2006 Staged Readings
August 27, 2006 COWBOY VS. SAMURAI by Michael Golamco
August 8, 2006 BALACARITA: THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG KRISHNA by Bhasa
July 21, 2006 SUN SISTERS by S. Vasanti Saxena
June 28, 2006 DOUBLE HAPPINESS by Gitanjali Kapila
June 13, 2006 THE DETAILS OF SILENCE by Nathalie Handal
June 4, 2006 PUBLISH OR PERISH by Anuvab Pal
March 12, 2006 CARAVAGGIO by Richard Vetere
August 27, 2006:
COWBOY VS. SAMURAI by Michael Golamco
Directed by Katherine Condit-Ladd
Featuring: Lydia Berger, Jonathan Goodman, Denice Lee, Foo Nguyen, and Dwight Sora
Silk Road Theatre Project at The Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 West Washington St., Pierce Hall, Chicago, at 12:30 pm
Cowboy vs. Samurai is a new play by Michael Golamco. “Race has nothing to do with being attracted to someone,” says Travis Park, the protagonist of Cowboy vs. Samurai. But that statement is tested constantly in this savage comedy about love and friendship: a 21st century update of Cyrano De Bergerac, in which the nose is replaced by race. Travis loves Veronica Lee, the only Korean American woman living in the tiny town of Breakneck, Wyoming. Veronica only dates white men; the crucial detail that sets Travis on a journey of composing love letters that test our perceptions of race and romance.
Followed by a Q & A session with playwright Michael Golamco.
Presented in partnership with Silk Road Chicago: Summer 2006
August 8, 2006:
BALACARITA: THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG KRISHNA by Bhasa
Adapted and Directed by Christopher Johnson
Featuring: Kareem Bandealy, Melissa Canciller, John Nyrere Frazier, Quinto Guyton, Anil Hurkadli, Ray Kurut, Vishal Patel, Jaya Sabramanian, and Christopher Walsh
Jen Albert - Fight Choreographer
Alka Nayer - Dance Choreographer
Claudia Cassidy Theatre at the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St., Chicago, at 7:00 pmBalacarita: The Adventures of Young Krishna is a classical Indian play being adapted to the American stage by Christopher Johnson. Amidst a host of divine portents, Vasudeva and his wife have given birth to their seventh son, the human embodiment of the divine Krishna. Fearing their divine prodigy will be slain by the evil King Kansa, they hide the enfant with another family where he grows to manhood. Upon reaching maturity, Krishna reveals himself and embarks upon a series of trials to secure his place as master of both men and Gods. Aided by the Bird-King Garuda and an arsenal of supernatural weapons, he slays the Demon-Bull Arista, subdues the great serpent Kaliya and finally confronts the murderous Kansa and his warrior-assassins in a spectacular and action-packed climax. Seeming to draw equal inspiration from the Hindu religious epics and Hellenic heroic drama, Balacarita represents a unique gem in the canon of Sanskrit drama and in the history of world theatre.
Followed by a Q & A session with adaptor Christopher Johnson.
Presented in partnership with Silk Road Chicago: Summer 2006
July 21, 2006
SUN SISTERS by S. Vasanti Saxena
Directed by Carol Karaguez
Featuring: Steven Gilpin, Bert Matias, Nancy Oda, Ruibo Qian, Eliza Shin, Jennifer Shin, and Tiffany Villarin
Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W Chicago Ave., Chicago, at 8:00 pm
A daughter’s love. A mother’s final blessing. Jessica’s homecoming forces past and present to collide as she learns to understand intolerance and tolerate her mother’s lack of understanding. Sun Sisters is a play about unspoken desires and how even silence cannot prevent their realization.
Followed by a Q & A session with playwright S. Vasanti Saxena.
Presented in partnership with Chicago Dramatists as part of The Many Voices Project. The Many Voices Project is Chicago’s first playwriting contest and readings festival that embraces all playwrights of color. The project brings together the city’s race and ethnic-specific theatres to develop and showcase unproduced, full length and 10 minute plays.
