MENA THEATER MAKERS ALLIANCE
Our community is made up of theater artists, educators, and administrators who work independently and within organizations.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Andrea Assaf
ArtAction, Inc.
Tampa, FL
Tracy Cameron Francis
Boom Arts
Portland, OR
Debórah Eliezer
Aviva Arts
San Francisco, CA
Denmo Ibrahim
New York, NY
Kathryn Haddad
New Arab American Theater Works
Minneapolis, MN
Jamil Khoury
Silk Road Rising
Chicago, IL
Kate Moore Heaney
Noor Theatre
New York, NY
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Evren Odcikin
San Francisco, CA
Torange Yeghiazarian
San Francisco, CA
FOUNDERS
The founding Steering Committee members were, in alphabetical order:
Andrea Assaf, Leila Buck, Catherine Coray, Tracy Cameron Francis, Yussef El Guindi, Nora el Samahy, Jamil Khoury, Pia Haddad, Kate Moore Heaney, Michael Malek Najjar, Evren Odcikin, and Torange Yeghiazarian.
FOUNDING ORGANIZATIONS
Golden Thread Productions, founded in 1996, is the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East. We produce passionate and provocative plays from or about the Middle East that celebrate the multiplicity of its perspectives and identities.
Silk Road Rising is a Chicago-based, community-centered, artmaking and arts service organization rooted in Pan-Asian**, North African, and Muslim experiences. Through storytelling, digital media, and arts education, we cultivate new narratives, challenge disinformation, and promote a culture of continuous learning.
**We define Pan-Asian as inclusive of all cultures that span the Asian continent, including their diaspora communities.
Noor Theatre Is an Obie-winning company dedicated to supporting, developing and producing the work of theatre artists of Middle Eastern descent. Our programming supports work at different stages of development, whether early drafts of new plays or world premiere productions.
The Lark is an international theatre laboratory based in New York City that is dedicated to supporting extraordinary playwrights and stories that reflect the vibrancy and complexity of our world.
Maia Directors is a consulting company for organizations and artists engaging with stories from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. We are advocates for the inclusion of MENASA artists and stories as a vital part of the American cultural conversation.
Art2Action, Inc. creates, develops, produces and presents original theatre, interdisciplinary performances, performative acts and progressive cultural organizing. We support women artists, artists of color, queer or trans-identified artists, and creative allies. We are dedicated to cultural equity and innovation, artistic quality and community value, performativity and impact.
New Arab American Theater Works is a Minnesota-based organization that presents new work by Arab American theater artists. Our work gives new perspective to on the terms “Arab”, “Middle Eastern” and “Muslim” terms thrown around in the news media and still continue to be equated with “terrorist” and “war” and “oppressive”. We strive to benefit under represented Arab, Arab American and Muslim artists locally, nationally and internationally.
PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
Theatre Communications Group (TCG) exists to strengthen, nurture, and promote professional theatre in the U.S. and globally. Through its Core Values of Activism, Artistry, Diversity, and Global Citizenship, TCG advances a better world for theatre and a better world because of theatre.
The Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists (CAATA) envisions a strong and sustainable Asian American theatre community that is an integral presence in national culture. Our mission is to advance the field of Asian American theatre through a national network of organizations and artists.