Brilliant Mind program by Marin Theatre

CREATED AND WRITTEN BY DENMO IBRAHIM

A Live & Interactive Digital Premiere Co-Produced by Marin Theatre Company & Storykrapht | Originating Production

MAY 22–JUNE 13, 2021

MARIN THEATRE COMPANY NATIVE LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In our ongoing efforts to learn more and strengthen our relationships with members of our local community, and to work towards dismantling the harmful effects of white supremacy and colonization, Marin Theatre Company acknowledges that our theatre and administrative offices are located on the unceded land of the Coast Miwok peoples. We acknowledge the Coast Miwok as the original caretakers of this land. We pay our respects to the Coast Miwok community and their elders both past and present, as well as future generations. The Coast Miwok are members of the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria, a community which includes the Southern Pomo peoples. We have reached out to the leadership of the Coast Miwok and Graton Rancheria asking for their guidance and have pledged to revisit this statement in partnership with them. We pledge to do the work necessary to build relationships with sovereign tribal nations, to ensure that Marin Theatre Company becomes a more inclusive space, and to always continue ongoing learning.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE COAST MIWOK AND THE FEDERATED INDIANS OF THE GRATON RANCHERIA: Coast Miwok on Facebook: Facebook.com/SouthernCoastMiwok.com1 Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria: GratonRancheria.com Support indigenous rights organizations on a national or global level: Native American Rights Fund Cultural Survival Indigenous Environmental Network

TABLE OF CONTENTS 2

From the Artistic Director of Marin Theatre Company

From the Founders of Storykrapht

The Legacy of Now by Playwright Denmo Ibrahim

The Cast and Creative & Production Teams of Brilliant Mind

Interview with Creative Team Members of Brilliant Mind

From the New Play Dramaturg of Brilliant Mind—The Process of Play

by Johanna Frank

Re-Membering Our Pasts: Denmo Ibrahim’s Theatre of Transformation

by Michael Malek Najjar

Family Photos

The El Musri Family Immigration Route (1984) Where do Samir and the El Musri Family Come From? Eids in Islam

From the Cultural Dramaturg of Brilliant Mind—Overtly Literal and Devastatingly Metaphorical: Reflections on Cultural Intersection,”

by Ahmed Ashour

Bios—Cast, Creative Team, Leadership

Special Thanks for Brilliant Mind

Marin Theatre Company Staff, Advisory Board, Box Office information

Marin Theatre Company Individual Donors, Foundation Support, Gifts, Honors, Production Underwriters

FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF MARIN THEATRE COMPANY Welcome to Brilliant Mind by MTC artist and Mill Valley resident Denmo Ibrahim. In late April 2020, it became clear that the pandemic was not going to be short-lived, and our theatre began to seriously consider cancelling the last two productions of the 2019–2020 season. We decided that we needed to begin thinking about how to create work that would live between the live theatre stage and the virtual realm. One thing was clear, we, Marin Theatre Company, would continue to produce work that was new and of the moment, centered the voice of its originator, and responded to the concerns of our communities. I reached out to actor/creator/writer Denmo Ibrahim to ask if she had projects she could envision for our upcoming virtual season if live theatre proved to be impossible. Denmo met me for a drink and conversation in a restaurant parking lot and pitched me ideas. The one that immediately grabbed my interest was a project in which patrons would interact with short films about first-generation families and mental health issues of Middle Eastern immigrants and their children. I asked Denmo if there was a way to conceive of some part of this experience occurring with the character live on stage—the first film perhaps? Denmo said “Absolutely.” And we were off. Since that first conversation the production has taken on more characters, shifted in story, and evolved into so much more than a play. The live component is greatly expanded, the filmed scenes

397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941-2885 415.388.5200 | info@marintheatre.org marintheatre.org Jasson Minadakis Artistic Director Meredith Suttles Managing Director Nakissa Etemad Associate Artistic Director marintheatrecompany @marintheatreco marintheatre

have become small movies unto themselves, and interactive digital choice components have been incorporated into the experience. The project went from Denmo and I sitting at a table to two production companies working together to create something that, quite frankly, none of us have ever produced before, and I can promise, you haven’t seen. A wholly unique experience. This is the third digitally delivered production we have created in the past year. I could not be more proud of our amazing Staff and Board of Directors. Everyone has worked beyond expectations and have made sure our company is thriving and strong. And now, as we begin to slowly open the country, our state, and our county, we are looking to the Fall with great excitement as we prepare to reopen our beloved Boyer Theater for the West Coast Premiere of Adam Rapp’s riveting Broadway thriller The Sound Inside. We will be offering a video version of our production for audiences who face any concerns in returning to the theatre, but we hope to see you all in person in September. And we are putting together a new season of plays for 2022, including one chosen by our new Associate Artistic Director Nakissa Etemad. Working to build the organization that we need to be in moving forward will be our new Managing Director Meredith Suttles. Meredith joins us from TheaterWorksUSA in NYC and is already putting plans in place for our new administrative team. Meredith, Nakissa and more new, amazing people will be here for you to meet when we all come together again in the Fall. Don’t miss our final show of 2021, the world premiere of Georgiana & Kitty—the final installment in Lauren M. Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s Christmas at Pemberley series. But now, welcome to the unparalleled world of Brilliant Mind!

Jasson Minadakis, Artistic Director

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Fred W. Taylor President Barbara Morrison Vice President John Chesley Secretary Buffington Miller Treasurer Aldo Billingslea Kipp Delbyck William Felch Wendy Feng Marti Grimminck

Denmo Ibrahim Vera Meislin Christian Mills Kathryn Olson Matthew Purdon

Robert Reynolds Stacy Scott Robert Shoffner

FROM THE FOUNDERS OF STORYKRAPHT Why would anyone start a company in the midst of a global pandemic? When the theatre industry as we knew it collapsed overnight in March 2020, many artists did what they’ve always done. They innovated. We began questioning. What is theatre now? What kind of encounters do we long to create and experience? Can theatre transcend into another medium? The time was now. We turned our curiosity toward a new theatrical experiment, invigorated yet unsure of what the work would bring. Storykrapht was born out of that brave space to disrupt live theatre in digital landscapes. We took so many risks in developing the pilot of Brilliant Mind—a world full of fragmentation, branching narratives, and layered mediums. The result was a live show, a digital experience and interactive moments built in. Re-imagining the stage for a digital age has meant breaking into a new kind of storytelling. In discovering the rules of our world, we wanted to explore how story intersects with technology in ways that not only deliver the medium but become part of the message. Partnering with Marin Theatre Company at such a critical moment in history to create this bold new work is a testament to the resiliency of theatre. We are so thrilled to have you join us on this ride! And there is so much more to come. Welcome to the very first production of Brilliant Mind and a one-of-a-kind, wholly new, theatrical experience. As with all good things, let this only be the beginning.

Denmo Ibrahim Founder & Artistic Director

Marti Wigder Grimminck Founder & Executive Director

THE LEGACY OF NOW by Playwright Denmo Ibrahim When I began writing the story that would become Brilliant Mind, I knew three things. It was about a man named Yusef. This man struggles with mental health issues. He transforms through his father’s death. Then, a month later, my father—a person I had only met a few times—died, and my life changed. I put the play aside, flew to Los Angeles to meet my brother, and attended to a swirl of details regarding a stranger—his house, his family, his funeral. It was a rabbit hole of discoveries. When I came back home, I had a newfound perspective on this story I began writing. Could this be an incredibly personal project that also reflected a larger narrative about the firstgeneration experience in the Arab diaspora? Could I pick apart choice from chance? I did a series of one-on-one interviews with Arab-Americans from Egypt, Palestine, and Lebanon, and listened to their stories. One was of a woman living in San Francisco, born in Oman, and raised in Jordan who discovered she was actually Palestinian while on a bus to Jerusalem. The passengers pressed her, “How are you Jordanian if your mother and father were born in Palestine?” She responded, “Well, I’ve never lived in Palestine.” “But you are living the Palestinian experience!” Stories like this one became the heartbeat of Brilliant Mind; a fabric of culture displaced and replaced, a living affirmation of one’s complicated relationship to family. It’s important to note that one of these stories is unraveling in this very moment as you sit down to watch Brilliant Mind. It’s been 73 years since the Palestinian Nakba—Arabic for “catastrophe”—when nearly 750,000 Palestinians were displaced and countless others were killed. Today, we are witnessing a continuation of that catastrophe; Indigenous peoples are being forcibly evicted from their homes, their neighborhoods turned into piles of rubble in brutal bombings. Parents are left without their children. Children are left without their parents. In the face of this immense loss, where does the will to continue come from? In Brilliant Mind, Samir provides a comforting answer to this question: “It’s in the blood.” In Palestine, in America, in any land where injustice takes root, we the children are part of a first generation. We live with one foot in two worlds at all times, and where our parents failed, we strive to succeed. I believe their struggle ignites in us a new fight, a new passion, a vulnerability, a light that we will pass on to our children and their children. Brilliant Mind is a love letter to this rich lineage, and an acknowledgement of the legacy each of us leaves for generations to come.

To those who were part of my research and shared their journey with me: Najla Said, Pia Haddad, Maya Nazzal, Emil Mouhanna, Malek Najjar, Nancy Fawson, Sharif Ibrahim, Suhad Khatib, Christine Johnston, Ramzi Salti, Arzak Mobarak, Renda Dabit, Rose Syriani, Nora El Samahy, Fatimah Muhammad, Abdalla and Abdulrahman Fayed—my deep gratitude. To Gilbert Chamaa and Zeina Salame who offered so much of their own history, insights and life experience in the early stages, thank you. I am so grateful to you all.

Created and Written by Denmo Ibrahim A Live & Interactive Digital Premiere Co-Produced by Marin Theatre Company & Storykrapht | Originating Production

CAST Dina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yusef. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Samir. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hala. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Denmo Ibrahim* Ramiz Monsef*+ Kal Naga, AKA Khaled Abol Naga* Torange Yeghiazarian

CREATIVE TEAM Digital & Interactive Design. . . . . . . . . . . . Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Play Dramaturgy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cultural Dramaturgy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Story Contribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Composition & Sound Design. . . . . . . . . . Costume Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cinematography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Narrative Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Marti Wigder Grimminck Kate Bergstrom Johanna Frank Ahmed Ashour Gilbert Chamaa and Zeina Salame Nihan Yesil Maya Nazzal Matthew Boyd Corwin Evans Christopher Morrison Christina Hogan*

Executive Producer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Producers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Associate Producer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Storykrapht Marti Wigder Grimminck, SK and Nakissa Etemad, MTC Rachel Head

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association. This theater operates under an agreement with Actors’ Equity Assoc., the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Appears courtesy of SAG-AFTRA, the Screen Actors Guild of America.

