New Threads Staged Reading Series 2023

Tariq Hamami

Tariq Hamami is a New York based playwright best known for his plays Smail, Everything Will Be Alright, The Town of No One, Spite, White Picket Fences, The One Percy Ent, and the musical The Life of Mary Rogers (co-written with Katherine Kavanagh and Thomas Hodges). He is a recipient of the 2014 and 2019 Bauer-Boucher Award, and winner of the 2018 WINKS Reading Series produced by Wide Eyed Productions. Along with writing, he is also a professor at the City College of New York and the Borough of Manhattan Community College where he teaches theatre. His plays look for the intersectionality of faith and culture, calling on his multi-faith and multicultural upbringing. He is also a proud subscriber of the Silly Town Theatre Company that performs nightly in his living room on top of a toy box by his daughter and son.

Dawn Monique Williams

Dawn Monique Williams (she/her), an Oakland native, served four years as the Associate Artistic Director at Aurora Theatre Company and was the Artistic Associate and a resident artist at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for six seasons before that. She’s worked in theatres across the US including: The Kennedy Center, Orlando Shakespeare, American Shakespeare Center, Cal Shakes, Profile Theatre (Portland), A.C.T., Chautauqua Theatre Company, Marin Theatre Company, and African American Shakespeare Company. Williams holds an MA in Dramatic Literature and an MFA in Directing. She serves on the Board the of Directors of Theatre Bay Area and the Playwrights’ Foundation, and is a member of The Drama League National Directors Council.

Leontyne Mbele-Mbong*

Leontyne Mbele-Mbong (she/her) is delighted to make her debut with Golden Thread, and honored to be directing this play. While Leontyne has explored many aspects of theater making: acting, production and stage management, front of house and box office, this is her second foray into directing. As an actor, she has performed for many years around the Bay Area: appearing at American Conservatory Theatre, Altarena Playhouse, the Aurora, Berkeley Rep, CalShakes, Central Works, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Shotgun Players; and regionally at the Guthrie in MN, and TheatreSquared in AK.

www.leontynembele-mbong.com

Adam Ashraf Elsayigh

Adam Ashraf Elsayigh is an Egyptian writer, theatre maker, and dramaturg who writes and develops plays that interrogate the intersections of queerness, immigration, and colonialism. Adam’s plays (including Drowning in Cairo, Revelation, Memorial, and Jamestown/ Williamsburg) have been developed and seen at New York Theatre Workshop, The Lark, The Tisch School of the Arts, The LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, and Golden Thread Productions. Adam is a fellow at Georgetown University’s Laboratory for Global Performance and an Alliance/Kendeda Award Finalist. He holds a BA in Theatre with an emphasis in Playwriting and Dramaturgy from NYU Abu Dhabi and is an MFA Candidate in Playwriting at Brooklyn College.

Salma Zohdi

Salma S. Zohdi is an Egyptian Dramaturg living in the U.S. Salma is the Director of Development & Communications at Noor Theatre Company, a Lucille Lortel Award Voter, and an Adjunct Professor at NYU’s Department of Dramatic Writing. Salma’s theatre credits include The Mecca Tales, The Yacoubian Building, Operating Systems, Mix & Match, The Conversationalists, Pilgrims Musa & Sheri in the New World, Global Forms Theatre Festival (GFTF), Silueta, Once Upon A Time Called Now, Drowning in Cairo, House of Joy, Finding Paradise, and MOTHERLAND. Salma aspires to create spaces where we can generously and inclusively examine art, culture, community building, and the necessary global and social justice conversations. MA: AUC - English & Comparative Literature. MFA: Columbia University - Theatre (Dramaturgy).

