We are embarking on a very special fundraising campaign to support the World Premiere of Night Over Erzinga by Adriana Sevahn Nichols, set to take stage this Fall in San Francisco. Night Over Erzinga is the first play to emerge from the Middle East America (MEA) New Play Initiative, Golden Thread's national partnership with the award-winning Lark Play Development Center in New York and Silk Road Theatre Project in Chicago.  The consortium awarded Adriana $10,000 to bring her story to life. The play will receive a development workshop in New York in June and will be produced in Chicago in 2012.

Night Over Erzinga is a poetic rendition of an Armenian family that builds a new home in the US in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide. Partly inspired by Adrianas own family history, the play touches on universal themes of memory, survival and forgiveness. The diverse artistic team is made up of artists from around the globe: a Japanese set designer, a Bulgarian composer, Italian, Armenian, Turkish, Lebaneseand they all see reflections of their own experience in Night Over Erzinga, a play that invites us to celebrate life and the future.

The Campaign Goal.

We need to raise $50,000 by the start of September to make this production happen, planning to raise $10,000 of that online here on IndieGoGo.

This drive is part of Golden Thread's 2011 Tree of Life campaign, inspired by the Wishing Trees frequently encountered in the Middle East.  This ancient tradition left a mark on Adriana as she traveled to Armenia, and the image has found its way into the play as a symbol of life.  A 5-foot  tree will be constructed by a local artist and be on display in the theatre lobby.  Donors of $500 or more will be able to make a dedication on a Leaf ($500), Stem ($1,000), Branch ($2,500), Root ($5,000) or a Trunk ($10,000).  Audiences will be invited to tie a wish of their own to the three and enrich it with their own family stories and dedications.

Everyone donating $100 and more is invited to submit a digital copy of a family photo with a dedication. These images and dedications will be compiled in a video slide show to be projected in the lobby of the theatre. We wish for everyone to be a part of this beautiful campaign and recognize that some may not be able to contribute at higher levels. 

All donors will be acknowledged in writing in the production playbill. Donors at $500 and up will receive two complementary tickets to opening night.

The Play.

Ardavazt and Alice build a new life in the U.S. in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide but the past comes to haunt them in very different ways. Inspired by the playwrights family history, this tender epic spans generations and countries in a fluid and magical narrative that will be scored with original music by Bulgarian composer, Penka Kouneva; and directed by Hafiz Karmali.  How did my grandfather lose two families in one lifetime but not lose his heart? was the question that began Adrianas two-year journey to develop Night Over Erzinga, the inaugural commission of the prestigious Middle East America Award.

September 15 through October 9

South Side Theatre, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco

www.goldenthread.org

The Playwright.

Adriana Sevahn Nichols is an award winning actress and playwright. Her critically acclaimed solo show, Taking Flight, garnered her a San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award, a Los Angeles Womens Theatre Festival Award, and the CD was a finalist for a 2008 Audie Award. Her plays have been published by Samuel French and Smith & Kraus. She has developed and performed her work at the Sundance Theater Lab, South Coast Repertory, Mark Taper Forum, The Goodman, LA Theatre Works, Stages Theatre,The Fountain, INTAR, and The Lark. She received the 2008 Middle East America Distinguished Playwright Award, which gifted her with a commission, to write a play, inspired by her Armenian grandparents survival of the Genocide of 1915.

The Company.

Golden Thread Productions is a theatre company based in San Francisco dedicated to exploring Middle Eastern cultures and identities as expressed around the globe. It presents alternative perspectives of the Middle East by developing and producing theatrical work that is aesthetically varied and politically and viscerally engaging, while supporting countless Middle Eastern artists in all phases of their careers. Golden Threads roots in the Armenian Community run deep. In 2002, it staged the Bay Area premiere of Nine Armenians by Leslie Ayvazian, and in 2008, the West Coast premiere of A Girls War by Joyce Van Dyke. Golden Thread has held theatre classes at KZV Armenian School. In fact, the cast for Night Over Erzinga includes a student from the school.

The Partnership. 

Middle East America: A National New Plays Initiative is a first-of-its-kind national collaboration involving Golden Thread, New Yorks Lark Play Development Center and Chicagos Silk Road Theatre Project. The initiative is designed to encourage and support the development of Middle Eastern American playwrights and Middle Eastern American plays through a $10,000 bi-annual commission, developmental support from the Lark Play Development Center, and staged readings and possible productions at Golden Thread Productions and Silk Road Theatre Project.  Adriana Sevahn Nichols was its inaugural winner in 2008.  Egyptian-American playwright Yussef el Guindi won the award in 2010. 

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Partner with us in 2011 and be an integral part of giving Middle Eastern voices and perspectives the attention and support they need, and deserve. Please take a moment right now to make a contribution to Golden Thread Productions. No amount is too small, or too big!