Creatures

creatures-artwork

A Theatre collaboration between Boston and Tehran

“CREATURES”

Written by Mohammad Rezaee-Rad

Translated and directed by Vahdat Yeganeh

Dramaturge: Dr. Robert Lublin

Cast: Lorna Nogueira, Jared Wright, Atefeh Nouri

Music Director: Phil Mantis

Art works by Philippe Lejeune, Laurent Lejeune

Production manager in Iran: Afshin Hashemi

DAY TRIP Ale is provided by Enlightenment Ales Brewing Company-Ben Howe

Produced by Vahdat Yeganeh and Pezhman Tahavori

The Touch Art Gallery- September 2013

A note from the artistic director

The desire for communication and sharing has been the fundamental impulse for men to create art and language. Theatre, from the beginning, has been the most intimate form of art that requires the participation of artists and spectators alike. At Boston Experimental Theatre (B.E.T.), I’ve been studying Antonin Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty and Jerzy Grotowski’s Poor Theatre in an effort to create an environment in which both artists and spectators alike can connect to their dreams and emotions at their deepest level. As an Iranian artist living and working in the United States since 2002, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that my cultural dialogue with my American colleagues has a significant impact on the quality of my productions. Although, I have been very disappointed to learn that many other Iranians and Americans do not have this great opportunity of cultural exchange.

Living in an era when misunderstanding and intolerance have created increased violence, I feel a responsibility to share my own experiences of dialogue among cultures.  Since arriving in the United States of America, Dr. Dariush Shayegan’s philosophy of ‘Dialogue Among Civilizations’ has informed my way of living in this new home and helped me to recognize how important it is for 21st-century citizens to understand and feel the desire of intimate dialogue. Art or War, the intimate dialogue is inevitable.

Creating a cultural dialogue between Boston and Tehran is a new dream of the Boston Experimental Theatre in collaboration with the Touch Art Gallery and Iranian journalist Mr. Pezhman Tahavori.

CREATURES is B.E.T.’s adaptation of two new plays written by well-known Iranian playwright Mohammad Rezaee-Rad (Creatures and An Internet Creature), produced with artists from Boston and Tehran. Boston Experimental Theatre is very honored to present Mr. Mohammad Rezaee–Rad and Ms. Atefeh Nouri for the first time in the U.S.

The goal of producing this psychological play is to foster a meaningful experience of communication between the artists and the audience so that everyone involved can honestly explore feelings held captive in the body and the unconscious. Such emotions are ordinarily ignored and eclipsed by social habits, fear, and distraction, but the unique quality of theatre allows for a public space to explore them.

Such production requires artists who are willing to go through a hard and long journey with their bodies, thoughts, and feelings for months. This production would not happen if not because of BETC’s angels Lorna, Jared, Phil, Atefeh, and with great generosity and support of Touch Art Gallery and my co-producer Mr. Pezhman Tahavori.

I do believe theatre is not theatre until a unique relationship happens between the stage and the audience (YOU!). We ask you also to bring your own imagination to complete the work at each performance. Because of this, we rely on our audience and appreciate your honesty so we may continue forward. Please feel free to offer your candid and unfiltered opinions, no matter how cruel.

Vahdat Yeganeh

Artistic Director

 

 “Let the lover be disgraceful, crazy, absent-minded. Someone sober will worry about events going badly. Let the lover be.”

Rumi, 13th-century Persian poet. (1207-1273)

We are proud to announce that Enlightenment Ales is joining our project by serving ‘DAY TRIP (EXTRA HOPPY GOLDEN ALE). Learn more about Enlightenment Ales’ and Dialogue Among Civilizations…