Emruz Festival in collaboration with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater Present
Theater Director Mohammad Aghebati and his team do a reading of their work in progress: Rooftop. This is an open rehearsal in Farsi Language Over Zoom.
Language: Farsi Duration: 30 mins Time: 2:00 PM EST , 7:00 PM GMT 10:30 PM Tehran
Please join us via Zoom
Mohammad Aghebati is an Iranian artist working between New York City and Tehran. Since 2000, he has been directing and producing plays for adults and young audiences in his native Iran. He has received various awards for his plays including the Young Artist Medal of Honor from Iran’s former President Mohammad Khatami. Aghebati was a member of the Leev Theater Group, which is known as one of Iran’s most successful and critically acclaimed theater groups.
In 2007, Aghebati was selected and commissioned by Japan Foundation to direct a new interpretation of Oedipus Rex, which played in Tokyo. Several of his works have toured various international festivals.
In the US, “Hamlet, Prince of Grief” was presented as a part of the Under the Radar Festival at NYC’s Public Theater, receiving a great review from the New York Times. Since then, it has been presented at Asia Society in New York, Brigham Young University and at University of Southern California, and Sarasota’s Ringling Festival.
Aghebati is a graduate of Theater Directing at Tehran Art University and was a Special Research Fellow at Yale School of Drama. He received his MFA from Brooklyn College in Performance and Media Arts. He has been teaching directing and acting in various workshops around the world including Masters of Ancient World at Shanghai Theater Academy (2018). As an actor, Aghebati’s films played at big festivals such as Berlin (“Modest Reception” which won the NETPAC Prize for Best Asian Film at the 2012 Berlinale) and Cannes (“They”2017). He has been developing his debut feature film to shoot in New York City in 2020.
Producer Mehrnoush Alia is a filmmaker and theater producer/playwright working between New York and Tehran. She received her MFA in film from Columbia University, and her BA from UC Berkeley in Film Studies and Comparative Literature. Mehrnoush has produced over a dozen films, as well as two of Mohammad Aghebati’s plays which she adapted for the stage. Her directorial debut Scheherazade has won several awards and screened at over two dozen film festivals. She is the co-founder of Maaa Art, a film and theater production company that produces and distributes work by Iranian artists internationally. She is currently working on the development of three documentary films, two narrative features that are slated to shoot in late 2020, and a new play.
Playwright Mohammadmehdi Chakeri is an award winning theatermaker and a graduate of Theater Directing from Tehran University. He has collaborated with the renowned Leev Theatre Academy during the past decade as a playwright, dramaturg, assistant director, and executive producer. During this time, he has written 9 plays and worked with artists such as Mohammad Hasan Majuni, Mohammad Aghebati, and Azadeh Shahmiri on a total of 20 projects.
Assistant Director Hengameh Fallah, born in 1986, is a New York-based artist and founder of Aasoo Performing Arts, a platform focusing on cultural exchange and social matters through art. She has directed a play-reading performance, “Partners In Crime” of Eric Emmanuel Schmitt in August 2018 at Gibney Studio, Manhattan, NY with the help of the Iranian Community of the Northeast (ICON), and funding from Citizens Committee for New York City (CCNYC). She has also directed and produced a physical theater piece, “Ingress” which has been shown as part of the Emruz Festival, April 2019, Brooklyn NY. She is also the assistant director of the Maaa Theater New York-based group.
Cast - Alphabetical Order
Ali Akhavan is a software engineer and also works in film and theatre. He has produced short films with personal themes available at vimeo.com/nomadali and has helped produce other works by New York indie filmmakers such as Story of Benjamin and American Mermaid. He is a member of the Maaa Theater New York-based group since June 2019 as an actor.
Asieh Ahani (born 1986, Mashhad, Iran) is a professional based in New York. She moved to the United States in 2011 to pursue her PhD in biomedical engineering from Northeastern University in Boston. She became interested in performing arts after meeting active members of Simorgh theatre group in Boston that led her to join the group in 2014. After moving to New York, she has attended the workshops of Monologue, Dialogue and Acting (September 2018 - present) in New York City, under the supervision of Mohammad Aghebati, one of the distinguished Iranian directors. She is a member of the Maaa Theater New York-based group since June 2019 as an actor. Beside performing art, Asieh is an avid supporter of iranian traditional music and plays Daaf (frame drum).