PRODUCTION TEAM Film Production Advisor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Full Stack Interactive Programmer. . . . . Full Stack Javascript Programmer . . . . . Full Stack Javascript Programmer . . . . . Interactive Mobile Programmer. . . . . . . . Digital & Interactive Assistant. . . . . . . . . . Film Sound Engineer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Film COVID Supervisor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Film Script Supervisor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gaffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Animation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Color Correction & Editing. . . . . . . . . . . . . Dialogue Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graphic Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Research Assistants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Enoch Chan Faouzi Ghodbane Amine Karoui Fatma Karoui Jaiden Grimminck Minjun Kim Miguel Pena William Stafford Mayou Roffe Marc Lenahan Camille Cherchi Elizaveta Gorshkova John Jenkins Sean O’Leary, Andy Hodge Penelope Gould, Hanna Margulies and Ariella Wolfe

Director of Production, MTC. . . . . . . . . . . Technical Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Production Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Board Operator & Lead Electrician. . . . . Infection Control Specialist. . . . . . . . . . . . Medical Consultant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sara Huddleston Jeff Klein Brigid Ridge Krys Swan Jessica Parsons Dr. Steven Fugaro

This production was made possible through the generous support of Venturous Theater Fund, a fund of the Tides Foundation, and the National New Play Network 2021 Bridge Program.

INTERVIEW WITH CREATIVE TEAM MEMBERS OF

Just after wrapping up shooting for the filmed aspects of Brilliant Mind, MTC sat down with Creator & Writer Denmo Ibrahim, Digital & Interactive Designer Marti Wigder Grimminck, and Director Kate Bergstrom to discuss this new and exciting work. MTC: Congratulations on wrapping up shooting for Brilliant Mind!

MARTI: This digital space—which includes everyday go-to’s like WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, Zoom—has become a sixth sense through which we experience the world. We see Brilliant Mind’s use of the digital as more than just a delivery format; it is an expansion of the possibilities of how we tell and experience stories in our current day and age. It allows for new kinds of stories to be told; stories that were impossible to tell before. This is the future of theatre and film.

DENMO: What a feat! We shot 67 pages in 5 days! Apparently that’s unheard of—I’m so glad no one told me. Now, on to the live and interactive elements of the piece—the work is far from done. MTC: What inspired you to tell the story of Brilliant Mind in this new way—a melding of live theater with film and interactive technology?

MTC: Can you give us an idea of how that works in practice in Brilliant Mind?

DENMO: When the pandemic hit, theatre collapsed. Many artists moved into this digital space and began exploring their craft within it. For us, that exploration came in the form of Storykrapht and Brilliant Mind. It was a project made in response to the questions: What is theatre in a digital age? How can we recreate that ephemeral quality that is unique to live theatre?

DENMO: There is one live actor performing in real-time but it’s not a solo show. It is a family drama. We experience the world through film, texts and live performance all confined to a digital stage—making the live so precious. After a year of so much loss, it felt like a powerful way to explore connection and disconnection, and the fleeting moments of life.

MTC: What do you want people to know about Brilliant Mind?

MTC: What was the process like blending so many mediums into one theatrical show?

KATE: The story at its core is about family; how difficult it is to consider and construct, how it is an active verb. That resonates with me as an American living in a deeply divided nation—and not just a binarily divided nation, but a nation that champions rugged individualism. How do we value our togetherness, and how do we value each other and the connective tissue between us as we seek to make meaning of our existence? Denmo is really writing into that question in Brilliant Mind.

MARTI: Our creative team is based in 5 continents and 7 countries. We’ve been working collaboratively and remotely for many months to craft this show that coalesces multiple mediums into one overall experience. Which means many of us needed to be able to work across different mediums at the same time. KATE: As the story director, I’ve been focused on pulling out the core thread of the narrative across mediums; a story of two siblings saying goodbye to their father in the liminal space between his life and his death. Directing the film and the live component meant keeping my eye on the spine of the story like a hawk as it fragments.

DENMO: For me, the piece is a meditation on intersectionality and the spaces between belonging // not belonging, culture // identity, love // loss, self // family, roles // rules. Not as opposing forces but as currents that sometimes arrive at the same time. These hyphens feel representative of the first generation Experience. In some ways, I wonder if we are all part of a first generation. The first generation to go to college, the first generation to move away from home, the first generation to be an artist, the first generation with privilege, the first generation to be openly gay, the first generation to tell the truth, to live our truth, to be willing to stand up for the truth. Being the first in our generation is one way we claim our inheritance. It is our legacy. It is Brilliant Mind.

MARTI: We’re creating a unique storytelling experience befitting the story and its themes from the ground up. My role as digital & interactive designer focuses on the way the story is experienced by audiences— user interfaces, interactive 3D animations, what happens when a viewer clicks a button. DENMO: One central idea that was always important to me was the notion of fragmentation—both in story and technology. It felt essential to the way this piece unfolds. By creating a narrative that branches and fragments, my hope was to get a glimpse into the psyche of the immigrant and first-generation experience.

FROM THE NEW PLAY DRAMATURG OF BRILLIANT MIND

The Process of Play by Johanna Frank

script at this stage was unique; however, I was enticed by the challenge.

What do you do when you’re asked to work one-on-one with a playwright who completed a year’s worth of research, pulled together a team of engineers and creative types to experiment with digital platforms, and explored ways of storytelling that disrupt notions of drama, theatre, film, and 3D design? You say, “Yes!”

We knew the production itself would be unconventional given the digital, interactive design elements; however, our immediate goal was to create a document that looked like a stage play. We needed to solidify character, story, and dialogue, among other elements. In a bold move, I suggested we begin by embracing fragmentation as a method to free the act of writing from our expectations of drama and as a means to think about storytelling. I suggested this might offer a way to explore character more fully and to discover the central story that had yet to emerge.

Engaging with Denmo Ibrahim at the play development phase of Brilliant Mind was an immersive collaboration. When I joined the project, three months before the show’s opening, she had several key documents— flow charts, story maps, characters boards, interactive frameworks—but no script. From a dramaturgical standpoint, developing the

We worked day and night over several weeks in what became an intense and condensed play development period. By encouraging Denmo to write fragments of text that were out of time, she had an opportunity to examine her ideas and write prolifically before committing to a script: what characters wanted or needed to say, when a space of action—a hospital in Palestine in the 1960s or a cemetery in L.A. in the present—could be a defining element, or how the blurry lines between memory, nostalgia, fantasy, and reality might shape the way we experience life and inform the choices we make. Director Kate Bergstrom and actors Ramiz Monsef and Denmo Ibrahim during filming in the parking lot of MTC in April 2021

I encouraged more play with place, time, character, and action. She continued to

real-time performance, film, 3D animation, and multimedia. Being a part of this process was pure joy.

explore the spaces between life, death, and the afterlife. I shared some of my favorite moments of non-realism: the Stage Manager in Our Town who breaks the fourth wall, the structure of The Colored Museum that challenges how we consume stories of historical trauma, Harper’s encounter with a life-size diorama in the Morman Visitor Center in Angels in America, and René Gallimard’s manipulation of storytelling in M. Butterfly. She continued to write and write.

Johanna Frank is a scholar of modern drama and contemporary performance. She is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.

It was exciting to work this way, but risky. We were under a tight deadline, writing and revising daily, and exchanging documents with new material faster than I could track. Yet this process led to incredible discoveries about the deepest needs of each character and the function of the story itself. Writing in this way was well worth the risk. The script emerged and became a core component of Brilliant Mind, which now exists beyond the theatrical stage and brings together

RE-MEMBERING OUR PASTS: DENMO IBRAHIM’S THEATRE by Michael Malek Najjar Losing our parents is a painful transition for all of us, and it is especially so when we are estranged or in conflict with them. With our parents goes all the knowledge they carried with them from the old country— the embodied knowledge of language, culture, experience—the very essence of what made them who they were, and what makes us distanced from our roots. Their loss is not just personal; it is a cultural loss that separates us from the ancestral homeland they left behind. Over time, we begin to search for records pertaining to our grandparents’ and parents’ immigration to this country, the various ways they found to survive in an often-hostile land, the work they embarked upon to find success, and the factors that led to their becoming the people we knew, loved, and sometimes disliked.

“Where I come from, stories come from the mouth.” —Picture Lady, Ecstasy:

A Water Fable by Denmo Ibrahim

All of Denmo’s plays deal with a melancholia for those with whom we cannot seem to connect. In her play Ecstasy: A Water Fable, the character Picture Lady says, “Where I come from story comes from mouth. In this way, we have kept our traditions. We have preserved our history. We have re-membered our lives.” Her characters are always in the act of “re-membering,” or attempting to put back together that which was dis-membered by time, geography, and distance. Denmo asks in the preface, “Where do you come from? What do you remember? Is that your story or theirs? How can you ever really tell? We have been

OF TRANSFORMATION between an American-born daughter and the memory of her estranged Egyptian immigrant father who failed to adjust to the New York City life.” (pub. Annals of the Faculty of Arts, Ain Shams University, 44, Jan.–Mar. 2016)

preceded by a great lineage of teachers who love us. They have not forgotten us even if we have forgotten them.” Through a tri-part structure that follows the journeys of Picture Lady, Mona, and a mysterious figure named only Pipeman, Denmo creates a mosaic of searching, longing, and redemption. When Picture Lady and Mona are finally reunited, we realize that they are an estranged mother and daughter. As she holds Mona, Picture Lady says, “Yes. Yes. She loves me. She speaks to me. She is real.”

This attests to Denmo’s artistic strengths both as a writer and as an actress. In her performance of Baba, she was able to embody the character so fully that the audience made the theatrical leap of imagination believing that he was indeed before them.