June 28, 2006:
DOUBLE HAPPINESS by Gitanjali Kapila
Directed by Anita Chandwaney
Featuring: Bryan Bosque, Tony Brown, Charlie Jensen, Kyra Lewandowski, Fawzia Mirza, Alka Nayyar, Jaya Subramanian, and Jeffrey B. Wilkerson
Silk Road Theatre Project at The Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 West Washington St., Pierce Hall, Chicago, at 7:00 pm
Set against the backdrop of a small wind-swept, mid-western college, Double Happiness is a loss of innocence story about three friends who tread unawares the wide, open spaces of the heart. Anisha, recently arrived from India, starts school with her traditional beliefs in love, sex and friendship intact. Savitri, her American-born cousin and roommate, doubts love and rather prefers the anonymity of the casual encounter. Together they meet a third, Kevin, susceptible to the allure of both women. Friendship turns into longing and longing into heartache. The triangle collapses, throwing all three into free-fall with no obvious place to land.
Followed by a Q & A session with screenwriter Gitanjali Kapila.
Presented in partnership with Chicago ScriptWorks, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to producing a series of staged screenplay readings, created to provide a public forum for new works and fresh voices.
June 13, 2006:
THE DETAILS OF SILENCE by Nathalie Handal
Directed by Rana Kazkaz
Featuring: Jen Albert, Ravi Batista, Jaii Beckley, Leila Buck, Anita Chandwaney, Carol Karaguez, Fawzia Mirza, and Amira Sabbagh
Claudia Cassidy Theatre at the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St., Chicago, at 7:00 pm
The Details of Silence is a new play by Nathalie Handal. This sensual, political and daring new play explores the internal and external landscapes of Arab women. Set in present day New York, Details gives voice to (eleven) Arab women of different ages and religions coming from different parts of the world. Azza, the main character interviews each woman for a story she is writing, and as she unveils the details of their lives, sexuality and silences, she unveils the details of her own personal tragedy.
Followed by a Q & A session with playwright Nathalie Handal.
Presented in partnership with Silk Road Chicago: Summer 2006
June 4, 2006:
PUBLISH OR PERISH by Anuvab Pal
Directed by Robert Chambers
Featuring: Cameron Jappe, Nick Johne, Jack McCabe, and Mary Williamson
Silk Road Theatre Project at The Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 West Washington St., Pierce Hall, Chicago, at 12:30 pm
Publish or Perish is a comedy about the intricacies of blasphemy and the lengths to which people will go to gain literary immortality. Two hopelessly failed writers, Michael Jordan and Mohammed Ali, share none of the glory of their famous namesakes, and now in old age, seemed destined to die in obscurity. In a last ditch effort, Michael Jordan writes a blasphemous book in hopes of attracting a Muslim fatwa (or edict) demanding his death. Sadly, no such fatwa materializes, and the book goes unnoticed in the Islamic world. Ever more determined to attract fame, or at least notoriety, a disgruntled Mr. Jordan convinces Mr. Ali to stage a “deadly act” before a video camera. Mr. Ali’s sole qualification for performing the act? He happens to “look” Middle Eastern.
Followed by a Q & A session with playwright Anuvab Pal.
Presented in partnership with Silk Road Chicago: Summer 2006
March 12, 2006:
CARAVAGGIO by Richard Vetere
Directed by Dale Heinen
Featuring: Robert Biesenbach, Robert Brueler, Adam Bute, Fawzia Mirza, Kimberly Palter, Rick Uecker, and Ivan Vega
The Sanctuary at the Chicago Temple First United Methodist Church, 77 West Washington St., Chicago, at 1:00 pm
Set in 17th century Rome, Malta, and Naples, Caravaggio is the story of the great Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, the father of the Baroque era, a man ahead of his time, whose daring art and volatile personality attracted the favor and wrath of the church he both loved and reviled. Whether fielding commissions from the Vatican and being extolled by his mentor and patron, the Cardinal Del Monte, or confronting head-on the cruelty of the Inquisition, Caravaggio’s 38 year life was one fraught with creativity and violence. After killing Ranuccio Tomassini in a brawl in Rome’s Piazza del Popola, Caravaggio becomes a fugitive, and seeks refuge in Malta, only to be imprisoned and tortured at the hands of the Grand Inquisitor. Facing a death sentence from Pope Paul, and having escaped the Inquisitors prison, he arrives in Naples, a fugitive once more. His art never relenting, even as his body did.
Followed by a Q & A session with playwright Richard Vetere.
Silk Road Chicago: Summer 2006
The Silk Road Summer Staged Reading Series is sponsored by the Chicago Office of Tourism and presented as part of Silk Road Chicago: Summer 2006, the citywide celebration of Chicago’s multicultural legacy that features more than 200 events and activities from June 1 to September 30, 2006.