Karina Gutiérrez

Karina Gutiérrez (she/her) is a Bay Area-based director, dramaturg, and scholar. She is passionate about supporting new play development, fostering local artists, and creating welcoming, equitable, and accessible theatre spaces and classrooms. She considers theatre a powerful space for social change and the mending, healing, and restoring of communities. As a director and dramaturg, Karina has had the pleasure of working with Bay Area Children’s Theatre, BRAVA, Crowded Fire, Huntington Theatre, Magic Theatre, PlayGround, Playwright’s Foundation, Shotgun Players, Stanford University, TheatreFirst, Townhall Theatre, UC Berkeley, West Edge Opera, and Word for Word. She is a member of the Latinx Theatre Commons Steering Committee, Board member at Crowded Fire Theatre, Theatre Bay Area, and a founding member of the Bay Area Latinx Theatre Alliance Network (BALTAN). Karina received her Ph.D. in Theatre and Performance Studies from Stanford University, where she was awarded the Carl Weber Prize for integration of Creative Practice and Scholarly Research. Her scholarship concentrates on the intersection of politics and performance, specifically how digital interventions, institutionalization efforts, and historical narrative affect the development and sustainability of social and politically engaged performance companies and collectives in the Americas. She is currently a professor of Theatre History and Performance Studies in the Department of Theatre and Dance and Santa Clara University.

Sofia Ahmad*

Sofia Ahmad is a Resident Artist with Golden Thread. Previous Golden Thread productions include: On The Periphery (a Crowded Fire co-production in 2020), ReOrient 2019, The Most Dangerous Highway in the World (2016), Isfahan Blues (an African-American Shakespeare Company co-production in 2015), and Love Missile (2003). Other local acting credits include American Conservatory Theatre, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Magic Theatre, Pacific Repertory Theater, PlayGround, Word for Word, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and Those Women Productions. Sofia is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a proud member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA.

AeJay Marquis Mitchell*

AeJay Mitchell (they/them) is a multi-hyphenate performance artist, educator, and activist whose work centers the decolonization of the theatrical canon, the black avant-garde, and queer political performance practice. They were most recently witnessed in the critically acclaimed Ni¿¿er Lovers at The Magic Theatre and served as the co-director, choreographer, and vocal arranger for the world premiere of Ryan M. Luevano’s Dance Plague. They are a member of the Black Artists Contemporary Cultural Experience collective, Literary Manager and Dramaturgs of the Americas, and Actor’s Equity Association.

Lawrence Radecker*

Lawrence Radecker (he/him) is a Resident Artist with Golden Thread where he has developed and debuted roles in many of their world premiers. Most recently he was seen in Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s production of Let the Right One In. He has also worked with numerous other theatre companies, including Aurora Theatre, Crowded Fire Theatre, Impact Theatre, Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, New Conservatory Theatre Center, San Jose Stage, and Thick Description, to name a few.

Cathleen Riddley*

Cathleen Riddley (she/her) is thrilled to be making her debut at Golden Thread! After beginning her career at the Community Playhouse in Des Moines, Iowa (playing Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio at the ripe old age of 8) she knew that a life in the theatre was what her heart wanted. Since then, she has become a multiple award-winning San Francisco Bay Area (and beyond) actor. Favorite roles include The Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz at American Conservatory Theatre, Nina in The Incrementalist at Aurora Theatre, Mrs. Price in Tree at San Francisco Playhouse, Paulina in The Winter’s Tale at Cal Shakes, Rose in Fences at Sacramento Theatre Company, Lena in brownsville song (b side for tray) and every role in Hamlet (seriously) at Shotgun Players. As a blossoming director, she has directed staged readings at Shotgun Players, The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, and the online Affinity series at TheatreFirst. She is a certified ASL Interpreter, has an MA from UPenn, and is a member of the first cohort of Making Good Trouble, whose goal is to empower San Francisco Bay Area artists and staff to become anti-racism trainers. Black Lives Matter.