Likewise, in her play Baba (which Denmo wrote and performed herself), the father, Mohammed, is in a process of forgetting his present while attempting to remember his past. After losing their child, his marriage falls apart and he finds himself desperate to abscond with his daughter Layla back to his native Egypt. Mohammed wanted the so-called “American Dream,” but after living and working here, he says, “Being here, something changed.” Over time he lost himself, his marriage, and his daughter. As Hala Sayed states in her paper “The Power of Transformation in Denmo Ibrahim’s BABA: A One Woman Show Journey into Family, Faith and Freedom”:

In her latest play Brilliant Mind, the characters Dina and Yusef spend their time trying to re-member their fractured past. The notion of memories, remembering past events, and reconciling shared memories is a prominent feature in all of Denmo’s works. She is searching for the bridge between the experiences of the immigrants and their American-born children. Our parents arrived in North America with great dreams, hopes, and ambitions. They left behind their native lands because they realized there was no great future there, no ability to become what they envisioned themselves to be. And so they came on ships and planes, often with nothing of value and with no where to go. And so it is with Samir Abbas Yusef El Musri and his wife Hala, yet Samir claims he never wanted to come to the United States because it was not his dream to do so. Like many immigrants, Samir and Hala came to the new land of opportunity, built a life for

“She used the transformative power of her body and relied upon gesture and movement to perform a play that covers thirty years and two continents and tells the story of both love and forgiveness

continued

The difficulty of letting go of our parents, no matter how loving or fraught our relationship with them was, humbles us all. With retrospect we understand more about why they did what they did, and how they became the people they were. Later, as we become parents ourselves, we also discover that some of the very things we might have resented our parents for, are the bitter compromises life forced them to make.

themselves, had their beautiful children and, gradually, lost themselves in the process. In Samir’s absence, it is up to Dina and Yusef to remember the time they had with him as children, the time they lost while they were estranged, and the feelings they carry within themselves. In Samir’s home, all that remains are memories of a lost homeland, renditions of Fairuz’s music, and weathered copies of books by Taha Hussein. Dina and Yusef must decide what to do with Samir’s possessions, and how to reconcile their complicated emotions regarding their distant father. In the preface to Brilliant Mind, Denmo writes,

The transformative parent-child relationships Denmo creates in her plays are ones that remind us that we are part of something greater than ourselves, that we are vulnerable to the same mistakes raising our own children, and that it is incumbent upon us to find forgiveness within ourselves for the wrongs our parents may have committed. After so much grief and pain, Dina is finally able to put into words the relationship with her father that grieved her for so long. “You never really know the battles someone is facing, what they’re up against,” she says. “I think my father didn’t have an easy life. But the truth is… he did the best he could. The rest is up to us.” As we move forward in our lives after these painful losses, there could be no truer words spoken.

“This is a story about hope and unconditional love, about the ways we hide from the people we love most. It’s about what gets lost in translation and the weight of carrying a legacy. Family. They are our blood, our history, our worry, our joy, our headache, our kin, our likeness. They circle our anticipations, our celebrations, our loss. And in loss, what loss…”

Michael Malek Najjar (PhD, MFA) is an Associate Professor of Theatre Arts with the University of Oregon and the author and editor of several books on Arab American drama. He directed Ibrahim’s first play Ecstasy: A Water Fable in 2014 at U. of Oregon, and has directed plays with Silk Road Rising, Golden Thread Productions, and New Arab American Theatre Works.

FAMILY PHOTOS Brilliant Mind is inspired in part by stories of immigrants and first-generation Americans from the Middle East.

THE IBRAHIM FAMILY IN THE 1970s.

TORANGE YEGHIAZARIAN IN IRAN, 1972; IN MASS., 1980.

KAL NAGA IN EGYPT, 1970s.

THE EL MUSRI FAMILY IMMIGRATION ROUTE (1984)

4 NEW YORK CITY, NY, USA

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA 5 6 FREMONT, CA, USA

TOTAL DISTANCE TRAVELED: 8217 MILES (13224 KM) IN 3 DAYS

Where do Samir and the El Musri Family Come From?

individuals based in Egypt to seek better employment opportunities and wages elsewhere in the region. Finding value in this “opening” and seeking to utilize it, Samir’s parents moved to Cairo, Egypt where they had their son. Samir’s parents then applied to jobs “everywhere” during their time in Egypt, and while he did not necessarily find a job in the Gulf, Samir’s father was able to secure a faculty position at the University of Beirut in Beirut, Lebanon. The El Musri family would move there before the Lebanese Civil War erupted in 1975 after Christian gunmen ambush a bus carrying Palestinians in southern Beirut. A “Green Line” frontline divides Beirut into Christian East and Muslim West. (The war continues until 1990 when The Vatican arranges a ceasefire.)

The character of Samir El Musri in Brilliant Mind comes from a rich and diverse cultural background that tests the definition of the first-generation experience. In the play, Samir says that he was born in Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt to Palestinian parents who moved there from the West Bank of Palestine after its occupation in the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli war. At the time, oil-producing Arab states (such as those in the Gulf) were heavily hiring individuals based in Egypt. This was facilitated by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s massive liberalization of the Egyptian economy—the Infitah, or “the opening”—following Egypt’s defeat in the Six-Day War. As part of this shift, President Sadat recognized emigration as a citizen’s right, lifting all restrictions on cross-border mobility in 1971. This allowed

Samir meets Hala in Beirut during the Civil War, where they have their first child, Yusef, in 1979. They continue to live in Beirut until March of 1984, when the family decides to move to the U.S. After a three-day journey through three countries and across the U.S., they settle in Fremont, CA where their daughter Dina is born in June.

AUSTRIA 3

CYPRUS 2

Eids in Islam

1 BEIRUT, LEBANON

however, remains unmoved and informs Ismail, who is willing to be sacrificed. But, just as Ibrahim attempts to kill his son, God intervenes and a ram is sacrificed in place of Ismail. During Eid al-Adha, Muslims slaughter an animal to remember Ibrahim’s sacrifice and remind themselves of the need to submit to the will of God.

Eid literally means a “festival” or “feast” in Arabic. There are two major Eids in the Islamic calendar—Eid al-Fitr, celebrated in the ninth month of the lunar calendar, and Eid al-Adha, on the tenth day of the twelfth and most sacred month of the year.

In many countries with large Muslim populations, Eids are a national holiday. Schools, offices and businesses are closed so family, friends and neighbors can enjoy the celebrations together. In non-majority Muslim countries like the U.S. and the U.K., Muslims may request to have the day off from school or work to travel or celebrate with family and friends.

Eid al-Fitr means “the feast of breaking the fast.” The fast, in this instance, is the holy month of Ramadan, which recalls the revealing of the Quran to Prophet Muhammad and requires Muslims to fast from dawn to sundown for the month. The second Eid, Eid al-Adha (which is referred to in Brilliant Mind), is the “feast of the sacrifice.” It comes at the end of the Hajj, an annual pilgrimage by millions of Muslims to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia that is obligatory once in a lifetime, but only for those with means. Eid al-Adha recalls the story of how God commanded Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail as a test of faith. The story, as narrated in the Quran, describes Satan’s attempt to tempt Ibrahim so he would disobey God’s command. Ibrahim,

Eid marks a time of family gatherings and merry-making around the world. It involves cooking and eating many authentic dishes and delicacies. For Egyptians especially, the food most commonly associated with the celebration is kah’k, which are nut- or datefilled cookies covered in powdered sugar. Other Eid traditions include wearing brandnew outfits for the occasion, as well as gifting children with money (called “Eidiya”).

FROM THE CULTURAL DRAMATURG OF BRILLIANT MIND In this series of short essays, Brilliant Mind’s cultural dramaturg Ahmed Ashour grapples with the fraught nature of the Arab-American identity and reflects on his own mother’s passing.

Overtly Literal and Devastatingly Metaphorical:

REFLECTIONS ON CULTURAL INTERSECTION by Ahmed Ashour

n Brilliant Mind, Samir, Dina and Yusef’s charming father, decries the lack of an intersection between Arab culture and American culture. Unfortunately, where America has historically failed to find an intersection between two things, it forcibly created one. Thus was born the cultural intersection of Arab-American: part Arab, part American, but never fully one or the other. On one hand, Arab-Americans have been racialized as “Other” for decades—dating back to increased political tensions between the U.S. and the Arab world following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. This racialization reached new heights post-9/11 in the form of the USA

is successful in her own right. We see it in their father Samir’s attempts at making sense of his life in death, overcoming his own shame and anger in the process. We see it in this production’s bold format—a story told through mixed media, through fragmentation, through piecing together what once was and making something that speaks to the here and now.

Patriot Act and Countering Violent Extremism protocols, then mutated into blanket policies like the Muslim bans that rippled across the globe in 2017. On the other hand, Arab viability in America has always been predicated on complete and unconditional assimilation. The U.S. Census Bureau continues to situate the Arab-American community within the “white” category, leaving it with no standing amidst global majority cultures to articulate its concerns about discrimination, while simultaneously distancing it from those cultures.

_______________________________

“Death of a Parent” “DEATH OF A PARENT” “Death of a Parent” And so, Arab-Americans have been ".‫ ﻣﺎﻣﺎ ﺣﺎﻟﺗﮭﺎ ﺗدھورت‬.‫ ﻻزم ﺗﺳﺎﻓر ﻣﺻر دﻟوﻗﺗﻲ‬،‫"أﺣﻣد‬ relegated to an ambiguous state of what [“Ahmed, you fly to Egypt immediately. Mom’s not".doing ‫ﺗدھورت‬so ‫ﻟﺗﮭﺎ‬well.”] ‫ ﻣﺎﻣﺎ ﺣﺎ‬.‫دﻟوﻗﺗﻲ‬ Palestinian-American poet and scholar Lisa [“Ahmed, you flyyou toflyEgypt immediately. Suhair Majaj calls “honorary whiteness:” [“Ahmed, to Egypt immediately. Mom’s n a provisional entry into American white Mom’s not doing so well.”] society in all its privileges, but nonetheless ****************** an easily rescinded one at moments of crisis One evening in August of 2016, I received ****************** or convenience. Part Arab, part American— the above text message "...‫ون‬from ‫راﺟﻌ‬my ‫ﻟﯾﮫ‬sister, ‫ وإﻧﺎ إ‬Y ‫"إﻧﺎ‬ on the borderland between the two—but Dina. My mother’s battle with cancer had [“We belong to God, and to Him we shall return”] never fully one or the other. taken a bad turn, and I was asked—I mean, [“We belong to God, and ordered to get on the first flight from ****************** The cultural intersection then becomes Providence, RI to Cairo, Egypt and be with ****************** an unstable space for its inhabitants. The her in her final moments. Inconvenient, I "،on ‫ﻼﻣﺔ‬short ‫ﻋﺎﻟﺳ‬notice. Y‫"اﻟﺣﻣد‬ source of an overtly literal and devastatingly thought. I despise packing metaphorical existential crisis. Who are we in Suitcases, in a sudden act of cruelty, refuse this space? How do we take care of ourselves, to fit all the things you need: clothes, grief, physically and mentally? How do we raise socks, trauma, shoes. You aggressively children in this space? Do we raise them as shove things in, knowing that something will this…or that? How can we do right by them? have to be abandoned. No. Packing didn’t feel right. Instead, I put on a pair of pants, We see this crisis manifest in Brilliant called an Uber, and went to the Providence Place Mall—the largest carpeted mall in Mind and the Arab-American experience it New England, and the pinnacle of American draws on. We see it in the character Yusef’s cultural normalcy. internalization of a stigma around his own mental health, despite the fact that his At that moment, I refused to accept the reality geographical context largely champions that I would be leaving a state of comfortable it. We see it in his sister Dina’s resentment American-ness for a state of agitated Arabtowards her brother because of their ness. As a queer Muslim of Egyptian heritage different upbringings—even though she

