SILKEN VEILS PRESS RELEASE

Silken Veils

Pantea Productions, presents SILKEN VEILS, a theatrical exploration of women and family in the Middle East, conceived by Leila Ghaznavi with original music by Hamed Nikpay and Houman Pourmedhi. SILKEN VEILS will be performed at the Hollywood, Edinburgh and Chicago Fringe Festivals this summer. For dates and venue information please visit www.silkenveils.net.

SILKEN VEILS combines Rumi poetry, marionettes, shadow images and table top puppetry with animation to examine the impact of political turmoil on society and family. As a performer, playwright Leila Ghaznavi, leads an ensemble of four through this turbulent, sometimes humorous, tale of the strength and weaknesses of love in a political revolutionary landscape. In this forty five minute piece, Darya, an Iranian-born American citizen, struggles with love in the United States while reliving her childhood in Iran during the Revolution of 1979. The set design of the show is comprised entirely of suitcases and veils from which all characters emerge—a literal illustration of Darya’s struggle to unpack the baggage that we all carry.

When asked about her inspirations for the piece, Ms. Ghaznavi responded: “I was inspired to create this piece because of my own Iranian heritage and because a I saw a newspaper clipping about the Revolution of 1979 in Iran. In it was this photograph of a sea of men protesting but in the middle of the picture was one lone woman holding onto a man from behind, her cheek pressed against his back as he raised his fist in protest. It started me thinking about what it means to try and hold onto love during revolution.”

Leila Ghaznavi’s, playwright/actor/puppeteer, work has been seen both domestically and abroad in Los Angeles, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Bali, Indonesia and Kristiansand, Norway. She is a graduate of the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theater and holds a M.F.A. in Acting from the California Institute of the Arts and a B.A. in music composition from Bryn Mawr College.

SILKEN VEILS features the performing talents of Evan Hyde, Chase Woolner, Cady Zuckerman and Warren St. George, II. Designers include Patrick Janssen (Sound Design), Tanin Kosol (Animation), Susanna Battin (Costume), Ashish Dha (Music Director) and Zachary Moore (Lighting). Technical support provided by Emily Williams (Stage Manager) and Michael McIntyre (Technical Director/Assistant Director).

For press comps please e-mail Leila Ghaznavi, [email protected], and Emily Williams at [email protected].