Mayreni Sweis

Mayreni Sweis (she/her) is a film and theatre actor, New Conservatory Theatre Teaching Artist, public speaking teacher, writer, and creative artist. She received her B.F.A. Acting for the Stage and Screen from Azusa Pacific University where she honed her craft in voice, movement, Shakespeare, stage + camera acting, and more. Mayreni went on to study at NYU’s Atlantic Acting School and at San Francisco’s American Conservatory of Theater. Some of her favorite projects include the award winning short film Golden, The Peripatetic Players Summer Tour: A Lord of a Ring in a Suitcase!, Thorton Wilder’s Our Town, Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, The Shape of Things at Town Hall Theater, Crowded Fire’s staged reading of Pilgrimage, and all of Shakespeare’s work she’s gotten to dive into!

Jessica Tate Simms

Jessica Tate Simms (she/her), a recent graduate from Santa Clara University’s class of 2023, is excited to make her Golden Thread Productions debut. Jessica has a Bachelor’s degree in Musical Theater and Communication. For her contributions to Santa Clara’s Theater and Dance department, Jessica received the Charles Lampkin Award for Performance and the Theater Spirit Award, which recognized her work in many performances such as Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Stepmother in Into The Woods, and an original play titled What Do You See When You Look at Me? co-written and directed by Jessica. Jessica’s passion for the arts extends into several mediums including theater, film, dancing, and singing. She hopes to continue her training in all of these skills and pursue a career in the arts. Outside of the theater, Jessica enjoys spending her time traveling, playing soccer, and with family and friends. She is grateful to her family for their love and support as she navigates a life in the arts.

Nora El Samahy

Nora el Samahy’s (she/her) professional acting career began in 1998 as a Fairy in San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She then went on to work with Campo Santo, Golden Thread Productions, Alter Theater, Aurora Theatre, Magic Theatre, foolsFURY, Traveling Jewish Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Exit Theater, Theatre Rhinoceros, Woman’s Will, Shotgun Players, African American Shakespeare Company, among others. In 2013, Nora founded a performance company called Affinity Project with Atosa Babaoff, Beatrice Basso, and Emily Hoffman. Nora is a Pilates teacher and co-owner of studio 74 pilates with business partner Jennifer Moulton. She received her BA in psychology from Wellesley College. Love and thanks to Patrick and Ziyad.

Nakissa Etemad

Nakissa Etemad (she/her) is an Iranian American dramaturg, producer, director, and French translator, specializing in new BIPOC plays and musicals for 30 years. A Resident Artist of Golden Thread, Regional VP Metro Bay Area for LMDA, and the recent Associate Artistic Director of Marin Theatre Company, she is proud to return to the stage as an actor for New Threads. Recent dramaturgy & producing credits include the world premieres of Justice: A New Musical by Gunderson, Lowdermilk, and Kerrigan (Marin Theatre Co.) and Hotter Than Egypt by Yussef El Guindi (world premiere co-production at Marin Theatre Co. & ACT in Seattle; dramaturg for second production at Denver Center for the Performing Arts). Previous Golden Thread credits include Lead Dramaturg for ReOrient 2019 & Asst. Director for Lameece Issaq’s Noor and Hadi Go to Hogwart’s and Naomi Wallace’s The Book of Mima; Dramaturg for On Behalf of All Muslims: A Comedy Special by Zahra Noorbakhsh (2019); Lead Dramaturg for ReOrient 2017 & Dramaturg for Betty Shamieh’s Make No Mistake and Torange Yeghiazarian’s Thanksgiving at Khodabakhshian’s; and Dramaturg, Creative Collaborator, and Casting Director for Isfahan Blues by Torange Yeghiazarian, with music by Marcus Shelby (2015). Next, Nakissa will serve as Lead Dramaturg for the upcoming ReOrient 2023 Festival.

Behzad Golemohammadi

Behzad Mohammadi (he/him) is delighted to be back with Golden Thread Productions again after his last appearance in Isfahan Blues (2015) and Nine Armenians (2002). Recent credits include Bahram Beyzaei’s Crossroad, Tarabnameh 1, Tarabnameh 2 and Ardavirof Report at Stanford University, and Darvag Theater company productions of The Road, The Bear and Red and Others. He has appeared in numerous Darvag productions such as The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad, The Butterfly, Dolls and Interview. He started his theater debut with Theater Telos’s Lower Depths (Gorky) and De Ghelderode’s Pantagleize.