". to Him

I still had a 7-hour flight ahead of me, which meant I would miss most of these burial rituals. Frankly, I was relieved. This was the same person who deflected shock with a trip to the mall, after all. I still felt the need to do something. I found a recent photo of my mother, Maha, on my phone. She was thinner than I remembered—the aftermath of a battle between grueling chemotherapy and obesity. Nonetheless, she looked beautiful in a patterned grey gown and hijab to match. Perfect. I ran to the bathroom, practiced ablution (wudu) in a stall by looking up a YouTube video, and settled down in a chair at my next gate. I said two of maybe four prayers that I know, then took to Instagram to post the picture with a eulogy as a caption. How very American. A eulogy in a makeshift virtual Instagram funeral.

growing up in Bahrain, I had worked hard to leave Arab-ness behind and live a “fuller” life in America. Call it the American Dream. Freedom. My Big Fat Queer Wedding. Between those two cultures, however, I never saw an in-between, a hyphen, a cultural intersection, rent” an Arab-American. It had to be this or that. And I chose that. I wanted to stay in that for as .‫ﮭﺎ ﺗدھورت‬long ‫ﺣﺎﻟﺗ‬as‫ﻣﺎ‬I‫ﻣﺎ‬could .‫ﻗﺗﻲ‬before ‫ﺻر دﻟو‬making ‫ﺳﺎﻓر ﻣ‬any ‫زم ﺗ‬reluctant ‫ ﻻ‬،‫"أﺣﻣد‬ returns to this. So, I went to the mall, indulged immediately. Mom’s not doing so well.”] in American capitalist culture, and watched Sausage Party on the big screen. Great movie.

****

_______________________________

"...‫ وإﻧﺎ إﻟﯾﮫ راﺟﻌون‬Y ‫"إﻧﺎ‬ ong to [“We God,belong and totoGod, Him we shall and to Him wereturn”] shall

****

return.”] I opened my Facebook timeline to this status update—again, courtesy "،‫ﺳﻼﻣﺔ‬of‫ﺎﻟ‬my ‫ ﻋ‬Ysister ‫"اﻟﺣﻣد‬ Dina—when I landed in Zurich on my way to Cairo. An Arabic prayer that signifies death. Fantastic. It is not lost on me that I received the news of my mother’s passing in an airport—a place synonymous with the word “goodbye.”

When cultures intersect, new vocabularies emerge that allow for nuanced experiences to find visibility–experiences of gender, sexuality, ability, class, faith, love, loss, healing, grief, and radical joy. In Brilliant Mind, we see that leveraging of the cultural intersection as a way of affirming existence. We see it in the way the siblings approach delivering a eulogy for their estranged father. We see it in the way Dina values her father’s inheritance and his legacy as a queer Muslim woman. We see it in the way that Samir is able to finally have the family he wanted in death—even if it is through makeshift virtual screens.

In Islam, when a person dies, their body is promptly washed (ghusl) by immediate family members of the same gender and wrapped in a white cloth (kafan). It is then transported to a gravesite for burial and oriented in such a way that the head is facing Mecca (dafan). Finally, the funeral prayer (salat al-janaza) is performed, marking the commencement of three days of mourning. During these days, mourners listen to recitations of the Qur’an, reflect on the life of the departed, and pray for God to have mercy on their soul. No eulogies. No singing. Food is served, because…Arabs. Crying. Praying. Reflecting. Rinse. Repeat.

Where the cultural intersection cannot sustain certain forms of life, it sows the seeds for new forms to grow and thrive. It is in these new forms that we can claim and negotiate our identities as Arabs, as Americans, and as Arab-Americans. _______________________________

Where I packed on short notice for my mother’s funeral, others packed for their and their children’s survival. Where I was able to honor my mother in an airport, others were unable to save a single photo of their loved ones. Where I am occasionally able to access “honorary whiteness” in America, others are not afforded that same luxury.

"،‫ ﻋﺎﻟﺳﻼﻣﺔ‬Y‫"اﻟﺣﻣد‬ SAID THE IMMIGRATION OFFICER UPON MY ARRIVAL IN CAIRO. “THANK GOD FOR YOUR SAFETY.” THANK GOD FOR MY SAFETY.

Which of these is the Arab-American experience? Neither. Too monolithic. Yet, we as Arab-Americans arrive at the borderland together despite our different dialects, customs, religious sects, and experiences. Our nuances then elide with intimacy; for some, that elision is a source of solidarity and empowerment. For others, it is a source of raw, cold data. Easy to watch and to discipline.

_______________________________

“WELCOME TO AMERICA,” SAID THE IMMIGRATION OFFICER UPON MY RETURN TO THE U.S. I HAVE ARRIVED, BUT WHO DO I THANK?

No number of words that I or Denmo write will ever fully encompass cultural intersections and their complexity. However, we both move in this world knowing that cultural intersections are a container for our coincidentally-parallel experiences. We seek to use the specificity of those experiences to create universal resonances. In seeing Brilliant Mind, I hope that you find those resonances with the understanding that what you see is but an infinitely small slice of the cultural intersection between being Arab and being American.

_______________________________

“THE BORDERLAND” Chicana cultural theorist Gloria Anzaldúa defines ethnic borderlands “[as being] physically present wherever two or more cultures edge each other, where people of different cultures occupy the same territory...where the space between two individuals shrinks with intimacy.” Perhaps cultural intersections are more than heady speculations; rather, they are literal ethnic borderlands where spatial awareness becomes critical. I navigate this borderland as a Muslim, queer, Bahraini-Egyptian maleidentifying artist who works in America.

BIOS CAST

he premiered the musical he co-wrote The Unfortunates. New York credits include Eurydice (SecondStage), Betrayed (The Culture Project), and All that I Will Ever Be (New York Theatre Workshop). On TV you may have seen Ramiz on: NCIS, Training Day, SWAT, SEAL Team, Kidding, Shameless, Modern Family, Young Sheldon, and Comedy Central’s The Watchlist. He also is in the film Synchronic. As a writer, Ramiz is a member of the 2019 Geffen Writers Room, and is currently workshopping his newest show, The Ants, at the Ojai Playwrights Conference.

DENMO IBRAHIM* (Dina) Denmo is an award-winning actor and writer based in Brooklyn and San Francisco. Regional credits include Noura (Marin Theatre Company), The Good Book (Berkeley Rep), The Who & The What (Marin Theatre Company), A Thousand Splendid Suns (Seattle Rep, The Old Globe, American Conservatory Theater, Theatre Calgary), and Much Ado About Nothing (California Shakespeare Theatre). She received a San Francisco Bay Area Critics Circle (SFBATCC) Award for Best Featured Actress in The Good Book, Theatre Bay Area Award for Best Featured Actress in I Call My Brothers (Crowded Fire) and Best Original Script and Outstanding Solo Performance for BABA (Alter Theater). Denmo holds an MFA in Lecoq-based Actor-Created Physical Theater from Naropa University and a BFA in Acting from Boston University.

KAL NAGA, AKA KHALED ABOL NAGA* (Samir) Kal Naga is a multi-awardwinning actor, film producer and director from Egypt, with a body of work extending to the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, Africa, and Asia. Based in California since 2017, Kal’s theater credits comprise numerous plays and musicals, including the role of Rafa’a in Noura at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, director of Drowning in Cairo in New Threads at Golden Thread Productions in San Francisco, White Rabbit, Red Rabbit at the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival in Cairo (D-CAF), director and creator of Oliver! In Arabic at the Royal Cultural Center in Jordan, and the BuSSy Monologues 2010 centering taboo but true stories of young women and men from Egypt. Film credits include more than 26 international feature films, including Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (Australia), Out of the

RAMIZ MONSEF*+ (Yusef) Ramiz is a Los Angeles based actor and writer. Regionally he has appeared in Eurydice, Arabian Nights, Fete de la Nuit (Berkeley Rep), The Time of Your Life, The Unfortunates (ACT), Eurydice (Yale Rep), Chad Deity, Glory of the World (Seattle Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville), Archduke (The Mark Taper Forum), Vicuna (The Kirk Douglas), Guards at the Taj, Mysterious Circumstances (The Geffen Playhouse), and seven seasons at The Oregon Shakespeare Festival where

Ordinary; Eyes of a Thief (Palestine); From A to B (UAE); Décor; Villa 69; Microphone; Heliopolis; One-Zero; Agamista; None but That!; Game of Love; Civic Duty (USA); Harb Atalia; Sleepless Nights; and A Citizen, an Informant and a Thief. TV credits include “Messiah” (Netflix), “Vikings” (History), “The Last Post” (BBC), and “Tyrant” (FX). In 2014, Kal set a historical record for winning all Best Actor Awards in Egypt for his roles in Eyes of a Thief and Villa 69, including the Silver Pyramid for Best Actor Award (Cairo International Film Festival); Horus Best Actor Award (Egyptian National Film Festival); and Best Actor Awards from Film Society Festival for Egyptian Cinema and Egyptian Catholic Center for Cinema Festival. Others include Best Actor Award (Alexandria International Film Festival) and Best Actor Award (Paris Biennale of Arab Cinema). An advocate for freedom and justice in his home country of Egypt, Kal served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in Egypt from 2007 to 2015 and played a pivotal role in supporting the Egyptian Revolution of Jan 25th, 2011. Instagram and Twitter: @kalnaga www.kalnaga.com.

and Project Alo? international collaboration. In her capacity as artistic director, Torange co-authored the seminal papers, “Middle Eastern Theatre Artists’ Bill of Rights” and “Dear Producers,” and helped launch the Middle East North African Theater Makers Alliance (MENATMA), the first national organization advocating for the MENA theater community. A playwright, director, and translator, Torange translated a number of contemporary plays from Iran including A Moment of Silence by Mohammad Yaghoubi (winner of Best Play at Toronto Fringe) and The Language of Wild Berries by Naghmeh Samini. Her translation and stage adaptation of Nizami’s “Leyla & Majnun” is published on Gleeditions.com. She has been published in The Drama Review, American Theatre Magazine, Amerasia Journal, and contributed to Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures and Cambridge World Encyclopedia of Stage Actors. Torange received a GerbodeHewlett Playwright Commission Award for Isfahan Blues, a co-production with African American Shakespeare Company, and a commission from the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California to write and direct The Fifth String: Ziryab’s Passage to Cordoba. Her short play, Call Me Mehdi, is included in Salaam. Peace: An Anthology of Middle Eastern-American Drama, TCG, 2009. Torange has been recognized by Theatre Bay Area and is one of Theatre Communication Group’s Legacy Leaders of Color. Born in Iran and of Armenian heritage, Torange holds a Master’s degree in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University.

