Columbia University School of the Arts International Play Reading Festival

Oct 31 2021 54 mins 2
Columbia University School of the Arts International Play Reading Festival Podcast artwork

Co-founded by Carol Becker and David Henry Hwang, this marquee annual festival presents readings of three plays by living international playwrights alongside conversations with the playwrights and translators. © 2020 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York Creative Commons License. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Playwright Panel Discussion 2021

Oct 31 2021 58 mins  
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.PRODUCTIONAndrew Agress, Literary ManagerNatalie Layne Ba

This is not a memorized script, this is a well-rehearsed story

Oct 20 2021 47 mins  
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 STORYWritten and Performed by Dima Mikhayel Matta (Lebanon)Directed by Noelle GhoussainiPRODUCTIONAndrew Ag

The Dark

Oct 12 2021 70 mins  
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 DARKWritten by Nick Makoha (United Kingdom)Directed by NJ AgwunaCASTPetrina Ampeire, Joyce (rebel radio) and

Appointment with gOD

Oct 06 2021 70 mins  
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 gODWritten by Asiimwe Deborah Kawe (Uganda)Directed by Nana DakinCASTAndrew Agress, Stage DirectionsAnita Abdinezhad

2021 Trailer

Sep 13 2021 1 mins  
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),

Playwright Panel Discussion

Oct 31 2020 60 mins  
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 CREDITSCarol Becker, Dean, Columbia University School of the ArtsDavid Henry Hwang, Head of Playwriting, School of the ArtsGavin Browning, Di

Translator Panel Discussion

Oct 29 2020 54 mins  
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 Rar

May 35th

Oct 16 2020 77 mins  
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 35THWritten by Candace Chong Mui Ngam (Hong Kong)Translated from Cantonese

Taxi Radio

Oct 09 2020 75 mins  
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 t

Rarámuri Dreams

Oct 02 2020 75 mins  
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 DREAMSWritten by Camila Villegas (Mexico)Translated from Spanish by Daniel JáquezDirected by Opala