Iman Kamel

Iman Kamel (she/her) is a Chicago based actor and writer. Most recently she could be seen in About Face Theatre’s production of Mosque4Mosque and Arabia! Arabia! with the Plagiarists. She is a graduate student at Northwestern University where she is receiving her Masters of Literature. She will be writing her thesis on French colonial influence of the North African literary movement in the twentieth century. In addition, Iman’s recent short script Morning, Noon, and Night was an official selection for the Santa Barbara International Screenwriter Awards and a winner at the New York International Film Awards. Iman is represented by Gray Talent Group. She would like to thank her family and her partner Evan. This and every performance is for Emma, who inspired, challenged, and loved her through everything.

Zaya Kolia*

Zaya Kolia (he/him) is an Assyrian, Bay Area native. He received his Bachelor in Fine Arts in Acting from the Academy of Art University where his credits include Flan in Six Degrees of Separation, Joshua and Martin in Cloud Nine, Barnett in Crimes of the Heart, Aldolpho in The Drowsy Chaperone and Kevin Rosario in In the Heights. Other credits include Frank Jr. in Saturday Night Fever at Broadway by the Bay, The Wizard of Oz at Berkeley Playhouse, Khadim in The North Pool at Bread & Butter Theatre, The Captain in Anything Goes at Hillbarn Theatre, Ludovic and Augenti in Passion, Harry and Martin in Cloud Nine both at The Custom Made Theatre Company, Azad in On the Periphery with Golden Thread and Crowded Fire Theatre (2020), Tiny Beautiful Things at Los Altos Stage Company and Guys and Dolls at Peninsula Ballet Theater as Sky Masterson. He now resides in L.A. where he just participated in the Hollywood Fringe Festival and a tour of Romeo and Juliet! He most recently originated the role of Danial in the world premiere of The Language of Wild Berries (2022) and Omid U/S in English at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Zaya loves come back home and working at Golden Thread!

Torange Yeghiazarian

Torange Yeghiazarian (she/her) is the Founding Artistic Director Emeritus of Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company focused on the Middle East where she launched such visionary programs as ReOrient Festival, New Threads, Fairytale Players, and What Do the Women Say?, and timely initiatives such as Islam 101 and Project Alo? Torange has been recognized by Theatre Bay Area and is one of Theatre Communication Group’s Legacy Leaders of Color. She was honored by the Cairo International Theatre Festival and the Symposium on Equity in the Entertainment Industry at Stanford University. A playwright, director, and translator, Torange contributed a case study chapter to Casting a Movement, Routledge, 2019. Her translation and stage adaptation of Nizami’s Leyla & Majnun is published on Gleeditions.com. She has been published in The Drama Review, American Theatre Magazine, AmerAsia Journal, and contributed to Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures and Cambridge World Encyclopedia of Stage Actors. At Golden Thread, Torange directed Oh My Sweet Land by Amir Nizar Zuabi (2018), and the premieres of Our Enemies: Lively Scenes Of Love And Combat (2016) and Scenic Routes (2002) by Yussef El Guindi, The Myth Of Creation by Sadegh Hedayat, Tamam by Betty Shamieh, Stuck by Amir Al-Azraki, Voice Room by Reza Soroor, and adapted the poem, I Sell Souls by Simin Behbehani for the stage. Torange was a member of the artistic team that developed Benedictus, a collaboration among Iranian, Israeli, and American artists (2007). She received a Gerbode-Hewlett Playwright Commission Award for Isfahan Blues (2015), a co-production with African American Shakespeare Company, and a commission from the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California to write The Fifth String: Ziryab’s Passage to Cordoba (2014). Other plays include 444 Days (2013), Waves, and Call Me Mehdi, included in the anthology “Salaam. Peace: An Anthology of Middle Eastern-American Drama,” TCG, 2009. Born in Iran and of Armenian heritage, Torange holds a Master’s degree in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University.