Current News
Noor Theatre’s Highlight Reading Series is back for its 10th Installment!
Noor Theatre is thrilled to announce that we are bringing back our Highlight Reading Series for its 10th installment this winter, showcasing new work by artists of MENA/SWANA (Middle Eastern/Southwest Asian/North African) descent. The readings will take place February 22nd, 23rd, 28th, 29th & March 1st and will be held at TheaterLab.
The evenings will feature Hend Ayoub’s Home? Or A Palestinian Woman’s Pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness, directed by Carey Perloff; Fouad Dakwar’s Fouad of Nazareth, music directed by Ben Covello, and Nikki Massoud’s He Who Has Ten Thousand Horses, both directed by Noor's Director of New Work Development, Sivan Battat; and Ella Boureau’s Quand Tu Sors Du Feu, directed by Leyla Levi, and music directed by Laura Elkeslassy. The Series will be line-produced by George Strus.
Three of the full-length pieces of this incredible line-up were selected based on a robust open submission process, and the fourth full-length slot features Noor commissioned writer Nikki Massoud. Each full-length play will receive a reading rehearsal process followed by a presentation for Noor audiences and industry members.
The series will also include Spotlight on SWANA Writers’ Co-Op, an evening of 10-minute excerpts from plays written by Gregory Jafari Van Acker, Dalia Ashurina, Gamal ElSawah, Chloé Hayat, Olivia Khoshatefeh, Thalia Ranjbar and Monna Sabouri, and directed by SB Tennent and Kareem Fahmy. All of these artists are members of the SWANA Writers’ Co-op, a group for SWANA dialogue-based writers that regularly gathers with the support of Playwrights Horizons to share pages, receive feedback, offer and receive peer-mentorship, and support each other’s writing processes. The group was originally created by Kareem Fahmy and May Treuhaft-Ali and is horizontally led, collectively operated, and contingent on writers’ willingness to volunteer their time toward each other’s artistic growth.
These five evenings differ in style, tone, and subject, and we cannot wait to share these exciting works with you! To reserve your ticket to this free reading series and learn more about each play, please visit our website, here.
Cultural Resistance March for Palestine 🇵🇸
Join The Movement! January 13th - Cultural Resistance March for Palestine
We are calling all New York theater artists, makers, musicians, and cultural workers to join the growing movement against cultural genocide in Palestine! Show up and show out for the Cultural Resistance March on Saturday, January 13th at 5PM, at the Bryant Park Library Steps.
Join the interactive march with performances organized by individuals of the New York theater and artist community in solidarity with The Freedom Theatre and the global movement for the liberation, safety, and rights of Palestinian people and artists living under occupation. We demand the release of Freedom Theatre Producing Director Mustafa Sheta & Chair of the Freedom Theatre Board Bilal al Sadi who were violently detained by IDF. We rise up against the silencing and targeted attacks on artists of Palestine.
All are welcome. Bring your artwork, instruments, puppets, and movement! Use your creative voices to protect storytellers and imagine collective liberation now.
Sponsored by Noor Theater, National Queer Theater, Friends of The Freedom Theatre, Al Límite Collective, Queers for a Liberated Palestine, Writers Against the War in Gaza, and Theatre of the Oppressed NYC. This action builds on the Astor Place Rally held December 19th in response to the raid on The Freedom Theater by Israeli soldiers on December 13th.
solidarity with the freedom Theatre
On December 13th 2023, the Israeli armed forces invaded the Freedom Theatre in Jenin and brutally attacked and arrested three members, Artistic Director Ahmed Tobasi, General Manager Mustfa Sheta, and poet/company member Jamal Abu Joas, taken from their homes in front of their families. Ahmed Tobasi and Jamal Abou Joas have since been released, but Mustafa Sheta has been given six months administrative detention. He is a precautionary detainee imprisoned without charge.
The Freedom Theatre calls on the international theater community to continue advocating for Mustafa and all 100 members detained of the Jenin community. We encourage you to sign THIS letter in solidarity with The Freedom Theatre. This letter calls for the immediate release of Mustafa Sheta and all 100 members of the Jenin community.
