Productions
PAST PRODUCTIONS:
WHERE IS HERE? / اینجا کجاست؟
Written and Directed by Naghmeh Samini
Co-Produced with Seattle Public Theater
Azam Kabiri, a recent immigrant, is excited to tell passersby about her life back in Iran as she waits for her luggage at an airport baggage carousel... but isn't the luggage on the carousel starting to get strangely personal? What did she bring in her two pieces of luggage, and what did she leave behind? Performed both in English and in Persian, Where Is Here? is a stunning solo-show from the mind of playwright Naghmeh Samini that delves into the reality of the immigrant experience.
Cast: Azadeh Zanjani/آزاده زنجانی (English)- Sarvin Alidaee / سروین عالی داعی (Persian)
English
by Sanaz Toossi | Directed by Naghmeh Samini
Winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in DramaCo-Produced with ArtsWestTwo words set in motion award-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi’s intricate and profound New York debut: “English Only.” This is the mantra that rules one classroom in Iran, where four adult students are preparing for the TOEFL — the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Chasing fluency through a maze of word games, listening exercises, and show-and-tell sessions, they hope that one day, English will make them whole. But it might be splitting them each in half.
Cast:
The Forgotten History of Mastaneh | مستانه: تاریخ فراموشان
Written and directed by Naghmeh Samini
Inaugural live production of Seda Theatre performed Feb 10-12, 2023 at Taproot Theatre’s Isaac Studio and re-staged at Seattle Public Theatre Sep 22-24 2023
The Forgotten History of Mastaneh takes place in an all-girls high school in 1987 Iran, eight years after the revolution that permanently altered the course of the country’s history. We see the path of three young people’s lives change as they are impacted by the rules forced upon them, the revelation of the many secrets held by their families, and the Iran-Iraq war. Their secrets lead to an entanglement with the school Principal, a woman who is also keeping many secrets of her own. This play tells the story of the reality of so many young women in Iran, women who are striving for normalcy and are finding their inner truth and freedom.
Mozhdeh Rahmanzaei مژده رحمانزایی — Mastaneh
Azadeh Zanjani آزاده زنجانی — Masoomeh Rahimi
Newsha Farahani نیوشا فراهانی — Sara
Hamid Ehya حمید احیاء — Nader
Navid Oskouipour نوید اسکوییپور — Nima (Feb 2023 Production)
Parsa Kaffash پارسا کفاش — Nima (Sep 2023 Production)
The Play of Life and Death (Short Film)- 2021
Writer, Director and Concept Designer : Naghmeh Samini
Actors: Parmida Ziaei, Azadeh Zanjani Creative Producer: Parmida Ziaei
Co-Executive Producers: Amy Poisson, Macha Theatre Works and Alefba Group
Director of Videography and Editor: Oliver Stellfox
Sound Designer: Lisa Finkral
Lighting Designer: AJ Epstein
Video Designer: Soolmaz Dadgari
Assistant Director: Mehdi Masoumi
Choreographer: Parmida Ziaei
Stage Manager: Laney Harrison
Camera Operators: Anahita Sepehri, Maddy Nibble, Maggie Lee, Lia Fakhouri
Translator: Neusha Farahani
Photographers: Mehdi Karami, Soolmaz Dadgari
Funded through the COVID-19 Vaccination Communication Grant by Department of Health Washington State
The Title (Short Film) - 2021
Pegah, a college acting student, is thrilled to be selected by her teacher, Fereshteh, to work on Shakespeare’s Othello but she soon realizes this is not an ordinary rehearsal.
Written and directed by Naghmeh Samini
Principal Cast: Azadeh Zanjani, Parmida Ziaei
Cinematographers: Mehdi Karami, Arash Shiva
Gaffer: Rajah Makonnen
Editors: Nima Dabirzadeh, Ali Samini
Coproduced with Mehdi Masoumi
Kaveh’s Birthday Party (live virtual performance) - 2020
A culmination of our General Theatre Workshops in 2020
Playwrights: Birthday guests under direction of Naghmeh Samini
Birthday guests: Niloofar Hashemian, Somaye Dadgari, Neusha Farahani, Adsaneh Afshar, Proshat Parsimoghadam, Soolmaz Dadgari, Azadeh Eshghzadeh, Mehdi Masoumi, Elham Hakimi, Mahshid Yarmohamadi, Hoda Gholami, Fereidoun Tafreshi, Melika Seyed Akefi, Navid Oskouipour, Gol Hoghooghi, Kiana Ehsani