Tag Archive for: INANA

FESTIVAL TIME

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It is FESTIVAL TIME in Shepherdstown WV. Shepherdstown is the oldest town in West Virginia doing the newest plays in America. Visitors from across America are descending on this historic semi-rural town nestled in the foothills of the BlueRidge Mountains to experience Five new American plays in rotating Repertory. Our small town is alive with aggressive storytelling and creative rebellion. The pubs, restaurants, and shops are filled with conversation. People are talking-theater. Everywhere you go you hear the buzz of radical innovation. The tsunami of creative energy is thriving throughout the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Shepherdstown is the cultural gateway into West Virginia. And the people are talking…Theater critics are talking…

                    “A gas-masked figure tossing moon pies. A stuffed dachshund named Sarah Palin. A tap-dancing vagina. Those are just a few of the hallucinatory images that swim out of THE EELWAX JESUS 3-D POP MUSIC SHOW, the most memorable, if not the most satisfying, production at the 2010 Contemporary American Theater Festival. —THE WASHINGTON POST  Wednesday, July 14, 2010

                   “If you long for the curious likes of Samuel Beckett’s WAITING FOR GODOT, or Tom Stoppard’s ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD, you’re in for a treat…you’ll get an eye-popping evening with CATF’s world premiere offering of THE EELWAX JESUS 3-D POP MUSIC SHOW.”—THE HERALD MAIL July 13, 2010

                    “The 20th Anniversary of CATF appears to be the finest yet of the five play summer series.”—Bob Anthony, allartsreview4u.com

                    “INANA…Michele Lowe has written a well made thing. It’s a pleasure to watch a play go beyond what is expected.”—THE MONSTERRAT REVIEW

Yes people are talking…more later… I am looking forward to your comments.

Ed Herendeen

REHEARSAL JOURNAL #3

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Week three at the Festival…we are in the thick of the creative process. Scenery, costumes and props are being constructed. The Frank Stage has bits and parts of scenery from five different shows scattered across the stage. Sculptures for INANA are being fabricated and carved in the sculpture studio. The costume shop is busy with actor fittings, shopping and construction. Our Props dept is raiding the local flea markets, shopping for props and creating props. The electrics crew is hanging three rep lighting plots.The admin staff is preparing for our opening weekend. And the actors are digging into the third week of rehearsal. Needless to say…there is a tsunami of activity throughout the Festival. I can honestly tell you that I am having a BLAST. The work is hard and exhilarating. The work is intense and collaborative. The work is endless and yet full of joy.

I am pleased with the publicity that we are receiving. Elizabeth Blair from National Public Radio visited rehearsals and conducted interviews with Max Baker and Lee Sellars. She is doing a feature story on our 20th Anniversary Season which will air on NRP soon. West Virginia Public Radio did a story on the Festival which aired this week. Wednesday’s Washington Post had an interview with Michele Lowe and Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig. WYPR Public Radio in Baltimore is doing a story on INANA next week. So the word is getting out…we are creating BUZZ.

So…can I count on you to help me “spread-the-word?”  

Ed Herendeen

INANA AT THE FESTIVAL

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War destroys lives. But war also destroys a peoples’ culture, their history, their heritage, their identity, and their souls. Michele Lowe weaves an intricate tale that’s both a love story and an ode to the treasures of the unique far-reaching civilization that developed between the Tigris and Euphrates. The story’s centerpiece is a sculpture of the ancient goddess Inana…the Sumerian goddess of fertility, love and war…the soul of the country. The statue of Inana is entrusted to Yasin, the museum curator who attempts to save this ancient treasured statue before the US invasion of his country. Amidst a background of international intrigue and marital discovery the situation in Iraq is mirrored in the life of this curator and his new bride Shali, and their arranged marriage. This poignant love story is an epic struggle to preserve and protect the innocence and beauty of a culture that is being destroyed.

Inana The Sumerian goddess of fertility, love and war.

THE CAST OF INANA by Michele Lowe:

Barzin Akhaven will portray the role of Yasin Shalid who is an Iraqi and the chief of the Mosul Museum. Yasin has a deep and protective love for his country.

Barzin Akhaven

Zabryna Guevara will play Shali Shalid…Yasin’s new Iraqi bride. Shali is uncommonly smart and naturally curious. She longs to return to Iraq and will do anything necessary to get there. She is strong, but hides her strength.

Zabryna Guevara

James Rana will portray Abdel-Hakim Taliq an Iraqi bookseller. He’s extravagant, literary, emotional, intelligent and stubborn. In his heart, he too is an optimist like Yasin.

James Rana

 

Gregor Paslawsky will play Emad Al-Bayit. He is Shali’s father and a gregarious, larger than life Iraqi sculptor. He is an erudite and cultured artist who loves his country. He is also charming, clever and extremely persuasive.

Gregor Paslawsky

Reema Zaman plays Mena Mohammed, Shali’s younger sister. Mena is naive, youthful, and literate. She yearns to understand how the future world works…but she still clings to old Iraqi customs. Reema will also play Hama Shalid…Yasin’s first wife. Hama is an attractive, strong, modern and intelligent Iraqi-born nurse.

Reema Zaman

Jonathan Raviv plays two roles: Mohammed Zara and a Iraqi Messenger. Mohammed Zara is an Iraqi man. He is Yasin’s assistant at the Mosul Museum. He is a sensitive, introverted, put-upon worker who has the potential to step up to the plate.

Jonathan Raviv

 Michael Gabriel Goodfriend will portray a British waiter and Dominc Colon, a British currator at the British Museum.

Michael Gabriel Goodfriend

 

Ed Herendeen

2010 ACTING COMPANY

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I am thrilled to announce the 2010 CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN THEATER FESTIVAL ACTING COMPANY:

Kurt Zischke: Mr. Shine and Mr. Rumple in THE EELWAX JESUS 3-D POP MUSIC SHOW; and Martin in WHITE PEOPLE.

Clare Schmidt: Meredith in THE EELWAX JESUS 3-D POP MUSIC SHOW.

James Rana: Abdel-Hakim Taliq in INANA.

Margot White: Esme in THE EELWAX JESUS 3-D POP MUSIC SHOW ; and Mara Lynn in WHITE PEOPLE.

Helen Jean Arthur: Mrs. Worthington in THE EELWAX JESUS 3-D POP MUSIC SHOW; and Alida in BREADCRUMBS.

Lee Sellars: Ignatz in THE EELWAX JESUS 3-D POP MUSIC SHOW; and Alan in WHITE PEOPLE.

Jonathan Raviv: Mohammed Zara/Messenger in INANA; and James in THE EELWAX JESUS 3-D POP MUSIC SHOW.

Eva Kaminsky: Alice in LIDLESS; and Beth in BREADCRUMBS.

Barzin Akhaven: Yasin Shalid in INANA; and Bashir in LIDLESS

Zabryna Guevara: Shali Shalid in INANA; and Riva in LIDLESS.

Michael Goodfriend: Waiter/Dominc in INANA; and Lucas in LIDLESS

Reema Zaman: Mena/Hama Shalid in INANA; and Rhiannon in LIDLESS

Gregor Paslawsky: Emad AL-Bayit in INANA.

Ed Herendeen