Play Reading: The Girls from Afar

Artistic Director, Rehana Mirza
Producing Director, Rohi Mirza Pandya
Presents

THE GIRLS FROM AFAR by Libby Emmons February 17 @ 6.30pm Teatro Circulo, 65 E. 4th Street, #11, New York, NY 10003

(New York, NY February 11, 2009) Desipina & Company (Desipina) is known for its ground-breaking work in bringing together diverse stories to one stage. Past Desipina productions have been hailed as “a grand celebration of storytelling, immigrant experiences, and cross-cultural pollination. What we have to learn from one another is just boundless; Desipina & Co. are doing a worthy thing tearing down some of the boundaries that exist between us and letting us laugh and cry together in the dark.” (NYTheatre.com).

In light of the economic meltdown and despite drastic arts funding cuts, Desipina is presenting a series of free readings of plays that speak to social issues and challenge perceptions. THE GIRLS FROM AFAR by Libby Emmons (MFA Playwriting, Columbia University), tells the story of two girls who have come from afar to work as domestics in a wealthy home; but what seems at first to be a great opportunity becomes a lifestyle of brutality.

The second workshop presentation, SITA/SATI, by Snehal Desai, (MFA Theater, Yale University), tells the story of newly widowed Sita Desi, an immigrant from India, who joins a company of actors to challenge and skewer the stereotypical views of South Asians. However, along the way, the ritual of Sati (self-immolization) which at first is being presented as a lark, takes a dark turn as the crowd gets caught up in the frenzy of ritual and tradition and start calling on Sita to enter the fire and become an actual Sati.

There will be Talk Backs with Cast & Crew after Readings.

Desipina & Company is a 501(c) 3, not for profit fusion arts company that focuses on film and theater to promote the sharing and spreading of artistic, cultural, and political dialogues within and between communities. Desipina, as a term, is slang for describing a person of South Asian (desi) and Filipina (pina) descent, like the two founding sisters of Desipina, Rehana Mirza and Rohi Mirza Pandya. Together since 2000, these sisters and their supporters have brought a new, powerful voice to South Asian and Asian men, women, and children.

Tickets are FREE

For reservations, please email rsvp@desipina.org or for additional information, please visit us at www.desipina.org