Borna Nemati (born in 1987, Rasht, Iran) studies Visual Art/ Radio and TV Production at Brooklyn College since 2015. He has been a theater director/writer at Norooz Festival in Boulder University, Colorado, 2011. He has performed in “Ingress”, directed by Hengameh Fallah, presented as part of Emruz Festival (2019, NY). He is practicing in Aasoo Performing Arts since December 2018 and is a member of the Maaa Theater New York-based group since June 2019 as an actor. He also worked on a couple of radio, TV, and film productions,as a Sound Mixer/post-production/actor in "unproductive" (web series) 2019- present, Camera operator in "An Action Piece" (short movie) 2018, Producer in World Wide Music_ (radio segment for SCCC Radio) 2017, Director/ Writer in "A Piece of The Pie" (Experimental short film) 2016, Camera operator, and director in "Saporo Fino" (Feature story) 2016.
Ehsan Najafi (born 1985, Ghazvin, Iran) is a member of the Maaa Theater New York-based group since June 2019 as an actor. He has participated in Aghebati’s workshops on Monologue, Dialogue, and Acting in 2018 and 2019. Moreover, he has been a member of Aasoo Performing Arts working with Hengameh Fallah since 2018. Ehsan was a Backstage assistant in a physical theater piece, “Ingress” (2019), produced in Aasoo Performing Arts.
Iman Hajirasouliha is member of the Maa Theater group based in New York City. As a member of Aasoo Performing Arts, he performed in a physical theatre piece, “Ingress”directed by Hengameh Fallah, Emruz Festival, April 2019, Brooklyn, NY. He is a member of the Maaa Theater New York-based group since June 2019 as an actor.
Born in Tehran, Iran in 1992, Actor and Dramaturg Koosha Kalhor is an engineering professional living in NYC who has been involved in theater projects and also has participated in acting workshops focusing on monologue, dialogue and professional theater acting since 2018. He is a member of the Maaa Theater New York-based group since June 2019 as an actor and dramaturg.
Maedeh Soleimanifar (born in 1987, Rasht, Iran) is a PhD candidate in Environmental Engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology. She was an assistant director in “John and Joe” show (2015, Iran). She acted in “Partners in Crime” play-reading performance (2018, NY) and performed in “Ingress” show at Emruz Festival (2019, NY). She is a member of the Maaa Theater New York-based group since June 2019 as an actor.
Mahsa Mehrdad is a 35-year old professional based in New York City. She has performed in a play reading performance and a physical theatre piece, “Ingress”, directed by Hengameh Fallah, produced in Aasoo Performing Arts. She is a member of the Maaa Theater New York-based group since June 2019 as an actor.
Masih Rahmati was born in 1984, Esfahan, Iran. He plays Tombak (an Iranian percussion instrument) and has played in a couple of Iranian music bands. He has performed in a play reading performance, “Partners in Crime” (2018) and a physical theatre piece, “Ingress” (2019), directed by Hengameh Fallah, produced in Aasoo Performing Arts. Masih is a member of the Maaa Theater New York-based group since June 2019 as an actor.
Mehrdad Valinasab is a professional engineer who finds joy in theater-related activities and specifically acting. He pursues his passion by being part of amateur dramatic groups and community theaters. Mehrdad lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Maaa Theater New York-based group since June 2019 as an actor.
Born and raised in Iran, Pedram Massoudi studied Transportation and Civil Engineering and then immigrated to U.S, in 2014. He moved to New York in 2016 to pursue his dream and to be active in acting. Pedram has attended the workshops of Monologue, Dialogue and Acting (September 2018 - present) in New York City, under the supervision of Mohammad Aghebati, one of the distinguished Iranian directors. Pedram is a member of the Maaa Theater New York-based group since June 2019 as an actor.
Sahar Ghanavati was a member of student theatre groups from 1999 to 2007. She acted in 3 plays at Sharif University in Tehran, Iran between 2004 and 2007. She has been attending theatre workshops under the supervision of Mohammad Aghebati in NYC since April 2019. She is a member of the Maaa Theater New York-based group since June 2019 as an actor.
Sharareh Noorbaloochi (born 1982, Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian-American professional in New York City. She is a member of the Maaa Theater New York-based group since June 2019 as an actor. Sharareh holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University and is passionate about social justice.