2007 Staged Readings
December 9, 2007 SANKALPAN (DESIRE) by Lina Patel
June 10, 2007 DURANGO by Julia Cho
April 15, 2007 OUR ENEMIES: LIVELY SCENES OF LOVE AND COMBAT by Yussef El Guindi
January 7, 2007 MERCHANT ON VENICE by Shishir Kurup
December 9, 2007:
SANKALPAN (DESIRE) by Lina Patel
Directed by Patrizia Acerra
Featuring: Kaiser Ahmed, Anita Chadwaney, Dipika Cherala, Sandeep Das, Minita Gandhi, Susaan Jamshidi, Fawzia Mirza, Andy Nagraj, Anjali Thawani, and Tariq Vasudeva
Silk Road Theatre Project at The Historic Chicago Temple Building 77 W. Washington St., Pierce Hall, Chicago 1:00 pm
An inventive fusion of Chekhov’s Three Sisters and Tagore’s The Home and the World, Sankalpan evokes a time of revolution that draws sharp parallels to the geopolitics of today. A story about self-determination—both in the psyches of individuals hungry for change and in the psyche of an evolving national identity, Sankalpan is set against the volatile backdrop of 1907, Bengal . Personal struggles play out on a national stage, which is rapidly changing as the demands of Independence refigure relationships between British Imperialists and Indian Nationalists, rich landowners and poor peasants, and most explosively, in the new possibilities in the relationships between men and women.
Followed by a Q & A session with playwright Lina Patel.
Free admission. Reservations strongly recommended. Email the Box Office at boxoffice@srtp.org or call at 312-857-1234 ext. 201.
June 10, 2007:
DURANGO by Julia Cho
Directed by Anish Jethmalani
Featuring: Byron Abalos, Stephen Dale, Joseph Anthony Foronda, Ron Keaton, David Rhee, and Eddie Shin
Silk Road Theatre Project at The Historic Chicago Temple Building 77 W. Washington St., Pierce Hall, Chicago 1:00 pm
To the outside world, the Lee boys look like the perfect Korean-American sons: Isaac plans to be a doctor and his younger brother, Jimmy, is a champion swimmer with a bright future. But when their widowed father, Boo-Seng, decides to take them on a road trip to Durango, Colorado, all three find themselves grappling with old memories and unhealed wounds. As tempers flare and secrets break open, the difference between who they are and who they’ve pretended to be threatens to tear the family apart.
Followed by a Q & A session with playwright Julia Cho.
April 15, 2007:
OUR ENEMIES: LIVELY SCENES OF LOVE AND COMBAT by Yussef El Guindi
Directed by Stuart Carden
Featuring: Larry Balducci, Nunzio Cancilla, Christian Craig, Kamal Hans, Braden Moran, Andrew Perez, Pranidhi Varshney, and Tariq Vasudeva
Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theatre 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago 7:00 pm
In this explosive new work, award winning playwright, Yussef el Guindi, gives us a darkly humorous, sensual and provocative look at identity, media-representation, love and lust in the Arab-American community. Struggling writer, Gamal, fueled by frustration over the limited Arab voices represented in the US media, engages in a prank campaign to shake up the system. His weapons? A chocolate mousse cake and lipstick. His targets? A popular Arab-American writer and an influential Sheikh. But those in power have a way of turning the tables. When Gamal’s lover, Noor, is convinced by a prominent publisher to alter her novel to satisfy Western hunger for “Orientalist” fare, Gamal lashes out at his own community. The results are staggering.
Followed by a Q & A session with playwright Yussef El Guindi.
Presented in partnership with Remy Bumppo’s thinkTank.
MISSION: Remy Bumppo’s thinkTank uses provocative theatrical language to engage its community in a timely conversation about the social, political and economic issues in which it has a stake.
Remy Bumppo’s thinkTank is an annual exploration of issues vital to Chicagoans. This year we bring to life four first-hand stories of immigration from Chicagoan Jeff Libman’s book An Immigrant Class: Oral Histories from Chicago’s Newest Immigrants. Each performance is followed by a post-show discussion with members of our community representing various viewpoints on the complex issues of immigration. Special events will include readings presented by Silk Road Theatre Project, Teatro Vista, and Rasaka Theatre Company. The Children’s Museum of Immigration will present a special program for children.
January 7, 2007:
MERCHANT ON VENICE by Shishir Kurup
Directed by Stuart Carden
Featuring: Anjali Asokan, Cesar Conde, Dipika Cherala, Kamal Hans, Anil Hurkadli, Anish Jethmalani, Shishir Kurup, Julian Martinez, Marvin Quijada, Sadieh Rifai, Marc J. Rita, Prinadhi Varshney, and Tariq Vasudeva
Alka Nayer - Dance Choreographer
Silk Road Theatre Project at The Historic Chicago Temple Building77 W. Washington St., Pierce Hall, Chicago 1:00 pm
In Shishir Kurup ’s Merchant on Venice, Venice, Italy intersects with the Indian Diaspora of Venice Beach, California in a wickedly funny, wildly inventive and politically provocative re-imagining of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. Written in iambic pentameter and vividly colored by Indian, American and Latino pop references, playwright Shishir Kurup transforms Shakespeare’s original by injecting the story with Bollywood musical numbers, L.A. Punk, Hindu-Muslim tensions, and a distinctly American landscape.
Followed by a Q & A session with playwright Shishir Kurup.