Atlantic Theater Company Announces
Casting for
World Premiere Play
Co-Production with Roundabout Theatre Company (Roundabout Underground)
English
By Sanaz Toossi
Directed by Knud Adams
Atlantic Membership Pre-Sale Available Now
General Tickets Available Starting November 23
Featuring
Tala Ashe, Ava Lalezarzadeh, Pooya Mohseni, Marjan Neshat
& Hadi Tabbal
Performances begin Thursday, February 3rd, 2022
Opening Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022
Limited Engagement through Sunday, March 13th, 2022
at the Linda Gross Theater
Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) announced the casting for the world premiere production of English, written by Sanaz Toossi, directed by Knud Adams, and co-produced by Roundabout Theatre Company (Roundabout Underground).
English will feature Tala Ashe (The Prophane), Ava Lalezarzadeh (Off-Broadway Debut), Pooya Mohseni (She,He,Me), Marjan Neshat (Selling Kabul), and Hadi Tabbal (The Vagrant Trilogy).
English will begin performances on Thursday, February 3rd and will open Tuesday, February 22nd for a limited engagement through Sunday, March 13th, 2022, Off-Broadway at the Linda Gross Theater (336 West 20th Street).
Two words set in motion award-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi’s intricate and profound New York debut: “English Only.” This is the mantra that rules one classroom in Iran, where four adult students are preparing for the TOEFL — the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Chasing fluency through a maze of word games, listening exercises, and show-and-tell sessions, they hope that one day, English will make them whole. But it might be splitting them each in half. 2019 Kilroys List & L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award-winner Sanaz Toossi returns to Atlantic following her Middle Eastern MixFest debut!
English will feature scenic design by Marsha Ginsberg, costume design by Enver Chakartash, lighting design by Reza Behjat, sound design by Sinan Refik Zafar, and casting by Stephen Kopel, CSA. Alex Hajjar will serve as production stage manager.
English is made possible in part with support from The NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music, and Theatre by the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment in association with The New York Foundation for the Arts.
Biographies:
TALA ASHE (Elham) currently stars as Zari Tarazi in The CW series “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.” She will next be seen on stage this spring in The Vagrant Trilogy at The Public Theater. Past theatre includes The Profane at Playwrights Horizons, Troilus and Cressida at The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park, Head Over Heels at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Who & The What at Lincoln Center Theatre and Urge for Going at The Public Theater. Other television credits include “American Odyssey,” “Smash,” “30 Rock,” “Law & Order” and “Covert Affairs.” An Iranian-American actress who speaks fluent Persian, Ashe received her BFA in Acting from Boston University, with training from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.
AVA LALEZARZADEH (Goli) is an actress and writer/poet excited to be making her Off-Broadway debut with Atlantic Theater Company. Credits include the US premiere of Anne: A New Play at the Museum of Tolerance, and the film Winter of '79 which made its World Premiere at the Oscar Qualifying, Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, and its West Coast Premiere at Hollyshorts Film Festival. Her poetry has been featured in Nour Magazine by creators of Middle East Archive. She'd like to thank her family, friends, teachers, and team. Training: UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television and BADA MIO'18.
POOYA MOHSENI (Roya) is an Iranian-American actor, writer, and transgender activist. She won the Best Performance and Best Actress awards at OUTFEST and Film OUT San Diego for See You Then, by Mari Walker, which premiered at South By Southwest last year and will be released in theatres later this year. Her stage performances include She,He,Me for National Queer Theater, Our Town in Pride Plays, Hamlet in Play On Shakespeare festival, Galatea for the WP Pipeline festival as well as an Audible production of Chonburi Hotel & The Butterfly Club for Williamstown Theatre Festival. She has recurred on "Big Dogs" (Amazon Prime) and “Falling Water" (USA) as well as guest-starred on the CBS shows “Law & Order: SVU“ and “Madam Secretary”. Pooya is represented by TGTalent and Headline Talent Agency.
MARJAN NESHAT (Marjan) is currently in previews for Sylvia Khoury’s highly anticipated play, Selling Kabul, at Playwrights Horizons. Her previous stage credits include the controversial Shakespeare-in-the-Park production of Julius Caesar (NYSF), Fallaci by Lawrence Wright, The Seagull (with Alan Cumming and Dianne Wiest) and Girl Blog From Iraq (Fringe First nominee, Edinburgh Fringe Festival). On screen, Marjan has had lead roles in the multi-award-winning feature Rockaway as well as the indie features Almost in Love opposite Alex Karpovsky and Alan Cumming and the Sundance hit Cry Funny Happy. She’s played supporting roles in many films, most notably Robocop, Sex and the City 2, Alfie and the upcoming Love-40. Marjan is known for her numerous television roles in shows such as “New Amsterdam,” “For Life,” “Bull,” “Elementary,” “Quantico,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Fringe” among many others. She is a proud member of The Actors Center.
HADI TABBAL (Omid) is a NY-based actor and writer, born and raised in Lebanon. Hadi will play the lead role in The Public Theater's upcoming production of The Vagrant Trilogy. Regional credits include The Vagrant Trilogy (Mosaic Theater, DC) and The Hour of Feeling (Humana Festival, KY). Hadi starred as Amir Al-Raisani in NBC’s drama “The Brave.” He has also had several other TV guest appearances including “Law & Order SVU” (NBC), “Bull” (CBS), and “F.B.I” (CBS), among others. Hadi holds an MFA in Acting from The New School for Drama. He is a past artistic associate for The Sundance Theater Institute and recipient of a Fulbright Grant. He is represented by A3 Artists Agency and The Kravitz Company.
