Arts & Events

Golden Thread Productions, founded in 1996 by Torange Yeghiazarian of Oakland, has staged and produced many new and newly-landed plays from and about the Middle East--and what it means to be Middle Eastern or just to consider that crucial region.  

One of its key ongoing projects has been the ReOrient Theater Festival and Forum of short plays, forums, round tables (and a concert and a family show) exploring the Middle East, which has previously been staged in Berkeley as well as San Francisco. Beginning this week, ReOrient 2015 will go up onstage at Z Below, the old Traveling Jewish Theatre, below Z Space, formerly Theatre Artaud, 470 Florida Street, between 17th & 18th Streets, Bryant & Harrison, in the Mission/Potrero district of San Francisco, running plays in two series through October 4.  

From a play about an archaeologist's discovery of a perfume bottle in a war zone to Israeli and Lebanese soldiers during a ceasefire, from a Lebanese-American FBI agent interrogating a fallen dictator to a Palestinian-American scientist and his philosopher daughter putting on a play and taking an imaginary journey to his homeland; from life going on in a Baghdad neighborhood after a car bombing to a Palestinian family sharing an East Jerusalem apartment with an Israeli family ... ReOrient's plays have been selected from submissions from 15 countries and feature work and artists from Armenia, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, the United kingdom and the United States. Five World premieres, two US and two West Coast premieres will be staged. 

Series A--featuring 'Picking Up the Scent' by Yussef Al-Guindi, 'Turning Tricks' by Silva Semerciyan, 'The Bitterenders' by Hannah Khalid and 'Counting in Sha'ab' by Emma Goldman-Sherman--plays Thursdays & Saturdays at 8; Series B-'Lost Kingdom' by Hassan Abdulrazzak, 'Reaching Out' (conceived & directed by Torange Yeghiazarian, edited and co-directed by Erin Gilley, inspired by Golden Thread's internationally collaborative Project Alo? between artists in the US & Middle east communicating work through video clips on cellphones), 'Ceasefire' by Ken Kaissar, Songs of Our Children by Nahal Navidar and 'The House' by Tala Manassah--plays Fridays at 8, Sunday afternoons at 3. $22-$30.  

In addition to the plays will be the Forum on the final weekend--free to the public--featuring as keynote speaker Professor Sunaina Maira of UC Davis and other scholars and artists in panels and round tables co-produced by local and international groups. Plus a recital of Arab folksongs reimagined by Syrian-American soprano Saousan Jarjour and Zeytune Ensemble (Saturday, October 3 at 2 pm; $20) and the Fairytale Players performing 'Princess Tamar Rescues Nazar the Brave' and '21 days That Change the Year,' from Iranian and Armenian folktales (Sunday, October 4 at 2 pm; $20, children 12 & under, free), both shows at Z Space, 450 Florida Street. 

ASeries Pass for both series of plays is $40; an All-Access Pass for everything presented at reOrient 2015 is $60. goldenthread.org