Playwrights Asiimwe Deborah Kawe (Uganda), Nick Makoha (England), and Dima Mikhayel Matta (Lebanon), in conversation with Columbia University School of the Arts International Play Reading Festival Co-Founder David Henry Hwang, Theatre Program. The panel took place with a live zoom audience on October 23, 2021 at 12pm Eastern.PRODUCTIONAndrew Agress, Literary ManagerNatalie Layne Baker, Sound Editor Gavin Browning, Director of Public Programs & EngagementJessi Cotter, Production Manag...

Queerness is a construct. So is language, and so is this play. Nothing about this performance is reliable. The performer questions gender, memory, sex, identity, and her relationship with Beirut — but gives no answers.THIS IS NOT A MEMORIZED SCRIPT, THIS IS A WELL-REHEARSED STORYWritten and Performed by Dima Mikhayel Matta (Lebanon)Directed by Noelle GhoussainiPRODUCTIONAndrew Agress, Literary ManagerGavin Browning, Director of Public Programs & EngagementJessi Cotter, Production ManagerJ...

In the heat of a November night in 1978, after eight years of civil war, four-year-old Nick and his mother flee their homeland of Uganda. What unfolds is a story of those who find themselves exiled, told through a series of voices echoing from varying states of darkness. THE DARKWritten by Nick Makoha (United Kingdom)Directed by NJ AgwunaCASTPetrina Ampeire, Joyce (rebel radio) and Ouma (boy soldier)Robert K Benson, Mr. Fairfax and Customs OfficerShadrack Boakye, Soldier, Shopkeeper, and...

A group of nervous visa applicants in an unnamed country sit in a waiting room, trading stories and tips on how to best present themselves before US consuls — the “gODs.” Their reasons for coming to the US vary, but will the gODs consider them? APPOINTMENT WITH gODWritten by Asiimwe Deborah Kawe (Uganda)Directed by Nana DakinCASTAndrew Agress, Stage DirectionsAnita Abdinezhad, gOD 1 and Voice OnePetrina Ampeire, KakyeAnita Ganesan, gOD 2 and Voice TwoKambi Gathesha, Announcer and M...

Co-founded by Carol Becker, Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts, and David Henry Hwang, Theatre Program, this annual festival presents readings of three plays by living international playwrights. Now in its fourth year, the 2021 Columbia University School of the Arts International Play Reading Festival features Asiimwe Deborah Kawe (Uganda), Nick Makoha (United Kingdom), and Dima Mikhayel Matta (Lebanon). © 2020 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. T...

Playwrights Candace Chong Mui Ngam (Hong Kong), Nophand (Thailand), and Camila Villegas (Mexico), in conversation with Columbia University School of the Arts International Play Reading Festival Co-Founder David Henry Hwang, Theatre.PRODUCTION CREDITSCarol Becker, Dean, Columbia University School of the ArtsDavid Henry Hwang, Head of Playwriting, School of the ArtsGavin Browning, Director of Public Programs & EngagementD. R. Baker, Sound EditorJessi Cotter, Production ManagerSami Pyne, Stu...

Featuring translators Daniel Jáquez (Rarámuri Dreams) and Nophand (Taxi Radio).Moderated by Susan Bernofsky, Writing. Translating for the stage is a special skill, and sometimes plays pass through several hands on their way from their original language (in this case, Spanish and Thai) into English. In this conversation, these translators consider the challenges of translating Rarámuri Dreams and Taxi Radio not only from one language to another, but from a theatrical performance...

Thirty years later, the Tiananmen Square massacre remains censored and repressed. Sui Lum and Ah Dai grapple with a date so volatile that the government won’t let them say it aloud. May 35th explores the indelible human aspiration for freedom alongside the complexities of personal and political history.MAY 35THWritten by Candace Chong Mui Ngam (Hong Kong)Translated from Cantonese by AnonymousDirected by Leigh SilvermanCASTClem Cheung, Ah PingFang Du, Young Man 1 and Young Man 2Wai Ching Ho, S...

On a stormy night in Bangkok, four beings are stuck in traffic. Accompanied by karaoke hits, Taxi Radio is a dark comedy that conjures the afterlife and calls upon higher powers to critique cycles of corruption. This soulful play highlights the absurdity of navigating one’s own life in the maelstrom of expectations and statuses. GPS, Google, and Facebook won’t help you out of these dead ends. TAXI RADIOWritten and translated by Nophand (Thailand)Directed by Aya OgawaCASTDion Graham, EChris Mc...

Nicolasa goes to the police to report that her son has been kidnapped. Jacinto confesses to the murder of his friend. Unfolding in the rugged landscape of the Sierra Tarahumara in Northern Mexico, both parents seek justice and redemption—if only the system worked that way.RARÁMURI DREAMSWritten by Camila Villegas (Mexico)Translated from Spanish by Daniel JáquezDirected by OpalanietetCASTTanis Parenteau as Nicolasa Reza Salazar as JacintoPRODUCTIONGavin Browning, Director of Public Programs an...

Welcome to the Columbia University School of the Arts International Play Reading Festival. Co-founded by Carol Becker and David Henry Hwang, this annual marquee festival presents readings of three plays by living international playwrights alongside conversations with the playwrights and translators. Now in its third year, the 2020 edition of the festival will be held as a series of podcasts. This year's plays include Rarámuri Dreams, by Camilla Villegas (Mexico), translated by Daniel Jáquez; ...