Columbia University School of the Arts International Play Reading Festival Columbia University School of the Arts

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.