TORANGE YEGHIAZARIAN (Hala) Torange Yeghiazarian is the Founding Artistic Director of Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company focused on the Middle East where she launched such visionary programs as ReOrient Festival and Forum, New Threads staged reading series, Fairytale Players youth outreach program, and What do the Women Say? showcasing the work of Middle Eastern women artists, and timely initiatives such as Islam 101 to create dynamic new work celebrating Islamic art and philosophy,

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association +Appears courtesy of SAG-AFTRA

CREATIVE TEAM

MARTI WIGDER GRIMMINCK (Digital & Interactive Designer) Marti’s approach to digital design and interactive technology stems from her roots in producing Broadway shows and live entertainment. She has produced international tours for Dame Edna, Barry Humphries: Back To My Roots and Burn The Floor, and originated large-scale events for Dreamworld, RMIT University at Telstra Stadium, Sydney Film Festival, IFP Gotham Awards, and Do Something, among others. Marti is the Founder/CEO of International Connector, a creative agency known for its digital engagement experiences working with companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, Mars, Virgin, Viasat. She designs audiencefocused impact programs that promote youth empowerment, increase access to tech, and elevate women’s voices. Marti is the Executive Director of Storykrapht and holds an interdisciplinary MA from NYU Gallatin through Tisch School of the Arts, ITP, and Stern School of Business. She also holds a BFA in Directing/Acting from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts. She is a keynote speaker featured globally, a jazz singer and the host of the podcast disruptHers and a Senior Fellow for the Atlantic Council GeoTech Center.

DENMO IBRAHIM (Creator & Writer) Denmo is a first-generation Egyptian-American actor and writer. A Sundance Theatre Lab Finalist, the San Francisco Chronicle called her “a tower of strength in the Bay Area theatre scene.” Regional credits include Berkeley Repertory, American Conservatory of Theatre, The Old Globe, Seattle Rep, Marin Theatre Company, and California Shakespeare Theatre. Her devised work has toured international festivals in Egypt, France, and Germany. In the U.S., her work has been supported by New York Theatre Workshop, Under St. Marks, Playwrights’ Center, Noor Theatre, University of Oregon, Golden Thread Productions, EXIT Theater, Alter Theatre, and Zawaya. Her new children’s book Zaynab’s Night of Destiny commissioned by Commonwealth Theatre Center will be released as an audio immersive experience in August 2021. Denmo is the Artistic Director of Storykrapht and a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, Dramatists Guild, and New Play Exchange. She is a founding artistic director of Mugwumpin, a resident artist of Golden Thread, a member of the steering committee of MENATMA (Middle Eastern Theater Makers Alliance), and the founder & CEO of Earthbody Day Spa and Omcali Sacred Skincare. Denmo holds an MFA in Lecoq-based Actor Created Physical Theater from Naropa University and a BFA in Acting from Boston University. Her next writing project is a ten-part historical drama with Audible. www.denmoibrahim.com

KATE BERGSTROM (Director) Kate is an NYC-based, CAborn Artistic Director, culture shaper, and multidisciplinary artist in theatre and video art/immersive narrative work. They are a passionate supporter of new work development of all kinds as a director, dramaturg, creative producer, and audio creator. Their work has been seen regionally

at Trinity Repertory Company, Marin Theatre Company, Playwrights Center, Cleveland Play House, Curious Theatre Company, Los Angeles Theatre Center with We The Women, Opera San Diego, Music Academy of the West, Redcat, LACMA, and more. In NYC, she has directed new work at Ars Nova, The Bushwick Starr, La Mama and Culture Hub, Rattlestick Theater, New Dramatists, Jack Dixon Place, Access Theatre, and more. They are a proud New Georges Affiliated Artist, Ojai Playwrights Conference Affiliated Artist, and member of the intermedia performance group, h0t club. Kate is also a critic at Rhode Island School of Design and currently a guest lecturer at UC Los Angeles and UC Santa Barbara. As Founding Artistic Director of On The Verge Festival, they develop, produce, and support new work and help develop strategic anti-racist action plans for a number of companies. Central Coast BroadwayWorld.com named them the 2016 Person to Watch + 2017 Best Director. Kate holds an MFA from Brown/Trinity Rep.

AHMED ASHOUR (Cultural Dramaturg) Ahmed is a Bahrain-born, Egypt-grown theatre-maker, writer, and thinker. Brilliant Mind marks Ahmed’s first collaboration with Storykrapht as well as his (virtual) return to Marin Theatre Company after assistant directing last year’s production of Heather Raffo’s Noura. Ahmed is a recipient of the prestigious and highly-selective Crown Prince of Bahrain International Scholarship. His work focuses on creating space for members of the global majority community, especially Arab- and/or Muslim-identifying people, to navigate and intervene in the disciplinary/ surveillance state. Select credits include Yussef El Guindi’s Back of the Throat, Lauren Gunderson’s Natural Shocks (Sock & Buskin), Elwood’s (2018 America Too Festival, Trinity Repertory Company), A Guide to Winning (La Fontaine Centre for Contemporary Art), and Pippin (Ensemble! Theatre). Ahmed also works in multidisciplinary art, most recently collaborating with several international artists on Shrimp Atonement (zFestival unAcademy). He received his BA in Theatre Arts and Performance Studies from Brown University, and currently is a freelancer in Bahrain and internationally.

JOHANNA FRANK (New Play Dramaturg) Johanna is a scholar of drama and literature. She teaches, studies, and writes about modern drama and contemporary performance, particularly through the lenses of feminist, queer, and critical race studies. She received grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, American Society for Theatre Research, Association for Theatre in Higher Education, and the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at the University of Michigan. She is recipient of the Educational Leadership Award and the Alumni Association Excellence in Mentoring Award from the University of Windsor. Johanna is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.

GILBERT CHAMAA (Story Contributor) Gilbert was born in Beirut, Lebanon to Joseph Chamaa, a revered violinist, and Jeannette Chamaa. His lifelong conversations with his father about religion, art, music, and philosophy were the foundations for his view of the world. Gilbert found an outlet in literature and majored in English at University of California at Berkeley

(UMKC Theatre). Her music has been performed in a number of venues, festivals, and artist residencies across the U.S. and Europe. Some of her latest work includes Noura (Marin Theatre Company), Kansas City:1924 (foley editor, Kansas City Actors Theatre, available on Spotify), and Turkish blockbuster Bizim İçin Şampiyon (available on Netflix). Nihan is also the co-founder Bonnob Productions, an endeavor that came to fruition during the pandemic as an offering for children. Bonnob produces audio stories that have an elaborate sound world in multiple languages. Nihan is very happy to be back at Marin Theatre Company for another exciting production.

with a focus on Shakespeare. Due to his multicultural background, Gilbert is fluent in Arabic, French, English, and Spanish, which brings a fresh and insightful understanding to his literary expression. ZEINA SALAME (Story Contributor) Zeina is a director, actor, educator, applied theatre practitioner, and a scholar. A few recent creative collaborations include work with Artists Repertory Theatre’s Mercury Company, the Guthrie Theater’s Level Nine with New Arab American Theater Works, and the National Institute for Directing and Ensemble Creation with Pangea World Theater and Art2Action. Zeina is also a co-founder and artistic team member of Florida-based theatre company, The 5 & Dime. Zeina holds a PhD in Theatre Arts from the University of Oregon. Her dissertation, “Carried In One Woman—Reflections on Arab American Female Solo Performance’’ centers on themes of “home” and the creative value of embodied generational knowledge, heritage, and intersectionality in performance aesthetics. Some of her recent writing on theatre has been published on Howlround Theatre Commons, Etudes, Al Jadid, and in the Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures.

MAYA NAZZAL (Costume Designer & Stylist) Maya is a PalestinianAmerican actor, producer, and stylist based in Los Angeles. Her work spans feature films, music videos, and regional theater productions. She was head of wardrobe for Plastico, an upcoming Venezuelan feature film. Favorite credits include performing in Marin Theatre Company’s production of Noura, assistant stylist to reggae singer Ziggy Marley, and associate producing the upcoming CNN documentary-series Jerusalem. She earned her BA in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University and trained at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.

NIHAN YESIL (Composer & Sound Designer) Nihan is an award-winning composer, sound designer, and a multimedia artist for film and stage. She started studying classical music at an early age. After her M.M. in Composition (UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance), she received her M.F.A. in Sound Design

MATTHEW BOYD (Cinematographer) Matthew is an award-winning cinematographer based in Oakland and Los Angeles credited with over 12 feature films, more than 30 short films 64 IMDb credits as well as TV and music video work. Boyd earned his BFA in Cinematography

from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Boyd’s recent work includes the dramatic thriller Mine 9, dir. Edward Mensore (Netflix) starring Terry Serpico and Mark Ashworth; Spaceman, dir. Brett Rapkin (Orion Pictures) starring Sterling K. Brown, Josh Duhamel, Ernie Hudson; The Mentor dir. Moez Solis, an Oakland-based indie; and Beautiful Something, dir. Joseph Graham, starring Colman Domingo which premiered at Frameline 39. Critically acclaimed films include Mine 9, winner of Best Feature Film: Drama at Cinequest; The Festival Grand Prize at the Arizona International Film Festival; and Best Feature Film: Thriller, Best Ensemble Cast and Best Director at the Bare Bones International Film Festival. Beautiful Something, The After War, The First Session, Strapped, and Pass the Salt, Please starring Seymour Cassel and Fionnula Flanagan.