More HERE!
Instructions from the Letter's organizers: Please read the letter in full and fill in the form linked below if you would like to add your signature to the list. Completing this form will add your name to a public list on the letter itself. Your name may also be used for press opportunities. Your email will be kept confidential and only used in the event of updates, or related actions. Whilst we are particularly interested to hear from those working within the theatre industry this letter is open for anyone to sign. So please share it widely.
The Gaza Monologues 🇵🇸
On International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People Noor Theatre answered the urgent request shared by Iman Aoun at ASHTAR Theatre in Ramallah for theatre makers around the world to host readings of the Gaza Monologues on November 29, 2023.
The virtual evening of monologues was directed by Osh Ashruf and Nemuna Ceesay, proudly broadcast by On Point Studios.
More from ASHTAR Theatre about the monologues: The Gaza Monologues are testimonies written by ASHTAR youth in 2010, after the first war on the Gaza Strip. Tragically, these Monologues are still accurate today. They are highlighting the horrors, hopes and resilience of the courageous Gazans to a wider audience, bringing out the voices of children and people in Gaza. You can read more about ASHTAR Theatre’s call to action HERE.
We also called on our community to join us in solidarity by recording a monologue of their choice from the Gaza monologues. We are grateful for each and every member of community members who showed support during this time.
This initiative will continue beyond November 29th. If you’d like to participate, choose a monologue HERE, record it at home, submit it using THIS FORM, and we will host it on our website. As we continue to encourage members of our community to record and upload videos beyond this evening, please check out the recorded monologues HERE.
The virtual event will be directed by Osh Ashruf (Merrily We Roll Along, A Strange Loop) and Nemuna Ceesay (Amusements, A Strange Loop). Actors will include: V (formerly Eve Ensler) (The Vagina Monologues, The Apology), George Abud (Lempicka, The Band's Visit), Adam Bakri (Omar, Official Secrets), Leila Buck (Aftermath, American Dreams), Amin El Gamal (Good Trouble, Prison Break), Jakeim Hart (Hell’s Kitchen, Almost Famous), Daoud Heidami (You Don’t Mess with the Zohan), Lameece Issaq (A Good Day to Me Not to You, Food and Fadwa, Co-founder and former Artistic Director of Noor Theatre), Zhailon Levingston (Chicken & Biscuits, Patience), Nadine Malouf (Grief Hotel, Montag), April Matthis (The Piano Lesson, Primary Trust), Omar Metwally (Big Sky, The Affair), Pooya Mohseni (Law & Order: SVU, See You Then), Diana Oh (Zaza D) ({my lingerie play}, Infinite Love Party), Rad Pereira (The Creator, The Oresteia), Heather Raffo (9 Parts of Desire, Noura), Rudy Roushdi (The Vagrant Trilogy), Najla Said (Palestine, New Amsterdam), Rotana Tarabzouni (Alien of Extraordinary Ability), and Rasha Zamamiri (Blacklist, Leverage: Redemption). Video shot and broadcast by On Point Studios. Graphics designed by Rayan Afif.
HIGHLIGHT READING SERIES IS BACK
Noor Theatre is thrilled to announce that we will be bringing back our Highlight Reading Series, showcasing work by artists of MENA/SWANA (Middle Eastern/Southwest Asian/North African) descent. We would love to invite you to submit your play for consideration. To apply:
Please submit some info about yourself along with a 10-page sample of your play and a synopsis using THIS FORM.
The deadline to submit is November 17th at 11:59 p.m. If selected to move to the next round, we will request the full draft of the work.
You can find more info HERE, and for any questions please reach out to: info@noortheatre.org
For the information session recording, please see THIS video!
A Statement of Solidarity from Noor Theatre
Below is an excerpt of our full statement, which can be found HERE.
