A deeply heartfelt, sharply funny new play. Starring Ida Esmaeili and Nate Janis
Directed by Rebecca Miller Kratzer
When Will’s professor leads him to seek out Alina’s insight for his paper on Iran, he has no idea that he will meet the love of his life. However, Alina’s visa renewal gets denied early in their relationship and they have life-changing choices to make. Emerging playwright Ida Esmaeili’s deeply sincere, sharply funny new play examines whether marriage can be tainted, how immigration considerations can alter the course of families and relationships, and raises questions about the nature of identity and home.
*Your purchase of one ticket is for one Lawn Circle, which can sit a party of up to two people. All lawn circles are 6 ft. in diameter and are distanced 6 ft. away from other parties. Please bring your own blankets and/or beach chairs. For more information, visit the Theater FAQ page.
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Ida Esmaeili
Ida Esmaeili (Alina / Playwright) is a Swedish-Iranian writer and actor currently based in New York. She graduated from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee with a BFA in Musical Theatre in 2017, and from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art with a certificate in Shakespeare and his Contemporaries in 2015. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Playwriting at Columbia University, under the tutelage of David Henry Hwang, Lynn Nottage, and Charles Mee. She has worked with theatres such as Off the Grid Theatre Company, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Pale Blue Dot Theatre Company, HowlRound, and Boston Playwrights Theatre. Her plays include tenderly, The Fig Tree, GIRLHOOD, Lonely Hearts Club, WAVE; or the moment the earth shook, and for the girls who live in the lake. www.idaesmaeili.com
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Nate Janis
Nate Janis is a born-and-bred New Yorker and long-time resident of Huntting Lane, East Hampton. As an actor and singer, Nate has performed all over the world and at venues such as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Recent credits include: Will in tenderly (Guild Hall), Vershinin in Three Sisters (Columbia Stages), Matt in The Fantasticks (Infinity Theatre Company), Casey in The Legend of Georgia McBride (Waterfront Playhouse), Abraham in Bible Stories (Atlantic), and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing (White Plains PAC). Training: Yale B.A., William Esper Studio, Columbia M.F.A. Nate is thrilled to be returning to Guild Hall!
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Rebecca Miller Kratzer
Rebecca Miller Kratzer (Director) is a New York-based theater and opera director. Her work, rooted in explorations of ritual, brings the scale and gravitas of opera to theatre, and the intimacy and moment-to-moment truth of theatre to opera, rendering both forms awe-inspiring, relevant, and accessible. Prior to attending Columbia University's MFA directing program under Anne Bogart, Rebecca was the artistic director of the NEMPAC Opera Project in Boston, MA where she produced and directed fully-staged operas in Boston's historic Faneuil Hall. Favorite credits include Cendrillon (Opera del West), Three Sisters (Columbia University), Fidelio (NEMPAC Opera Project), and The Merchant of Venice (Columbia University). Rebecca is also a Directing Fellow at Opera Saratoga, has worked at a variety of theatre companies and arts organizations, and received her BA in Theater Arts from Brandeis University. This summer, she is incredibly grateful to work with Ida Esmaeili, Opera Saratoga, Katie Mitchell, and Whitney White on pre-production and digital work as we embrace and navigate this new normal.