LINKS
- Arab Stages, The Yacoubian Building Onstage: An Interview with Kareem Fahmy , SPRING 2018
- AXS, Rough Draft Theater Festival presents ‘A Window Into New York’ Feb 22, 2017
- Theatre Communications Group (TCG), ESSAY – Finding Home: Migration, Exile, and Belonging, June ’16
- BroadwayWorld.com, World Premiere of Privatopia, Oct ’15
- Ping Chong + Company in the Field “Community Spotlight” May ’15
- BroadwayWorld.com, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble Presents New Contemporary Play from Turkey, Apr ’15
- Stein Lab Interview Target Margin Theatre (TMT), June ’15, Rose Love Pepe
- Theatre Communications Group (TCG) Profile, March ’12
CREDITS
Privatopia - Cairo International Theater Fest
Privatopia - Fall '15
Rose Love Pepe - Summer '15
Lonely Leela - Fall '14
Three Graces '14
For Rent, '11-'12
The Wedding '13
Cherry Orchard Project '12
Project Maids '11
3 Sisters Vanishing '08
House '06
Wall '04
Rumi's Math '03
-
Privatopia - Cairo International Theater Fest
September 2017 -
Privatopia - Fall '15
DIRECTOR: Written by acclaimed Greek playwright M. Eustathiades, Privatopia sheds light on the increasing fear of "otherness" rampant in modern societies. In the tradition of absurdism, Eustathiades paints a brutal portrait of a gated community in a desperate effort to hold on to their privileges against the "outsiders". -
Rose Love Pepe - Summer '15
DIRECTOR: Target Margin Theatre Stein Lab; Text: The World is Round by Gertrude Stein; Black Dog named Pepe, White Dog named Love and a willful little girl named Rosa. It is their story. Their story of impossible love. -
Lonely Leela - Fall '14
DIRECTOR: Written by Rehana Mirza, Lonely Leela follows the Internet journey of a young woman, Leela, whose boyfriend has disappeared. Along the way, she encounters Fareed, a Muslim-American, socio-political blogger who is fighting against bias and phobia in the lawless land of the world wide web. With his prodding, Leela must decide what her Muslim identity is, what she wants, and what's worth fighting for. Inspired by Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, Lonely Leela is an adventure where malicious codes and white knight bloggers meet in a shifting world of everything's at your fingertips but you can't quite find what you're looking for. -
Three Graces '14
DIRECTOR: Written by Ruth Margraff Opera & music by Nikos Brisco's Cafe Antarsia Ensemble *THREE GRACES is a Greek/Ottoman tavern opera with music by Ruth Margraff and Nikos Brisco's Cafe Antarsia Ensemble* THREE GRACES is haunted by the defiance of young rebels and artists in public squares and epic taverns at the end of the Ottoman Empire and right now in Istanbul and Athens. This is a panoramic Iliad for the protestors of modern Greece and Turkey, inspired by Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek blues and Turkish art. -
For Rent, '11-'12
DIRECTOR: In For Rent, poor, rural teenagers come to the big city to find wealth and prosperity. But in the dark, dangerous public parks of this cosmopolitan city, they are instead led into prostitution and violence. This stylistically innovative and vocally stunning play from acclaimed Turkish Playwright Ozen Yula explores the criminal underworld of modern day Istanbul through the desperate lives of the young people who flocked there. -
The Wedding '13
DIRECTOR/WRITER: The Wedding, an interactive theater experience invites the audience to participate in various wedding transactions through the exchange of fake money. It aims to establish an understanding of weddings as cultural events comprised of traditions and transactions. Have you ever been to a wedding? Is there a transaction involved? WEDDING is a multi-level theatrical game conceived by LPAC and Director Handan Ozbilgin. WEDDING does for the conventions of marriage what MONOPOLY did for real estate.. Buy what you want. The WEDDING hosts give you $$ to BUY gifts, gowns, and cakes. BUY a seat next to the Father of the Bride. BUY a picture with the wedding party. BUY. Go directly to the wedding night, do not pass Go. -
Cherry Orchard Project '12
DIRECTOR/WRITER: The Cherry Orchard Project is inspired by Anton Chekhov's penchant for nostalgia and longing. You know your old Teddy Bear says a lot about you. But what does it say to you? Really. If these walls would talk, what would they say? "Pickaboo I see you." -
Project Maids '11
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Projectmaids was a four part, a yearlong series inspired by Jean Genet's Maids. "Projectmaids was a distillation. The idea is to distill some sort of essence from original play or production and then use the distilled elements of it, to build an entirely new production. In essence; I reconstruct the play based upon the key elements that resonated with in the original play" Handan Ozbilgin -
3 Sisters Vanishing '08
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Inspired by Chekhov's The Three Sisters, 3 Sisters Vanishing created a new set of rules from the subtext. The cast was doubled to 6 sisters, giving each of the 3 original "prisoners of country life" their own set of doppelgangers. Blocking doorways like correctional officers, these 3 "Other" Sisters serve to insure that the dream of returning to the city remains an elusive dream. -
House '06
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Written by Handan Ozbilgin & David Bromley; House is set in suburban America a few days after Christmas. Intrusive community board presidents, late night telemarketers and Christmas trees dead on the pavement serve as disturbing reminders of the darkness that lies beneath the antiseptic suburban backdrop. What would you do if two strangers broke into your home and screwed around with your Christmas tree? Watch a Turkish couple fend off an invasion, as their American dream is shattered in one long suburban night. -
Wall '04
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Written By Handan Ozbilgin & David Bromley; Wall is the physical and metaphorical boundary between two neighboring apartments. Set during the creepiest night of all, Halloween; a dead body stuffed in a trash bag is passed back and forth from one LES doormat to the next (from John & Grace to Ruya & Cumhur and back); Outlandish costumes, oh so serious FBI Agents, Post-911 hysteria, and yes the dead body all take center stage in Wall. The times are always strange. -
Rumi's Math '03
DIRECTOR/WRITER: "Here is a letter to Everyone...You open it. It says live!" Rumi Riffing off the poetry of Jelaleddin Rumi (13th Century Sufi Poet), Rumi's Math traces a woman's search for love, identity and meaning in present day NYC. Rumi's Math is a multimedia production combining performers on stage with performances on film.