Immigrant MixFest
Free reading series play festival.
A series of free readings co-produced by director Saheem Ali, writer/director Shadi Ghaheri, and actor/co-founder of Waterwell Arian Moayed, running Wednesday, August 14th through Tuesday, August 20th at Atlantic Stage 2 (330 West 16th Street).
MixFest Lineup
MEET THE ARTISTS PANEL
Moderated by actor/co-founder of Waterwell, Arian Moayed
Wednesday, August 14 | 5pm
Immigrant MixFest will kick off with a group panel moderated by Arian Moayed. Learn more about the writers and directors in the festival, their creative process and what inspires their work.
THE COPPER CHILDREN
by Karen Zacarías
directed by Shariffa Ali
Thursday, August 15 | 2pm
Based on the history of “orphan trains” that transported immigrant children to homes in the West, this Oregon Shakespeare Festival American Revolutions play explores the events that led to the sensational (and now-forgotten) “Trial of the Century” custody case that stirred the nation into a frenzied debate about children, law, race, class and religion. The Copper Children takes a sharp look at the collision of good intentions and despicable behavior, blending humor, tragedy, joy and unsentimental social commentary.
TOSCA TEHRAN
written & directed by Shadi Ghaheri
Thursday, August 15 | 7pm
Tosca Tehran is a story of a group of Iranian actors who with the risk of getting arrested – or worst – have decided to perform the uncensored Tosca in an international festival in Tehran, Iran. A place where religion is weaponized to arrest, execute and destroy people who believe in love, freedom and justice.
ROUTES
by Rachel De-Iahay
directed by Saheem Ali
Friday, August 16 | 2pm
Anka got in and is here for good. Olufemi is being coached to break back in. Bashir has been here forever but he’s just been sent into limbo. Lisa wants to send them all home. Welcome to England. A journey into the heart of what it is to be a citizen, and finding a place where you belong. A cutting new play about immigration and exile, and what happens when people fall through the cracks.
CINDERELLAS OF AMERICA
by Kemiyondo Coutinho
directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh
Monday, August 19 | 2pm
When Nomi’s happily ever after is threatened by border control, she takes matters into her own hands, only to find that the grass is not always greener on the American side. Cinderellas of America explores the immigrant experience in America today and what the immigrant is willing (and not willing) to do in pursuit of the shiny glass slipper that is inevitably lost.
THE SEED
by Kate Mulvany
directed by Mei Ann Teo
Tuesday, August 20 | 7pm
Based on real events, The Seed tells the story of three generations of one family and the impact of war on all their lives. Brian Maloney is an IRA soldier begrudgingly living in Nottingham, England. On his birthday, he is visited by his long-lost son Danny, a “ten-pound pom” and Vietnam Veteran now living in Australia. Danny is accompanied by his daughter Rose – a writer dealing with the repercussions of her father’s involvement in the war and desperately trying to write his story. As the characters settle in on Guy Fawkes Night, for what should be an evening of celebration and healing, the realms of truth and lies, war and peace, family and foe, become blurred, and the three lives begin to entangle and strangle.
Institutional Support Get in Touch
Immigrant MixFest and all of Atlantic’s new play and musical development activities are made possible by leadership support from the Howard Gilman Foundation and The Tow Foundation, with additional funding from the Axe-Houghton Foundation, Broadway Licensing, The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, and the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
Atlantic productions and programs are also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, as well as the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.