NAKISSA ETEMAD (Producer, MTC) Nakissa is an Iranian American dramaturg, producer, and French translator specializing in new BIPOC plays and musicals for over 25 years. In addition to her role as Marin Theatre Company’s Associate Artistic Director, she is a Resident Artist of Golden Thread Productions, Regional VP Metro Bay Area for Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA), and a member of MENA Theater Makers Alliance and the Anti-Racism Task Force of LMDA. Recent dramaturgy includes work with Yussef El Guindi on Hotter Than Egypt (2020 Colorado New Play Summit), Heather Raffo’s Noura (Marin Theatre Company/ Golden Thread), Marcus Gardley’s Play on! commission of King Lear (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), and recent world premiere productions with Marcus Gardley, Lauren Yee, Marisela Treviño Orta, Margo Hall, and Torange Yeghiazarian. She is a frequent collaborator on Golden Thread’s ReOrient Festivals of Short Plays and Bay Area Playwrights Festivals, including plays by Betty Shamieh, Naomi Wallace, Niku Sharei, Katori Hall, and Dustin Chinn. Festival Director for the 5th Annual New America Playwrights Fest, featuring new plays by Lynn Nottage, Naomi Iizuka and Polly Pen (San Jose Rep). Former dramaturg and literary manager of The Wilma Theater, San Jose Rep, and San Diego Repertory Theatre and Exec. VP Freelance of LMDA. Recipient of the 2015 Elliott Hayes Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dramaturgy for The Lark’s four-city premieres of Gardley’s the road weeps, the well runs dry. M.F.A. in Dramaturgy, UC San Diego.

CHRISTOPHER MORRISON (Narrative Designer) Christopher is a multitalented writer/director/ actor who has worked on over 150 films, theatrical productions, virtual reality (VR), video-games, and immersive entertainments on three continents. His feature film The Bellwether was released in 2019. He has been commissioned for multiple feature-length screenplays, television pilots, and plays. He is a narrative designer and head writer for video games including Ary and the Secret of the Seasons. His VR branching narrative, The Werewolf Experience, is currently in production. Cirque du Soleil called him “a huge asset to the creative process.” His production company, Reality+, is based in the U.S. and Europe. www.Realityplus.org

CHRISTINA HOGAN* (Stage Manager) Christina (she/her/hers) is excited to return to Marin Theatre Company. Previously she has worked as the Assistant Director for The Catastrophist and Stage Manager at MTC on Mother of the Maid, Skeleton Crew and The Wolves. Other Stage Management credits include Gloria, Top

Girls, Edward Albee’s Seascape, and Men on Boats at American Conservatory Theatre; In Old Age, The Baltimore Waltz, runboyrun, And I and Silence, and Any Given Day at Magic Theatre; Ripped and Selkie at Z Space; It Can’t Happen Here at Berkeley Repertory Theatre; and A Raisin in the Sun at California Shakespeare Theater. Hogan has a BA in theater arts from Saint Mary’s College of California.

LEADERSHIP

directed The Pillowman; Bug; The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer; Echoes of Another Man; Killer Joe; Burn This; The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?; Blue/ Orange; and Bel Canto. As producing artistic director of Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival, he directed Jesus Hopped the ’A’ Train, Chagrin Falls (2002 Cincinnati Entertainment Award for Best Production), and numerous others, including 19 productions of Shakespeare. Regional credits include The Whipping Man at Virginia Stage Company, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Hamlet at Georgia Shakespeare, Copenhagen at Playhouse on the Square (2003 Ostrander Theatre Award for Best Dramatic Production), and Bedroom Farce at Wayside.

JASSON MINADAKIS (Artistic Director, MTC) Jasson is in his 15th season as artistic director of Marin Theatre Company. Directing credits include the world premiere commission of The Catastrophist, Mother of the Maid, Sovereignty, Oslo, Shakespeare in Love, Thomas and Sally, Guards at the Taj, August: Osage County, The Invisible Hand, Anne Boleyn, The Convert, The Whale, Failure: A Love Story, the world premiere of Lasso of Truth, The Whipping Man (San Francisco Bay Area Critics Circle Awards for Best Production and Best Acting Ensemble), Waiting for Godot, Othello: the Moor of Venice, The Glass Menagerie, Edward Albee’s Tiny Alice, the world premiere of Libby Appel’s adaptation of Chekhov’s Seagull, Happy Now?, Equivocation (SFBATCC Award, Best Director), the world premiere of Sunlight, Lydia, The Seafarer, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, A Streetcar Named Desire, said Saïd, Love Song, and The Subject Tonight is Love. As artistic director of Actor’s Express Theatre Company, he

MEREDITH SUTTLES (Managing Director, MTC) Meredith joined Marin Theatre Company as its new Managing Director this April. Meredith is an arts leader with an extensive background in creative and performing arts in the areas of development, management, strategic planning, fundraising, and performance. She has held senior leadership roles at TheaterWorksUSA, Soho Repertory Theatre,

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), and the New York City Opera. Meredith is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and former EmcArts: Arts Leaders as Cultural Innovators (ALACI) Fellow. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., a Steering Committee Member of the Black Theatre Commons and currently serves on the Board of Directors of viBe Theater Experience (Brooklyn, NY). As a visionary leader known for her ability to win community support, develop key coalitions and build strong relationships with a shared sense of purpose, she is passionate about devising meaningful ways to address and further the goals of MTC.

Theatre Company believes in taking risks and inspiring people to participate in live theatre, regardless of personal means. MTC celebrates the intellectual curiosity of our community and believes that theatre is an important tool to help build empathy. MTC was founded in 1966 and is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. DENMO IBRAHIM (Artistic Director, Storykrapht) (see Creator bio) MARTI WIGDER GRIMMINCK (Executive Director, Storykrapht) (see Digital Designer bio)

NAKISSA ETEMAD (Associate Artistic Director, MTC) (see Producer bio)

STORYKRAPHT We are Storykrapht, an international production company disrupting live theatre in digital landscapes. Our projects seek to illuminate the human experience. We’re curious about experiments that blur the line between performer and performance, spectator and spectacle. Born in 2020 out of a need to reimagine live theatre in digital landscapes, our projects infuse live performance, interactivity, and film to create shows that are impactful, experiential, and socially conscious. Storykrapht is a women-led artistic partnership of Denmo Ibrahim and Marti Wigder Grimminck. We work internationally to experiment in digital byte-sized encounters and feature-length investigations of the now. www.storykrapht.com

MARIN THEATRE COMPANY Marin Theatre Company is the Bay Area’s premier mid-sized theatre and the leading professional theatre in the North Bay, producing a six-show season focused on new American plays. MTC is committed to the development and production of new plays, with a comprehensive New Play Program that includes productions of world premieres, readings, and workshops by the nation’s best emerging and established playwrights. MTC’s numerous education programs serve more than 4,500 students from over 40 Bay Area schools each year. MTC strives to create intimate, powerful and emotional experiences that engage audiences to discuss new ideas and adopt a broader point of view. Marin

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association

SPECIAL THANKS FOR BRILLIANT MIND Ahmed Al Kuwaiti Atef Ashour Wesley Cabral Michael Dachowski Jenna Deja Mary Diaz Jaleh and Dr. Galen A. Etemad Michael Anthony Ferrell Caitlin Greene and Caitlin Greene Jewelry Tony Grimminck Jaiden Grimminck Peyton Grimminck Wen-Ling Liao Patrick McIntyre Leandro Muñoz Evren Odcikin Parisa Parnian Matthew Purdon Fred and Kathleen Taylor Lanny Walcott and Hannah Pearl Walcott Ari Wigder The Neighbors on Meadow Drive Our mascot Cinnamon and The Staffs and Boards of Marin Theatre Company and Storykrapht

MARIN THEATRE COMPANY STAFF Artistic Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jasson Minadakis Managing Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meredith Suttles Associate Artistic Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nakissa Etemad Playwright in Residence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lauren M. Gunderson* Director of Production. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sara Huddleston Interim Director of Marketing & Communications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jo Manley Box Office Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miranda Raines Interim Development Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bethany Byrd-Hill Grant Writer and Development Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aurélia Fisher Cohen Technical Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeff Klein Education Manager & Resident Teaching Artist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erika March *Supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s National Playwright Residency Program.

MTC ADVISORY BOARD Linden Berry Joseph Bodovitz Jerry Cahill David Catania Diana Gay-Catania Bobbie Chapman Doug Ferguson Gerry Goldsholle Brian Golson Gale Gottlieb Gail Harris

Tracy Haughton Peter Jacobi Kimberly Jessup Dirk Langeveld Lori Lerner Melanie Maier Peter Maier Tina McArthur Iris Metz Kiki Pescatello Andrew Poutiatine

Ivan Poutiatine Chris Raker Laura Scott Dana Shapiro Gary Shapiro Christopher B. Smith Tara Sullivan Kathleen Taylor Jennifer Yang Weeden Phillip Woodward

MTC BOX OFFICE 415.388.5200 x:3323 | boxoffice@marintheatre.org Visit our website to join our email list, learn about our plays, and purchase tickets. marintheatre.org

All images and/or content provided by Marin Theatre Company staff, contractors, and/or creative artists unless otherwise credited. Opinions expressed by contractors, contributors, and/or creative artists do not necessarily reflect the views of Marin Theatre Company. Photo credits are included as provided.

MARIN THEATRE COMPANY INDIVIDUAL DONORS Marin Theatre Company acknowledges the generous support of the following individuals, foundations and corporations whose contributions make our extraordinary theatre productions and education programs possible. To join our family of contributors, receive sponsorship information or if you have questions about your gift, please contact the Development Department at development@marintheatre.org or 415.322.6035. The following gifts were received between July 1, 2020 and May 4, 2021.

