At the Doras...

Soheil, at the top, accepting his award for Outstanding Direction for Waiting for Godot. And with Peter, Adriana and I for Outstanding Production.

John Lauener Photographer

Hot Persian Poetry

It seems just a few days ago my only distraction was questioning the appropriate boundaries of “fusion” cuisine (for those who also pondered this while nibbling on pesto smothered pasta from a Chinese takeout container at the Rosewater Supper Club…I’m with you).

But now, our acting workshop is underway with a talented, brave group who have not only been creating beautiful work this week, but also learning such essential life skills as how to seduce your lover with Persian poetry…today’s work on Farrokhzad’s I Sinned was a steamy affair.

While few were enraged when Rumi and Khayyam got all drunk on love, the raised eyebrows over Farrokhzad’s female perspective in 1950s Iran was palpable. That's only one aspect of her poetry, though. Her images are strong, beautiful, simple - evoking the erotic, the everday, the extraordinary. She is giving us much to explore.

Thomas joined us today to record some of the text (in five languages at last count). We'll continue creating for two more weeks, before our presentation at The Tirgan Festival on July 19th.

For more on hot Persian poetry, see here.
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If you’d prefer to make pesto like your Italian Grandmother, see here.

Summer Acting Workshop

Let the good times roll, our Acting Intensive Workshop is just around the corner! Each summer, Soheil leads students in exploring the original approach to acting developed at Modern Times over the past twenty years. Music, movement and text provide the framework for actors to discover rich body imagery and different forms of storytelling.

The focus of this year’s workshop will be a theatrical exploration of the poetry of Forugh Farrokhzad. Farrokhzad’s poems are timeless, profoundly humanist and deeply controversial. During her short lifetime, she confronted the social, political and religious conventions of Iranian society.

Soheil will lead participants in a multilingual exploration of Farrokhzad’s poetry, working with music, movement and fragments of the poems to montage a rough narrative. Musician Thomas Ryder Payne and Dramaturge Sue Balint (who enjoys writing about herself in the third person) will also collaborate with the group.

Students will give a public performance of their work at The Tirgan Festival at Harbourfront.
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Want to be involved?
You can find out more here.