ismail Khalidi (writer)
November 15  | Fireworks | Dalia Taha; Translated by Clem Naylor
December 13  | Noura | Heather Raffo
2017  | September 26  | Wooden Boxes | Houssein Almoreey
October 10  | 330 Pegasus | Melis Aker
November 14  | Selling Kabul | Sylvia Khoury
December 12  | You, The Fire, and Me | Sevan K. Greene

### 48 Hour Forum

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In May 2015, this forum was created to address media representation of the Middle East. The executive director and artistic director of Noor Theatre spend months gathering headlines from and about The Middle East that they believe offer a balance between prominent topics such as ISIS and Sex trafficking and more joyful daily victories.[21] These headlines are then drawn at random by the participants. A collaboration of five playwrights, five directors, and twenty company actors spend twelve hours writing and thirty-six hours rehearsing an original production inspired by the headline.[16] The five new fifteen-minute productions are required to include thirty seconds of silence, music, or a second language.[21] The fast-paced nature of this festival is meant to spark conversation about how events in the Middle East are represented in the news cycle and how this news immediately affects various communities.

What is different about this forum is that the creative process is opened to guest playwrights, actors, and directors from all backgrounds. In 2015, Mona Mansour, Keith Josef Adkins, and Shana Gold were a few of the writers and directors invited.[16] In 2016, the participating writers were David Zellnik, Kara Lee Corthron, Leila Buck, Laith Nakli, and Clare Barron.[21]

In 2018, the festival was sponsored in part by the New York State Council on the Arts.[22] Playwrights Anima Henry, Sevan K. Green, Melisa Tien, and Michele Lowe were joined by directors Ed Sylvanus Iskandar and Ralph Peña.[22]

## Awards/Grants

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Noor Theatre won an Obie Award and accompanying grant in 2016.[23]

In the fall of 2018, Noor Theatre was awarded an Artists Advancing Cultural Change grant from the Pop Culture Collaborative.[24] This grant was used to commission new work from three Middle Eastern American writers in the 2019–2020 season. These new works were not restricted to theatre and were encouraged to be broadcast to a larger audience through digital media and film.[25] Artistic Director Lameece Issaq, Arian Moayed, and Mike Mosallam were the artists chosen to produce new work for Noor Theatre Company through this grant.[26]

## References

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1. ^ Sussman, Anna Louie (2011-03-09). "Interpreting the New Dialogue". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
2. ^ a b "Meet NYTW Company-in-Residence Noor Theatre". New York Theatre Workshop. May 15, 2012.
3. ^ BWW News Desk. "Noor Theatre, A Middle-Eastern Theatre Company, Launches In NYC". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
4. ^ Lark, The. "Noor Theatre to Hold New Event "Queer Stories from New York, Beirut, Berlin, and Beyond" at The Lark!". The Lark. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
5. ^ "Translating Syria's Foremost Playwright to the New York Stage | Al Jadid". www.aljadid.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
6. ^ a b "NYTW / Companies-in-Residence". NYTW. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
7. ^ "Review: Play 'Food and Fadwa' is a tasty blend". Washington Examiner. 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
8. ^ "Food and Fadwa | TheaterMania". www.theatermania.com. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
9. ^ "NY Review: 'Food and Fadwa'". www.backstage.com. 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
10. ^ Isherwood, Charles (2012-06-24). "A West Bank Curfew, but What's for Dinner?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
11. ^ "NYTW / Dead Are My People". NYTW. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
12. ^ a b "Ismail Khalidi's "Dead Are My People" Examines White Supremacy & Immigration in America, Then and Now". Arab America. 2016-10-08. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
13. ^ BWW News Desk. "Details Announced For Noor Theatre's DEAD ARE MY PEOPLE". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
14. ^ "Dead Are My People: The Story". Noor Theatre Youtube. October 17, 2018.
15. ^ "Noor Theatre to Present World Premiere of The Myth Project". Arab America. 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
16. ^ a b c Considine, Allison (2015-05-15). "Noor Theatre Responds to Breaking News with Breaking Theatre". AMERICAN THEATRE. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
17. ^ BWW News Desk. "Noor Theatre Invites The Public to Highlight, a Reading Series 9/13". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
18. ^ Clement, Olivia (2015-10-12). "Noor Announces New Season of Theatre Inspired by the Middle East". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
19. ^ BWW News Desk. "Noor Theatre Announces 7th Season of Highlight Reading Series". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
20. ^ Clement, Olivia (2018-12-10). "Heather Raffo's Noura Opens at Playwrights Horizons December 10". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
21. ^ a b c Considine, Allison (2016-05-19). "From Front Page to Stage: Noor Theatre Turns Headlines Into Short Plays". AMERICAN THEATRE. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
22. ^ a b BWW News Desk. "Noor Theatre Announces Playwrights and Directors for 3rd Annual 48 HOUR FORUM". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
23. ^ "2016 Obie Award Winners Announced". Obie Awards. 2016-05-23. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
24. ^ "Noor Theater". Pop Culture Collaborative. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
25. ^ "3 Questions: New Grantee Noor Theater's Lameece Issaq on What It Means for Middle Eastern Stories to Reach a National Stage". Pop Culture Collaborative. 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
26. ^ "Onstage". Noor Theatre. Retrieved 2020-04-14.

## External links

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* Noor Theatre Company
* Noor Theatre Company Twitter