Columbia University School of the Arts International Play Reading Festival

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.

PRODUCTION

Andrew Agress, Literary Manager

Natalie Layne Baker, Sound Editor 

Gavin Browning, Director of Public Programs & Engagement

Jessi Cotter, Production Manager

Jordan Fleming, Student Producer

Kanika Vaish, Literary Manager

FESTIVAL CO-FOUNDERS

Carol Becker, Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts

David Henry Hwang, MFA Theatre Program, Columbia University School of the Arts

© 2021 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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 STORY

Written and Performed by Dima Mikhayel Matta (Lebanon)

Directed by Noelle Ghoussaini

PRODUCTION

Andrew Agress, Literary Manager

Gavin Browning, Director of Public Programs & Engagement

Jessi Cotter, Production Manager

Jordan Fleming, Student Producer

Jim Petty with Five Ohm Productions, Audio Engineer

Kanika Vaish, Literary Manager

Ada Westfall, Sound Designer

FESTIVAL CO-FOUNDERS

Carol Becker, Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts

David Henry Hwang, MFA Theatre Program, Columbia University School of the Arts

© 2021 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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 DARK

Written by Nick Makoha (United Kingdom)

Directed by NJ Agwuna

CAST

Petrina Ampeire, Joyce (rebel radio) and Ouma (boy soldier)

Robert K Benson, Mr. Fairfax and Customs Officer

Shadrack Boakye, Soldier, Shopkeeper, and Baba Nick

Shiro Kihagi, Mama Nick

Cici Koueth, Mirembe

Julia Kwamya, Fatima and Camera Woman

Irungu Mutu, Narrator Nick and Young Nick

Chris Okawa, Ocheng, Opio, and Kigo

James Okungu, Old Man, Radio Uganda, Sergeant 853, and Kimathi

PRODUCTION

Andrew Agress, Literary Manager

Gavin Browning, Director of Public Programs & Engagement

Natalie Layne Baker, Sound Editor 

Jessi Cotter, Production Manager

Caroline Eng, Sound Designer

Jordan Fleming, Student Producer

Irungu Mutu, Dialect Coach

Jim Petty with Five Ohm Productions, Audio Engineer

Zoe E. Rotter, Casting Director

Kanika Vaish, Literary Manager

Daniel Vaughn, Stage Manager

FESTIVAL CO-FOUNDERS

Carol Becker, Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts

David Henry Hwang, MFA Theatre Program, Columbia University School of the Arts

Special thanks to the following, who created some of the sounds you heard in today’s episode and made them available through freesound.org: vedas, malupeeters, Vortichez, Veridiansunrise, mariadrrs, dj997, jobro, mansardian, daveincamas, bone666138, calpomatt, washout, suoitnop, lgarrett, Jay_You, bigmanjoe, kevp888, Erdie, newagesoup, cgrote, CastIronCarousel, stomachache, Almusic34, Thalamus_Lab, digifishmusic, straget

© 2021 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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 gOD

Written by Asiimwe Deborah Kawe (Uganda)

Directed by Nana Dakin

CAST

Andrew Agress, Stage Directions

Anita Abdinezhad, gOD 1 and Voice One

Petrina Ampeire, Kakye

Anita Ganesan, gOD 2 and Voice Two

Kambi Gathesha, Announcer and Man 1

Shiro Kihagi, Achen and Voice 5

Janet Kilonzo, Fatima and Voice 3

James Okungu, Man 2 and Voice 4

PRODUCTION

Andrew Agress, Literary Manager

Gavin Browning, Director of Public Programs & Engagement

Natalie Layne Baker, Sound Editor 

Jessi Cotter, Production Manager

Caroline Eng, Sound Designer

Jordan Fleming, Student Producer

Jim Petty with Five OHM Productions, Audio Engineer

Zoe E. Rotter, Casting Director

Kanika Vaish, Literary Manager

Daniel Vaughn, Stage Manager

FESTIVAL CO-FOUNDERS

Carol Becker, Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts

David Henry Hwang, MFA Theatre Program, Columbia University School of the Arts

Special thanks to the following, who created some of the sounds you heard in today’s episode and made them available through freesound.org: Damsteegt, bigjoedrummer, boykind, Sorrow-Fox, InspectorJ, hazure, Natty23, devilfish101, Andrew Duke, Veridiansunrise, mariadrrs, dj997, jobro, mansardian

© 2021 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Trailer sound design by Ada Westfall.