SANAZ TOOSSI (Playwright) is an Iranian-American playwright from Orange County, California. Her plays include Wish You Were Here (Williamstown Audible 2020; Playwrights Horizons production forthcoming) and English (Weissberger New Play Award; Kilroys’ List 2019). She is currently under commission at Atlantic Theater Company (Launch commission; Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation grant), Roundabout Theatre Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club, South Coast Repertory, IAMA Theatre, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival (American Revolutions Cycle). Sanaz is a member of Youngblood and the Middle Eastern American Writers Lab at the Lark, and an alum of Clubbed Thumb’s Early Career Writers’ Group. She was the 2019 P73 Playwriting Fellow and a recipient of the 2020 Steinberg Playwright Award. MFA: NYU Tisch. TV: “5 Women,” “A League of Their Own.” Sanaz is a proud child of immigrants.
KNUD ADAMS (Director) is a New York-based director of artful and innovative new plays. Previously with Atlantic, he directed Eboni Booth's Paris, which was hailed by New York Magazine as one of the "10 Best Theater Moments of 2020." His recent productions also include The Headlands by Christopher Chen (LCT3, finalist for SDCF's Joe A. Callaway Award) and Andy Bragen's Notes on My Mother’s Decline (Play Co., hailed by N.Y. Times' Scott Heller as one of his best of the year). Other notable world premieres include Tin Cat Shoes by Trish Harnetiaux (Clubbed Thumb), The Workshop by Torrey Townsend (Soft Focus), Asshole by Justin Kuritzkes (JACK), and Tom & Eliza by Celine Song (JACK). Knud is an alumnus of the Drama League Next Stage Residency and Fall Directing Fellowship, the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, the Playwrights Horizons Directing Residency, and Kenyon College. He trained by assisting some of the nation's foremost theater artists, including Sarah Benson, Richard Foreman, Sam Gold, André Gregory, and Elizabeth LeCompte.
ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY (Co-Producer) celebrates the power of theatre by spotlighting classics from the past, cultivating new works of the present, and educating minds for the future. A not-for-profit company, Roundabout fulfills that mission by producing familiar and lesser-known plays and musicals; discovering and supporting talented playwrights; reducing the barriers that can inhibit theatergoing; collaborating with a diverse team of artists; building educational experiences; and archiving over five decades of production history.
ATLANTIC THEATER COMPANY (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director). At Atlantic, our aim is singular—to empower simple and honest storytelling that fosters greater understanding of our shared world. We are a family of artists dedicated to exploring essential truths onstage, be it a show at Atlantic Theater Company or a class at Atlantic Acting School. As a producer, presenter, and educator of theater, we are driven by the belief that theater can challenge and transform our ways of thinking and urge us to reflect on our role in society. From our Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning productions to our community-based education programs, we are committed to uncovering and celebrating the stories of our varied human existence. Founded as an ensemble of impassioned artists in 1985, Atlantic Theater Company has grown into a powerhouse Off-Broadway company. We challenge, inspire, and awaken audiences with truthful storytelling presented across our two venues, the Linda Gross Theater and the intimate Stage 2 black-box. As a producer of compelling new works, we are committed to championing the stories from new and established artists alike, amplifying the voices of emerging playwrights through our deeply collaborative programs and initiatives. We have produced more than 200 plays and musicals including Tony Award-winning productions of The Band’s Visit (David Yazbek, Itamar
Schedule:
Tuesday and Sunday at 7pm, Wednesday through Saturday at 8pm, Saturday and Sunday at 2pm
No Sunday evening performance on 3/6.
Tickets:
Tickets for English will go on sale on Tuesday, November 23 at 12pm ET. Regular tickets begin at $65. Order online at atlantictheater.org or by calling AudienceView at 646-989-7996.
Atlantic members receive first access and savings of up to 31% on tickets and exclusive access including a priority-booking period, unlimited exchanges, discounted guest tickets, no additional fees, and more. For information on Atlantic Memberships starting at just $65, visit atlantictheater.org/
Atlantic is committed to connecting deeply and authentically with audiences from a broad range of economic backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, and perspectives. Its access ticket initiative makes $25 tickets available to every preview performance in the 2021|2022 season. Access tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis via Atlantic's website beginning 2 weeks prior to the first performance of each Atlantic Theater Company 2021|2022 production. $25 access tickets for English will go on sale on January 20 at noon.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Atlantic is committed to providing and maintaining a gathering place that is free of known hazards. In order to safeguard the health of our entire community, they are requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for all employees and audiences moving forward.
Our audience policy requires complete COVID-19 vaccinations before the date of attendance, which is defined as fourteen days following a final dose of the Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Moderna, or Astra-Zeneca vaccine. They will accept proof at the theater via the Excelsior Pass, the NYC Covid Safe Pass for Android and iOS, a copy or photo of your CDC vaccination card, and/or a copy or photo of an official immunization record from outside the United States.
Atlantic will additionally require mask-wearing indoors at our theater for all audience members and staff until further notice.
Audiences under 12, and those that are requesting accommodation due to a medical condition or closely held religious belief should email us at info@atlantictheater.org
All of our facilities have been upgraded to meet and/or exceed air filtration standards as recommended by the CDC.
https://atlantictheater.org/
#Broadway #Theater #Iran
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