3 minute read
From the Artistic Leadership of Marin Theatre Company
Welcome back to Marin Theatre Company and the World Premiere of Yussef El Guindi’s Hotter Than Egypt. We are honored to be co-producing this amazing new play with Seattle’s A Contemporary Theatre and grateful for their partnership and generosity in what has been an abundant pooling of resources to give this play the life it deserves in two wonderfully distinct communities.
Advertisement
When we began the search for our first Associate Artistic Director, I knew that I wanted to give that artist the chance to introduce themselves to our community by selecting a play to be presented in our season. I can think of no better way to begin a conversation with an artist than to invite them to show you work that they champion. And so I’m delighted to finally, after a few delays, introduce you to our new Associate Artistic Director Nakissa Etemad.
Jasson Minadakis, Artistic Director
The day has finally arrived! I am elated to bring Yussef’s voice and newest work to the Marin Theatre Company community, and to continue the life of this world premiere process by co-producing in partnership with John Langs and A Contemporary Theatre. Hotter Than Egypt is full of heart and humor, truth and pathos, and I fell for it within three pages of reading it.
I had only worked at MTC once—on Noura in December of 2019—and felt even back then that MTC was the perfect home for the play. Having known Yussef for years as a fellow Resident Artist of Golden Thread, I had the gift of being his dramaturg for the first time on this play at the 2020 Colorado New Play Summit in February 2020. Attending the Summit was John Langs, Yussef’s director for a recent world premiere and Artistic Director of A Contemporary
397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941-2885 415.388.5200 | info@marintheatre.org | marintheatre.org
Jasson Minadakis Artistic Director Meredith Suttles Managing Director/CEO Nakissa Etemad Associate Artistic Director
Theatre in Seattle, where Yussef is a Core Company Member. John and I hit it off right away. We bonded over our love for the play, and we three ‘fell’ for each other as theatrical soulmates. We immediately started scheming on how to collaborate on this play together.
I was still a freelance dramaturg and producer at the time. Then the pandemic hit and changed everything. I had continued my relationship with Jasson, and in October of 2020 I was hired as the new Associate Artistic Director of Marin Theatre Company. It was a homecoming of sorts having grown up in Marin where my parents resided, and I was thrilled to help rebuild the company in a leadership position, to provide my bevy of playwrights with producing and development opportunities at a highly reputable new play establishment such as MTC.
When I was handed the choice for a spot in the MTC season, I knew this was meant to be. John and I decided to produce the world premiere together and set about the work of crafting a co-production between our two companies. I am indebted to John for his generosity of spirit, trust, and camaraderie, and I thank him for his wonderful partnership.
I am also grateful to MTC and to Jasson for taking a leap in so many significant ways. To create an Associate Artistic Director, a new position in the history of the company, to share artistic leadership and forge new paths towards stronger communities of artists and audiences alike, to hire a dramaturg in this position more commonly held by directors nationwide—a testament to the goals of a new play company—and to hire a woman of color in that role to broaden the perspectives and deepen the connections of this institution. I am grateful to have been the one selected for this task and look forward to the “after pandemic times” when we can truly gather in community and celebration.
I thank Yussef El Guindi for your indelible support and faith in me as a fellow collaborator, for trusting us with your work. It is an absolute joy and a privilege to midwife this incredible play and to bring one of my favorite writers and people to the Marin stage.
We welcome the audience to travel with us to Egypt to experience Cairo and the journeys of these characters.
Nakissa Etemad, Associate Artistic Director
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Wendy Feng Co-Chair Barbara Morrison Co-Chair Kathryn Olson Vice President John Chesley Secretary Fred W. Taylor Treasurer Bethany Byrd-Hill Naima Dean Kipp Delbyck Denmo Ibrahim Vera Meislin Christian Mills Matthew Purdon Josh Rafner Robert Reynolds Stacy Scott Tara Sullivan Penny Wright