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 CREDITS
Carol Becker, Dean, Columbia University School of the Arts
David Henry Hwang, Head of Playwriting, School of the Arts
Gavin Browning, Director of Public Programs & Engagement
D. R. Baker, Sound Editor
Jessi Cotter, Production Manager
Sami Pyne, Student Producer
Kate Foster, Michael Murry, & Paola Alexandra Soto, Student Literary Managers

More information available on the Columbia University School of the Arts International Play Reading Festival website.

© 2020 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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 to an audio play.

This panel discussion was co-sponsored by the MFA Writing Program/Literary Translation at Columbia.

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Carol Becker, Dean, Columbia University School of the Arts
David Henry Hwang, Head of Playwriting, School of the Arts
Gavin Browning, Director of Public Programs & Engagement
D. R. Baker, Sound Editor
Jessi Cotter, Production Manager
Sami Pyne, Student Producer
Kate Foster, Michael Murry, & Paola Alexandra Soto, Student Literary Managers

More information available on the Columbia University School of the Arts International Play Reading Festival website.

© 2020 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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 35TH

Written by Candace Chong Mui Ngam (Hong Kong)

Translated from Cantonese by Anonymous

Directed by Leigh Silverman

CAST

Clem Cheung, Ah Ping

Fang Du, Young Man 1 and Young Man 2

Wai Ching Ho, Siu Lum

Francis Jue, Ah Dai

Johnny Wu, The Stranger

with Anna Weng reading Stage Directions

PRODUCTION

Gavin Browning, Director of Public Programs & Engagement

D. R. Baker, Sound Editor 

Jessi Cotter, Production Manager

Caroline Eng, Sound Designer & Composer

Martin Murry, Literary Manager

Jim Petty with Five Ohm Productions, Audio Engineer

Sami Pyne, Student Producer

Zoe E. Rotter, Casting Director

Joan Wyatt, Stage Manager

Special thanks to the following, who created some of the sounds you heard in today’s episode and made them available through Freesound.org: daveincamas, bone666138, calpomatt, washout, suoitnop, lgarrett

This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA Collective Bargaining Agreement.

© 2020 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York.

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 RADIO
Written and translated by Nophand (Thailand)
Directed by Aya Ogawa

CAST
Dion Graham, E
Chris McKinney, D
Andrea Morales, C
Kate Rigg, M
Sathya Sridharan, Q

PRODUCTION
Gavin Browning, Director of Public Programs and Engagement
D. R. Baker, Sound Editor & Composer
Jessi Cotter, Production Manager
Nana Dakin, Culture Consultant
Caroline Eng, Sound Designer
Kate Foster, Literary Manager
Jim Petty with Five Ohm Productions, Audio Engineer
Sami Pyne, Student Producer
Zoe E. Rotter, Casting Director
Theo Van Dyck, Trumpet Improvisations
Joan Wyatt, Stage Manager

Special thanks to the following: Freesound.org, bigjoedrummer, boykind, Sorrow-Fox, RTB45, Damsteegt, LG, emirdemirel, vedas, malupeeters, Vortichez, Veridiansunrise, mariadrrs, dj997, jobro, mansardian, Jay_You, bigmanjoe, kevp888, Erdie, newagesoup, cgrote, CastIronCarousel, stomachache, Almusic34, Thalamus_Lab, digifishmusic, straget

Almost Bliss, Kevin MacLeod
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Prelude and Action, Kevin MacLeod
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Shadowlands 4 - Breath Kevin MacLeod
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA Collective Bargaining Agreement.

© 2020 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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 DREAMS
Written by Camila Villegas (Mexico)
Translated from Spanish by Daniel Jáquez
Directed by Opalanietet

CAST
Tanis Parenteau as Nicolasa
Reza Salazar as Jacinto

PRODUCTION
Gavin Browning, Director of Public Programs and Engagement
D. R. Baker, Sound Editor
Jessi Cotter, Production Manager
Caroline Eng, Sound Designer
Jim Petty with Five Ohm Productions, Audio Engineer
Sami Pyne, Student Producer
Zoe E. Rotter, Casting Director
Paola Alexandra Soto, Literary Manager
Joan Wyatt, Stage Manager

Special thanks to the following, who created some of the sounds you heard in today’s episode and made them available through Creative Commons: InspectorJ, hazure, Natty23, devilfish101, Andrew Duke, SavvahSjuhengof, tim.kahn, Uni000, drotzruhn, enric592, GoodListener, test_sound, destron.

This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA Collective Bargaining Agreement.

© 2020 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York.