FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Golden Thread Productions, Art2Action, and Brava for Women in the Arts present
a trailblazing local and national partnership project, 11REFLECTIONS: SAN FRANCISCO
Poster Design by Navid G Maghami
SAN FRANCISCO (August 22, 2024) - Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East, Art2Action, Inc. and Brava! for Women in the Arts present 11Reflections: San Francisco, in a momentous collaboration between three organizations committed to political work created with and for the community. This West Coast premiere performance, devised and directed by Art2Action’s Artistic & Executive Director Andrea Assaf, will have two performances only on October 4-5, 2024 at Brava Theater Center (2781 24th Street, San Francisco). Tickets are $25-$100 and can be purchased at brava.org. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
The project draws on Andrea Assaf’s seminal work, Eleven Reflections on September, an episodic, multimedia performance on Arab American identity, Wars on/of Terror, and “the constant, quiet rain of death / amidst beauty” in a post-9/11 world. The project is the culmination of story circles and ensemble creation with Bay Area artists and community members who contribute their embodied reflections on the impact of post-9/11 policies, performing alongside internationally renowned Syrian opera singer Lubana Al Quntar and Turkish composer and violinist Eylem Basaldi. 11Reflections: San Francisco works to illuminate our collective experiences since 2001—from the fall of the Twin Towers, to the U.S. wars on Iraq and Afghanistan, to the Muslim Ban, and now the funding of genocide in Palestine.
Bay Area artists and community members participating in the project include Sahar Assaf, Sonia Azizi, Amal Bisharat, Zeta Sanchez Blardony, Clarissa Bitar, Deborah Eliezer, Shayna Ann Howlett, Nida Liftawiya, Maya Nazzal, Aidaa Peerzada, Megan Soledad, Arielle Tonkin, Pearl Ubungen, Torange Yeghiazarian, and more. Along with the October performances, the project includes partnerships with AvivaArts and Red Poppy Art House, who will host satellite events to further dive into the themes of the play with our communities. More details on these events are to come.
11Reflections: San Francisco is part of Golden Thread’s celebrated 2024 Season for Palestine. Golden Thread Executive Artistic Director Sahar Assaf says, “At Golden Thread, we are especially interested in theatre that is political, responsive to the world around us, and created with and by the community, not just for it. This project embodies all those values. 11Reflections: San Francisco is the final production in our special Season for Palestine, continuing our efforts to center Palestine while taking control of our narratives.”
This project is the San Francisco chapter of Andrea Assaf’s national initiative: Eleven Reflections on the Nation, a multidisciplinary, community co-created performance series in cities across the United States. The first incarnation was commissioned by The Carver Community Cultural Center in San Antonio (2020-21), and the series will culminate in New York City in 2026, in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of 9/11. “I’m thrilled to bring this national, community-based art initiative to the Bay Area and partner with these historically important organizations on this timely work ,” says project originator Andrea Assaf, who recently won the prestigious Joyce Award. She adds, “As our exceptional ensemble of Bay Area-based, national, and international artists explores the themes of 11Reflections together, we are learning, growing, grieving, and visioning new futures—an embodied vision that we are eager to share with the greater community in early October. In alignment with Golden Thread’s Season for Palestine, we endeavor to center Palestine in this iteration of the project, especially on the year anniversary of the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
Brava Executive Director Anastacia Powers Cuellar adds: “At Brava, we believe that we must disavow the patriarchal path to peace paved with rape, war, death and annihilation, which has only led us to further self destruction and intergenerational trauma. We must be bold in counteracting this fear-mongering narrative with creative acts of healing, remembering, grieving, sharing, and understanding. Andrea Assaf's 11 Reflections gives our community the opportunity to be bold in our commitment to promoting genuine amity and continuity throughout the wider human system.”
11Reflections: San Francisco is made possible in part by generous support from the Sam Mazza Foundation, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, and the Walter and Elise Haas Foundation.
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. We are a developmental catalyst and vibrant artistic home to artists at various stages of their career. We bring the Middle East to the American stage, creating treasured cultural experiences for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. goldenthread.org
Art2Action, Inc. creates, develops, produces, and presents original theatre, interdisciplinary performances, artistic interventions, and progressive cultural organizing. We support Black, Indigenous, artists of color, women and queer or trans-identified artists, artists living with disabilities, and creative allies in the creation of contemporary work. We are dedicated to cultural equity and aesthetic innovation, artistic quality and community impact. art2action.org
Brava! for Women in the Arts celebrates nearly 40 years as a professional arts organization dedicated to cultivating the artistic expression of women, 2SLGBTQIA+, people of color, youth, and other underrepresented voices. brava.org
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Media Contacts:
Sheila M. Devitt
Marketing & Engagement Manager, Golden Thread Productions
415.626.4061
Gabi Vigueira
General Manager, Art2Action Inc.
ARTIST BIOS:
Andrea Assaf is a writer, director, performer, and cultural organizer. She is the founding Artistic and Executive Director of Art2Action Inc., and Co-Director of the National Institute for Directing & Ensemble Creation in partnership with Pangea World Theater. Her seminal work, Eleven Reflections on September, was commissioned by Pangea and has been featured at The Carver Community Cultural Center, CAATA’s 2016 National Asian American Theatre Festival at OSF, La MaMa ETC, The Apollo Theatre, The Kennedy Center, and internationally. She is currently re-creating the project as a multi-city, community-engaged series titled Eleven Reflections on the Nation. Awards include: 2024 Joyce Award, 2021 Silk Road Film Awards Cannes (Director, Best Experimental Feature), 2020 Pushcart Prize Nomination, 2019 NEFA National Theatre Project for DRONE (currently in development), 2019 & 2011 NPN Creation Fund Commissions, 2017 Finalist for the Freedom Plow Award for Poetry & Activism, 2010 Princess Grace Award/Gant Gaither Theater Award for Directing, and more. Andrea has a master’s degree in Performance Studies and a BFA in Acting, both from NYU. She is a founding Board member of both the Consortium of Asian American Theatres & Artists (CAATA) and the Middle Eastern/North African Theatre-Makers Alliance (MENATMA), and currently serves on the Executive Committee of Alternate ROOTS. For more information, visit: https://www.art2action.org/artists/Andrea-Assaf
Lubana Al Quntar was born in Damascus, Syria, to a family of traditional singers. A descendant of famous Syrian singer, Amal Al Atrash, and renowned composer and singer, Farid Al Atrash, Lubana trained in classical international conservatories under the supervision of world-renowned opera singers such as Galina Khaldieva, Kenneth Woollam, and Maestra Mya Besselink. Lubana’s wide repertoire includes classical and popular Arab music, folk songs, including traditional Syriac and Aramaic languages, and classical opera. She has been awarded prestigious titles including First Arab Opera Singer of Syria, and fifth prize at The Queen Elizabeth Singing Competition in Brussels, Belgium. Lubana has toured internationally in over 10 countries, in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and North America. Between 2006 and 2012, she served at the Syrian National Conservatory as the Voice Chair for the Department of Opera Singing, where she also founded and launched the Department of Classical Arabic Singing. Lubana continues to share her craft to promote and preserve ancient Syrian cultural heritage.
Eylem Basaldi is a Turkish-born violinist, composer, and educator in a wide array of settings featuring Balkan, Middle Eastern, North African and Southeast Asian musical traditions. Classically trained at the New England Conservatory, she has played, collaborated, and recorded with groups including Grammy winner Snarky Puppy, Dave Brubeck, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Dolunay, and Sandaraa. She has performed in venues such as Symphony Hall in Boston, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and on and off Broadway.
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