mahmoud touring package
DESCRIPTION
Touring and presenting information for Mahmoud by Tara Grammy and Tom Arthur Davis. Pandemic Theatre original production. For more information contact Artistic Producer, Jivesh Parasram: jiv(at)pandemictheatre.caTRANSCRIPT
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Photo credit: Nir Bareket
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Synopsis Mahmoud is an exuberant Iranian engineer-cum-taxi
driver who relishes the chance to regale passengers with his love of Persian culture. Emanuelos, a fabulously gay Spanish perfume salesman, can talk a mile-a-minute about his
gorgeous boyfriend, Behnam. And then there’s Tara, an awkwardly charming Iranian Canadian preteen
who just wants to be “normal.” When the three strangers, all played by Tara
Grammy, find themselves crossing paths in Toronto, their experiences with racism, sexism, homophobia,
Assimilation and everything in between become intertwined in unexpected ways, taking an exacting look at the ways diasporic populations deal with
instability in their country of origin and the personhood they have in their new homes.
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PRODUCTION CREDITS Written by Tara Grammy & Tom Arthur Davis
Performed by Tara Grammy
Directed by Tom Arthur Davis
Assistant Directed by Omar Hady
Sound Design by Mike Conley
Lighting Design by Andre Du Toit
Projection Design by Cameron Davis
Set And Systems Design by Jivesh Parasram
Costume Design by Tara Grammy
Stage Management by Heather Bellingham
Production Management by Deborah Courchene
Produced by Jivesh Parasram
Contributing Artists (Development) Soheil Parsa, Jenna Koening, Jessica Rose,
Linn Øyen Farley, Jamie Elman
Originally Developed and Produced
By Pandemic Theatre, 2011
Subsequent touring and productions
2012-2015
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“Mind-blowing”
“Powerful” !!!!!
“… it critiques Canadian society and
challenges the nation’s promises of
multicultural inclusion, but does so without romanticizing
the diasporic “homeland” or
slipping into its own nostalgia.”
“…a play that skillfully combines aesthetics and politics;
a play that captures the brilliant performance of a young Canadian artist;
and perhaps most importantly, a play that attests to the changing landscape of
multicultural theatre in Canada.” - Alia Somani, PhD
Postcolonial literature, culture, and Diaspora studies specialist.
playstosee.com
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Touring Logistics
Cast Size: 1 | Crew Size: 2
Duration: 55 minutes
Set & Props One Chair | One Rug | Three Suspended Panels (3’ x8’)*
Minor Hand Props
Lighting Lighting is flexible, lit through static grid and footlights,
additional use of mirror ball
Sound & Projection** Sound and projection are preprogrammed operating through a 1/8”
jack, VGA cable, and Laptop (Qlab3) Projector may travel with production or can use a 5000 rear
focused lumen projector, additional use of DMX Dowser
Staging The ideal stage size is 25’ wide by a minimum of 30’ deep.
*NOTE: Panels double as optional rear projection screens **Note: Show may perform without projection in some scenarios
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Development & Production History
Developed by Pandemic Theatre between 2009-2012 Produced and Touring 2011-2014
consulting directoral support Soheil Parsa, 2011
First production, 2011| Produced by Pandemic Theatre at the Tarragon Extra Space, Toronto
Produced by Pandemic Theatre, 2012
Toronto Fringe Festival | New York Fringe Festival
Mahmoud Toured throughout USA Between 2012- 2015 Los Angeles | New York | San Francisco
Most Recently, the production returned home and was redeveloped and produced by Pandemic Theatre In association WhyNOT Theatre
as part of RISER PROJECT at THE THEATRE CENTRE, Toronto, 2015
With the support of the Toronto Arts Council and Canadian Heritage
Mahmoud was published in 2015 By Playwrights Canada Press
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“Dazzlingly Good!
A Tour De Force Performance.” -Woody Harrelson
Academy Award Nominated Actor
NNNN (out of 5) -NOW MAGAZINE
“A Knock Out” -Time Out, NY
Select Accolades
Winner: Best of Fringe
Toronto Fringe Festival 2012
Winner: Encore Series
New York Fringe Festival 2012
Winner: Overall Excellence in a Solo Show
New York Fringe Festival 2012
Winner: Outstanding Production & Outstanding Performance
NOW MAGAZINE, TORONTO
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Pandemic (Pan • Demos | All • People)
Mandate
Founded in 2009, Pandemic Theatre is a Toronto-based theatre company mandated to create, develop, and produce work from critical and underrepresented perspectives that engage social and political themes. We strive to create spaces where political
discourse is not only possible, but also encouraged.
Past Artistic Work (Production History) Pandemic recently celebrated its 5th anniversary as a company. Under the Joint Leadership of founding members, Tom Arthur
Davis (Artistic Director) and Jivesh Parasram (Artistic Producer), we have created over a dozen provocative works that
have asked difficult questions.
Our themes have included: biopower (Birth) extraordinary rendition (Guantanamo Hotels & Resorts), mental illness stigma (Imbalance), state control (My Gaza, ‘tis of Thee), Immigration &
Diaspora (Mahmoud), inter-personal violence (Murder on Ossington), colonialism and agency (The Lost Sagas of Tjorvi
the Flaccid), environmental degradation (Autogeddon)
Our work is to challenge audiences, artists, and communities to engage and question the role of aesthetics in ideology. To do so
ethically, critically, and in the spirit of solidarity.
Another world is possible.
Acknowledgements Pandemic Theatre’s work has in part been possible through the
generous support of project funding by The Toronto Arts Council,
The Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Council For The Arts
In 2014/2015 Pandemic Theatre was awarded the RBC Emerging Company in-residence with Canadian Stage in Toronto.
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Contact For inquiries into touring, presenting,
partnership collaborations, or to request access to production archival
Please contact: Jivesh Parasram, Artistic Producer
To learn more about Pandemic Theatre visit us at: www.pandemictheatre.ca
Twitter: @pandemictheatre | Facebook: /pandemictheatre
or contact: Tom Arthur Davis | [email protected] Jivesh Parasram | [email protected]