DEPORTED/ a dream play

Hi New Rep Bloggers!

I am the director of the upcoming play in NewVoices @ New Rep's reading series, DEPORTED / a dream play. The play will be read at 7:30pm on Monday May 4, 2009! I have been working with playwright, Joyce Van Dyke (A GIRL’S WAR), and a company of ten actors for over two years to create a play based on Armenian genocide survivor stories. Using survivor oral history interviews from the Armenian Library and Museum (ALMA) as well as documents, letters and personal reminiscences by survivors and their descendants, we began holding improvisational workshops based on this material, developing characters, theatrical images and story lines. We began without a script and the script grew out of our collaborative process. The actors in our developmental company include some New Rep favorites, Bobbie Steinbach and Ken Baltin!

The play is a true story based on that of 2 friends— the playwright’s grandmother, Elmas and her close friend, Varter Nazarian Deranian. In dreams and memories, the play conjures worlds of the past as well as the future. It covers events from 1915 to beyond 2015!

We look forward to reading the play at New Rep! This will be our first public reading of the newest version of the play, which continues to evolve! I will be posting thoughts and information about the project regularly! We look forward to hearing from you on this blog and starting a conversation!

Best,
Judy Braha
Director, DEPORTED / a dream play