PARTNER CIRCLE MTC SUSTAINER | $100,000+ Terry Berkemeier + Lori Lerner Gage Schubert Christopher B. + Jeannie Meg Smith MTC PARTNER | $50,000+ Buffington Miller, Clay Foundation-West Bob + Paula Reynolds Melody Wireless Infrastructure

SEASON PARTNER | $25,000+ David Catania + Diana Gay-Catania John + Shelley Chesley Lauren Gunderson + Nathan Wolfe Barbara + Jim Kautz Kathy King + Gerald Cahill Vera + Ken Meislin Fred + Kathleen Taylor

PRODUCER’S CIRCLE VIP PRODUCER | $15,000+ Lynn Brinton + Dan Cohn Suzanne + Mark Darley Tracy + Brian Haughton Peter + Melanie Maier, The John Brockway Hungtington Fund Ivan Poutiatine Matthew Purdon Stacy Scott + Chuck Ciaccoº Vickie Soulier EXECUTIVE PRODUCER | $10,000+ Anonymous Gene + Neil Barth Gerry Goldsholle + Myra Levensonº Marymor Family Fund Kiki Pescatello

Michael + Jean Strunsky, The Ira and Leonore Gershwin Philanthropic Fund Paul + Sandy Zuber PREMIERE PRODUCER | $5,000+ Anonymous (2) Andrew F. and Ann B. Mathieson Fund Susan + Bill Beech Cheryl + Rick Brandonº Janet Brown Nancy + Gary Carlston Lynne Carmichael Kipp Delbyck Tom Edwards + Rebecca Parlette-Edwards William Jr. + Victoria Felch Wendy Feng + Michael Wall Jill + Steven Fugaro Sandra Hess Dixon Long, The Springcreek Foundation Newton and Rochelle Becker Charitable Trust Bill Helvestineº Barbara Morrison Connie Oclassen Kathryn Olson Priscilla Pittiglio Bob + Donys Powell Robin + Rick Rice Robert K And Barbara Straus Family Foundation Joel + Susan Sklar

PREMIERE SOCIETY CIRCLE ASSOCIATE PRODUCER | $3,000+ Anonymous (1) Aldoº Ms. Gatian Cunningham Susan + Dennis Gilardi Tamisie Honey Arthur + Toni Rembe Rock

Rosenberger Family Fund/ Marin Community Foundation Dr. Samuel Test Diane + Bob Wagner PRODUCER | $1,000+ Anonymous (1) Dr. Kedar Adour Franklin Amster + Andree Jansheski Charles M. + Leslie Anderson Tom + Lois Ashley Lee Aubry Mary Jane Baird Joan Beavin Linden Berry John Bissinger Jr. Adrian + Daniel Blumberg Bobbie + Dave Chapman Ann + Rick Clarke Ron Clyman + Francoise Mauray Erin + David Elliott Leida Schoggen + William Farmer Leland + Susan Faust Seth + Alison Ferguson Alex + Niki Fong Jeff C. Freedman + Marie C. Boylan Karen Fry David Goldman Kenneth + Joan Gosliner Gale Gottlieb Michelle + Norm Groleau Anita Hagopian Karen Haydock Susan + Russ Holdstein Coreen + Mark Jamison Bob Kaliski + Linda Nelson Kelley Family Charitable Fund Ken and Jackie Broad Family Fund Drs. Douglas + Carol Kerr Fritz & Karen Kieckhefer William Kissinger Lawrence + Stephanie Krames Duff Kurland + Carol Nusinow Kurland Dirk + Madeleine Langeveld Stephen + Gail Lazarus Judy Leash Cheryl Longinotti + Victoria H. Newton Garrett Loube + Marica Rodgers Scott MacLeod + Linda Kislingbury David Madfes Diane Martin Christine + Steve Maxwell

Dr. William + Janet McAllister Tina + Richard McArthur Mary + Steve Mizroch Stephanie Moulton-Peters + Roger Peters Harry Murphy + Deborah Gilden Norton Belknap Family Fund Nancy + Richard Robbins Chris + Jamie Norlander Diane Paul Mark + Mauree Jane Perry Drs. Janice + James Prochaska Suzanna G. Pollak Michael + Hailey Poutiatine Gordon Radley Thomas + Jill Sampson Eric Schwartz + Magda Wesslund Betty + Jack Schafer Laura + Michael Scott Diana + Richard Shore Dr. P.R. Silver Stollmeyer Family Fund Victoria Talkington Beverly Tanner + Jerry Herman Will + Leslie Thompson Sara Waugh + Micah Chockleyº Vic Woo + Phil Brewer Wendy Wyse Susan York

FRIENDS OF MTC CIRCLE CONTRIBUTOR | $500+ Anonymous (1) Drs. Paul + Geraldine Alpert Robert Anderson + Lois Stevens Carl + Fumiko Bielefeldt Nick + Joan Boodrookas Jack + Ute Brandon Josh Brier + Grace Alexander Jerry Cahill + Kathy King Bill Cain Kerry Campbell Dr. Paula Campbell Richard + Veronica Charvat Elizabeth Cook Carl Duisberg + Laura Lindskog Steve + Sharon Edelman Judith + Philip Erdberg Ben + Boriana Fackler Larry Fahn Linda Graham

Mary Ann Griller Robert L Hall Dr. Sheryl Hausman + Jack Maslow Brian + Jocelyn Herndon Lori Horne Grace Hughes + John Levinson Chris Hurwitz Cheryl + Jeffrey Hylton Howard + Elisabeth Jaffe The John L. Levinsohn Fund Sally Jones Muriel B. Kaplan Julie Kaufman + Doug Klein Susan Kolb Harriet + Tom Kostic, Kostic Family Fund The Leo J. & Celia Carlin Fund Kathleen + John Leones Peter + Melanie Maier William + Christney McGlashan Nancy + David Medford Debbie Mills Jeff + Sue Mulvihill Bart + Barb O’Brien Tony Origlio + Kip Vanderbilt John S. Osterweis Philanthropic Fund Barbara Paschke + David Volpendesta Susan + Jon Peck Peirce Family Fund Phil Kurjan Fund Joel and Carol Solomon Family Fund Steven + Marianne Porter Russell + Joan Pratt Hector Richards Deborah L. Robbins + Henry Navas Jean B. Chan + Ken Ross Mark + Tobi Rubin Toby + Robert Rubin Laurel Schaefer-Trent + Thomas Trent Ellen + Donald Schell Kurt Schindler Leida Schoggen + William Farmer Valerie Stoll Schwimmer Kate Sears Marsha Silberstein John Simpson Shelagh Smith Martha + Jonathan Smolen Stephanie Splane Daniel Stein Roger A. Stoll Tara J. Sullivan Mr. Tangri + Ms. Durie, Durie Tangri LLP Kathleen Thompson Hugh Vincent

Olivia Warneckeº Elizabeth Werter + Henry Trevor Wilder Family Charitable Trust James + Beth Wintersteen Julie + Tony Zanze FRIEND | $100+ Anonymous (23) Helen + Thomas Anawal Joseph + Gail Angiulo Ellen + Ron Arenson Nina Auerbach Mr. & Mrs. Fabio + Ann Aversa Barbara + Larry Babow Nancy Barash Elaine Baskin Marilyn + David Baum Michele + David Benjamin Robert + Wendy Bergman Frank + Lee Battat Margaret Bettner Erik Bielefeldt Betsy + Dan Bikle Jeanette Binstock Steve Bischoff Mary Lee Blake Annette Blanchard Stacy + Nancy Bloom David + Rosalind Bloom Philanthropic Fund Richard Bottega Bob Bowen + Linda Crouse Felix Braendel Carrie Brandon Bromley Carson Fund Dan + Hongjun Zheng Breiner Helen Bruner Wayne + Marion Bulette Julio Burroughs Marcus + Sara Byruck Meg + Brian Cabezud Roland + Maria Campopiano Karen J. Carmody Martha Cazenave The Charles and Catherine Wilmoth Family Fund Steven + Karin Chase Taisse Cherry + Jay LaBourene John Christman Judith Ciani Diane + William Clarke Richard + Gretchen Coffey Judith Cohen + Malcolm Gissen Richard Cohn + Barbara Gay

Jacob Coin Cheryl Coles Angela + Django Colombo Naomi Conroy Arthur + Nancy Costa Mariana Poutiatine Cotten Christina Crow Keith Crowell John + Betsey Cutler Drusilla Davis Claire de Chazal Jacqueline + Vincent de Nevers Ralph + Debra Deadwyler Ronald Denchfield Toni + Alan Denmark Molly + Brett Dick Thomas Dicker Paula Diederich Ferenc + Karen Dobronyi Stephanie Douglass Richard + Patricia Dresel Rama Dunayevich, Autodesk Foundation Stuart + Emily Dvorin Carol Dutton-Hollenberg John Eichhorst + Jennifer Blackman Andrew Elkind + Kerry Weiner Patricia Ernsberger Dave Ewart Joseph Faimali + Dorita Decker David Fain + Fran Anderson Veronica Fauntleroy Dr. Warren Farrell + Elizabeth Dowling Jane + Douglas Ferguson Mitchell Field Cheryl Finley + Barry Neal Wendy Fleisher Jennifer + Pat Forbeck Alan Ford Christie Fraser Steven Frei + Linda Tumey Anna Gale Joan Garrett David Gast Mark + Louise Gaumond Willa Gere Rita + Kent Gershengorn Merv + Gail Giacomini Beryl + Dohn Glitz Margot Golding Conie Goldsmith Dr. Tanya + Herbert Goodman Michael + Laurel Gothelf Edward Granger E. M. Granger

Donald + Maryann B. Graulich Mark Green Michelle Green Mark Greenside Gordon + Gini Griffin Linda Groah Patricia Oji Haas Victoria Hagbom Vera + David Hartford Gillian Hayward Charisse + Michael Heath Paul + Janet Heineken May+ Doug Herr Mike Hill Cathryn Hilliard Rachel + Scott Hines Karen Hirsch + Jim Condit Adrienne Hirt + Jeffrey Rodman William + Susan Hoehler Mark + Roberta Hoffman Hilary Honore Barry Hovis Rachael Hunter Matt Jacobson Auban + Bart Jackson Elaine James Mia James Mary + Eddy Janigian Bonnie + Peter Jensen Duane Johnson Sheila-Merle Johnson Janet Josselyn Mike + Cindy Kamm Karen Rae Emerson Charitable Fund Keegan & Coppin Co. Inc. Yvette Keller Dan Kelly Rose Adams Kelly Tamsin Kendall Barbara Kerr Rich + Ursi Klier Garrett Koehn Dennis + Lynda Kostecki Margaret Kyle Adrienne + Garrett Lawrence Judy + Bob Leet Sue Krenek + Sam Penrose Ken Krich + Nancy Leahong Rebecca J. Kurland Sheri + Jerome Langer Mike + Lori Lapinskas Gretchen Leavitt

Mark Lemyre David Lesnini William + Judith Levinson Warren + Barbara Levinson Elliott Liff Sarah Lind Carolyn + David Long Jacqueline Lopez-Wyman Lisa Lund Kate MacLellan Samara + Tania Malik Ruth + Martin Malkin Myrna Margolin Albert Martin + Diana Richmond Jill Hunter Matichak Nelson + Julia Ishiyama + Terrie McDonald Margaret McHugh Karen McLennan Steve + Patricia McMahon Purple Lady/Barbara J. Meislin Fund Dr. William + Roni Mentzer Lois + Bob Meredith Maeve Metzger Roberta + Spencer Michels Herbert Miller + Holly Gadsby Julie Montanari Craig Moody Everett + Julia Moore Susan Morris Jerry Mosher Barry + Jane Moss Margaret Moster Chris + Bonnie Mumford Kelli Murray + Laurence Pulgram Jill Myers Ruth K Nash Lisa Nau Gary Nelson + Kellie Magee Robert Newcomer Laurie Nierenberg + Abraham Weil K. O’Mohundro, N. Handelman Lucienne O’Keefe Carole O’Neil Judith L. O’Rourke Marsha Obannon Betty Obata Jack + Gail Osman Nancy Otto John Palmer Amy Palmer David Pasta Joyce Pavlovsky