Noor Theatre deeply and profoundly mourns the precious Palestinian and Israeli lives lost and calls for an immediate end to the assault on Gaza. We condemn the terror inflicted on Israeli civilians by Hamas, all Anti-Semitic acts targeting Jewish civilians, all Islamophobic incidents on the rise globally, and all acts of violence and terrorism in all of its forms. These abhorrent actions have no place in the movement for Palestinian liberation.
We affirm the Palestinian right to sovereignty and support the rights of all Palestinians and Israelis to human dignity, safety, equality, freedom, and peace.
We call on our community to stand together as interconnected human beings by fighting against all forms of Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia; leading nuanced and thoughtful conversations; reflecting on and challenging any oversimplified narrative one may have been taught; donating to humanitarian aid; sharing vetted resources; amplifying suppressed voices; demanding that governmental leaders stop the assault on Gaza; and uplifting every other member of our beautifully diverse community.
As we acknowledge the grief, rage, and tremendous pain that so many members of our community are in right now, we remain committed to holding space for you to celebrate your beautifully rich heritage and to tell your stories.
We stand with our community.
#فلسطين🇵🇸 #StopGazaGenocide #EndTheSiegeOnGaza #ShowUpForGaza #StopTheViolence
Lameece Issaq and Megan Patterson Bid Noor Theatre Farewell
After years with the company, Noor Theatre’s Founding Artistic Director Lameece Issaq and Managing Director Megan Patterson now say goodbye after a year-long transition, culminating in the hiring of Ariana Sarfarazi as Noor’s Executive Director. They will continue to be supporters of the company and its MENA/SWANA artist community from afar as they each step down from their roles to pursue other ventures.
At Noor, we are immensely grateful for the paths Lameece and Megan carved to make our work possible, in service of our larger community of artists and supporters. As a community, let's stand together to thank them for their dedication, leadership, and vision— without which we wouldn’t have made it thus far.
Thank you, Lameece and Megan! Noor sends you both all the best wishes in your future work with the theatre community and beyond.
Meet our New Executive director: Ariana sarfarazi
Noor Theatre is beyond thrilled to announce Ariana Sarfarazi as its new Executive Director! We would love to take this opportunity to introduce her to our MENA/SWANA community. This Executive Director role will lead overall operations at Noor, including programming and financial planning— in addition to managing long-term projects and leading operational support for the rest of the team.
Ariana will be working closely with the Noor team, consisting of Sivan Battat (Director of New Work Development), Kate Moore Heaney (Artistic Producer), and Salma Zohdi (Director of Development and Communication), as they work to further Noor Theatre’s mission of uplifting MENA/SWANA theater artists and community.
Let's welcome Ariana into our Noor community! To learn more about her visit Noor Theatre's staff page.
Photo courtesy of Matteo Rubbi (2023)
announcing our New Commission!
We are excited to announce that we've commissioned a new adaptation of Zeyn Joukhadar’s novel The Thirty Names of Night as an immersive, site specific theatrical event. Zeyn will be working on developing the piece over the course of the year!
Let's welcome Zeyn into Noor's community of artists. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with a storyteller with so much talent and versatile artistry. To learn more about Zeyn and the commissioned piece in his words, see below!
We Are Excited To Announce That We've Commissioned Three New York Based Artists To Develop Their Work Over The Next 6 Months!
Let's Welcome Bazeed, Nikki Massoud, And Rona Siddiqui Into Noor's Community Of Artists. We Couldn’t Be More Thrilled To Be Working With A Group Of Amazing Artists With So Much Talent And Dedication.
Take Action
Noor Theatre stands in solidarity with OUR COMMUNITY
Our full statement and more information about how to take action can be found HERE.
Opportunities Weekly email
Part of Noor’s mission is to support our community, and we continue to do so by sustaining our robust weekly casting/opportunities email list.
If you are looking to cast a MENA/SWANA role or would like to hire artists and theatre practitioners from our community, please email: opportunities@noortheatre.org the details, dates of commitment, and compensation rate and we’d love to share with our network! And if you are an actor, playwright, director, designer, or musician or theatre practitioner in any discipline of MENA/SWANA descent, and you are interested in adding your detailed information to our database to get our weekly opportunities email, please fill out our online form here.