Henk Peeters + Nancy Parsons Audrey + Bob Pedrin Lynn Perry Stephen Piatek Zdenkka Pisarev Hal + Mary Plimpton Victoria Pollock-Grasso Lawrence + Erica Posner George + Carol Possin Jack + Jessica Powell Robert + Donys Powell Sarah C. + Henry Pruden Mary Lou Ragghianti Chris Raker Barbara + Dr. Joel Renbaum Susan Reynolds Eddie Reynolds David Robinson Gary Robinson Donna Lee Robinson Elizabeth Muir Robinson Julianne Rohmaller Susan Rosin + Brian Bock Ellen Rothman + Ed Koplowitz Alex + Tinka Ross Pepi Ross Francoise Rothstein Marti Roush Dolores + Fred Rudow Mr. + Mrs. William Ryan Diane + Ed Ryken Renee Rymer Jagrit Sandhu Angelo + Kimberly Salarpi Robert W. Sass Maxine Sattizahn Carol Savio Steven + Joanne Saxe Alan + Wendy Schaevitz Sally + Steve Schroeder Betty Scott Michael + Jane Scurich Bill See Rod + Sandy Seeger Holly Seerley, MFT David A. Shapiro, M.D. & Sharon L. Wheatley Carole + Douglas Sheft Julie + Jeff Sherman Claire Simeone + Greg Melcher Jane + Dr. Tom Singer Neil Sitzman

Jane + Dan Slack Dorothy Slattery Andrew Smith + Brian Savard Judy + Greg Smith Jennifer Sousae Melanie Sperling Timothy Standing Charlene Steen Daniel Stein + Diane Tucker Richard + Jean Stenquist Susie + Britt Stitt Gretchen + Grover Stone Jean + Kurt Stromberg Carol Svetcov Candice Swimmer + Philip Rosenthal Lisa R. Taylor Susan Terris John + Joyce Thomas Kathryn Thyret Beatrice Tocher Suzanne C. Toczyski Evelyn Topper + Allan Jackman Marsha G. Torkelson Trabea Ltd Norman and Carol Traeger Burnett + Marilyn Tregoning Bruce Tremayne + Mary Diltz Sandra + David Tresan Nora Turner

Bob Vaddiparty Connie Vandament Marta Van Loan Mary + Herman Waetjen Amy Walsh Nancy Warfield Anita Watkins Meredith Watts Dorothy Weaver Mr. + Mrs. Thomas A. Weikert Brad Weisert + Kim Zydel Alexis Weiss + Mark Johnson Marjorie Went Paul Werner David + Kay Werdegar Val Westen Sandra Westin Holly + Bruce Williams Joss + Janet Wilson Susan Winegar Sheldon Wolfe Valerie Woods Travis Wright Sandra Yoffie Marisha Zeffer Suzanne Zimmerman ºIn-Kind Donation

FOUNDATION SUPPORT

CORPORATIONS | FOUNDATIONS | GOVERNMENT MTC PARTNER | $50,000+ Support for our playwright in residence, Lauren Gunderson, ] is provided by a National Playwright Residency Program grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Clay Foundation West • Marin Community Foundation Melody Wireless Infrastructure • The Shubert Foundation William and Flora Hewlett Foundation SEASON PARTNER | $25,000+ The Bernard Osher Foundation The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust VIP PRODUCER | $15,000+ California Arts Council • Haughton Family Charitable Fund John Brockway Huntington Fund • Kimball Foundation The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation Stacy Scott Fine Cateringº EXECUTIVE PRODUCER | $10,000+ Adobe • Ira and Leonore Gershwin Philanthropic Fund The Tournesol Project Venturous Theater Fund, a fund of the Tides Foundation PREMIERE PRODUCER | $5,000+ 3 Badge Beveragesº | August Sebastiani • Acqua Hotelº Brooks Note Wineryº | Garry + Joanne Brooks Marin Cultural Association Newton and Rochelle Becker Charitable Trust ASSOCIATE PRODUCER | $3,000+ Carol Selig, Selig Floral Designº • County of Marin Mill Valley Outdoor Art Club PRODUCER | $1,000-2,999 Body Kineticsº • Compass Marin Charitable Association Mill Valley Market • National Philanthropic Trust OSKA Mill Valley • The Rock Foundation The Tow Foundation • Whistlestopº ºIn-Kind Donation

MTC TOMORROW THE LEGACY GIVING SOCIETY OF MARIN THEATRE COMPANY Anonymous (2) • Linden + Carl Berry‡ • Jack Bissinger‡ Dave + Bobbie Chapman • John + Shelley Chesley Sheldon Doing + Steve DeHart • Fred Drexler‡ • Thomas W. Edwards + Rebecca Parlette Edwards Joseph + Antonia Friedman • Brian + Tracy Haughton • Sandra Hess • Shirley Loube‡ • Melanie Maier Gladys Perez-Mendez‡ • Ivan + Lochiel Poutiatine‡ • Leigh + Ivy Robinson‡ • Gage Schubert • Beverly Tanner Fred + Kathleen Taylor • Nancy Thomson‡ • Phil Woodward + Connie Majoyy ‡Deceased

MEMORIAL GIFTS IN MEMORY OF CARL BERRY Linden Berry Gerry Cahill + Kathy King Hendrik + Patty Kopperl Dirk + Madeleine Langeveld Mark + Mauree Jane Perry Laura + Michael Scott Jean + Kurt Stromberg

IN MEMORY OF STEPHANIE GRAY Jill Myers

IN MEMORY OF ALL WHO LOST THEIR LIVES TO COVID-19 Bob Vaddiparty

IN MEMORY OF BARBARA LAVARONI Arthur + Nancy Costa Kathleen Thompson

IN MEMORY OF MICHAEL CURTIS Nancy Barash IN MEMORY OF JACKIE FIELD Mitchell Field

TRIBUTE GIFTS IN HONOR OF SARAH Dave + Bobbie Chapman

IN HONOR OF WENDY FENG Jolie Feng

IN HONOR OF GREAT THEATRE AND ACTORS Cheryl Coles

IN HONOR OF JERRY GEFFNER Carolyn Pines + Judy Schwartz

IN HONOR OF NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE AT HOME Sarah C. + Henry Pruden

IN HONOR OF LAUREN GUNDERSON Jennifer Jenkins Nick Randhawa Janet Cooper

IN HONOR OF FUMIKO BIELEFELDT Erik Bielefeldt

IN HONOR DUFF KURLAND Janet Josselyn

IN HONOR OF RICK + CHERYL BRANDON Molly + Brett Dick Cheryl Finley + Barry Neal

IN HONOR OF KURTZMAN AND LIZ HERTZ Nelson + Julia Ishiyama + Terrie McDonald

IN HONOR OF KATE CORTESI Anonymous

IN HONOR OF TERESA LAW The Tow Foundation Anonymous

IN HONOR OF BRITTANY DEVER Nancy + David Medford

IN HONOR OF JASSON MINADAKIS & THE DEI COMMITTEE Helen Bruner

IN HONOR PATRICIA B. MOLVAR Ronald Denchfield

IN HONOR OF KATE ROBINSON Donna Lee Robinson

IN HONOR OF OUR SON, DAVID EVERETT MOORE Everett + Julia Moore

IN HONOR OF STACY SCOTT Molly + Brett Dick

IN HONOR OF PHOEBE MORRIS Richard + Gretchen Coffey

IN HONOR OF VELMA SHANNON Keenan Norris

IN HONOR OF DANNY OSBURN & RACHEL HURADO-OSBURN Barbara Lesch + Michael J. McCaffry

IN HONOR OF IVAN S. POUTIATINE MTC HONORS Robert Begley Robert + Irene Belknap Linden Berry Kathy King + Jerry Cahill Gabriella Calicchio + Michael Janes Dave + Bobbie Chapman Mariana Poutiatine Cotten Suzanne + Mark Darley Kipp Delbyck Virginia + William Felch Jr. Doug + Jane Ferguson David Catania + Diana Gay-Catania Gerry Goldsholle + Myra Levenson Gale Gottlieb Tracy + Brian Haughton Grace Hughes Dirk + Madeleine Langeveld Melanie + Peter Maier Tina McArthur + Richard Rubenstein Buffington Miller Suzie Pollak Michael + Hailey Poutiatine Christopher Raker Paula + Bob Reynolds Robin + Rick Rice Laura + Michael Scott Stacy Scott + Chuck Ciaccio Brigitte + Bill Smith Fred + Kathleen Taylor James + Beth Wintersteen Susan York

MTC PRODUCTION UNDERWRITERS Marin Theatre Company’s 54th Season and this production of Brilliant Mind is generously underwritten by the following:

PARTNER CIRCLE MTC SUSTAINER Terry Berkemeier + Lori Lerner Gage Schubert Christopher B. + Jeannie Meg Smith MTC PARTNER The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Marin Community Foundation Melody Wireless Infrastructure Buffington Miller, Clay Foundation-West Bob + Paula Reynolds The Shubert Foundation William and Flora Hewlett Foundation SEASON PARTNER The Bernard Osher Foundation David Catania + Diana Gay-Catania John + Shelley Chesley The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Foundation Barbara + Jim Kautz Kathy King + Gerald Cahill Vera + Ken Meislin Fred + Kathleen Taylor Vickie Soulier

PRODUCER CIRCLE

Lynn Brinton + Dan Cohn California Art Council Suzanne + Mark Darley Tracy + Brian Haughton Haughton Family Charitable Fund Kimball Foundation

VIP PRODUCER Peter + Melanie Maier, The John Brockway Hungtington Fund Ivan Poutiatine Matthew Purdon The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation Stacy Scott Fine Cateringº The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Foundation

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Gene + Neil Barth Kiki Pescatello Gerry Goldsholle + Myra Levenson Michael + Jean Strunsky, Ira and Leonore Gershwin Philanthropic Fund Kimberly Hughes + Steve Moazed Paul + Sandy Zuber Koret Foundation The Marymor Family Fund ºIn-Kind Donation

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