Columbia University School of the Arts International Play Reading Festival

Playwrights Asiimwe Deborah Kawe (Uganda), Nick Makoha (England), and Dima Mikhayel Matta (Lebanon), in conversation with Columbia University School of the Arts International Play Reading Festival Co-Founder David Henry Hwang, Theatre Program. The panel took place with a live zoom audience on October 23, 2021 at 12pm Eastern. PRODUCTION Andrew Agress, Literary Manager Natalie Layne Baker, Sound Editor Gavin Browning, Director of Public Programs & Engagement Jessi Cotter, Production Manager Jordan Fleming, Student Producer Kanika Vaish, Literary Manager FESTIVAL CO-FOUNDERS Carol Becker, Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts David Henry Hwang, MFA Theatre Program, Columbia University School of the Arts © 2021 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/]

Queerness is a construct. So is language, and so is this play. Nothing about this performance is reliable. The performer questions gender, memory, sex, identity, and her relationship with Beirut — but gives no answers. THIS IS NOT A MEMORIZED SCRIPT, THIS IS A WELL-REHEARSED STORY Written and Performed by Dima Mikhayel Matta (Lebanon) Directed by Noelle Ghoussaini PRODUCTION Andrew Agress, Literary Manager Gavin Browning, Director of Public Programs & Engagement Jessi Cotter, Production Manager Jordan Fleming, Student Producer Jim Petty with Five Ohm Productions, Audio Engineer Kanika Vaish, Literary Manager Ada Westfall, Sound Designer FESTIVAL CO-FOUNDERS Carol Becker, Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts David Henry Hwang, MFA Theatre Program, Columbia University School of the Arts © 2021 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/]

In the heat of a November night in 1978, after eight years of civil war, four-year-old Nick and his mother flee their homeland of Uganda. What unfolds is a story of those who find themselves exiled, told through a series of voices echoing from varying states of darkness. THE DARK Written by Nick Makoha (United Kingdom) Directed by NJ Agwuna CAST Petrina Ampeire, Joyce (rebel radio) and Ouma (boy soldier) Robert K Benson, Mr. Fairfax and Customs Officer Shadrack Boakye, Soldier, Shopkeeper, and Baba Nick Shiro Kihagi, Mama Nick Cici Koueth, Mirembe Julia Kwamya, Fatima and Camera Woman Irungu Mutu, Narrator Nick and Young Nick Chris Okawa, Ocheng, Opio, and Kigo James Okungu, Old Man, Radio Uganda, Sergeant 853, and Kimathi PRODUCTION Andrew Agress, Literary Manager Gavin Browning, Director of Public Programs & Engagement Natalie Layne Baker, Sound Editor Jessi Cotter, Production Manager Caroline Eng, Sound Designer Jordan Fleming, Student Producer Irungu Mutu, Dialect Coach Jim Petty with Five Ohm Productions, Audio Engineer Zoe E. Rotter, Casting Director Kanika Vaish, Literary Manager Daniel Vaughn, Stage Manager FESTIVAL CO-FOUNDERS Carol Becker, Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts David Henry Hwang, MFA Theatre Program, Columbia University School of the Arts Special thanks to the following, who created some of the sounds you heard in today’s episode and made them available through freesound.org: vedas [https://freesound.org/people/vedas/], malupeeters [https://freesound.org/people/malupeeters/], Vortichez [https://freesound.org/people/Vortichez/], Veridiansunrise [https://freesound.org/people/Veridiansunrise/], mariadrrs [https://freesound.org/people/mariadrrs/], dj997 [https://freesound.org/people/dj997/], jobro [https://freesound.org/people/jobro/], mansardian [https://freesound.org/people/mansardian/], daveincamas [https://freesound.org/people/daveincamas/], bone666138 [https://freesound.org/people/bone666138/], calpomatt [https://freesound.org/people/calpomatt/], washout [https://freesound.org/people/washout/], suoitnop [https://freesound.org/people/suoitnop/], lgarrett [https://freesound.org/people/lgarrett/], Jay_You [https://freesound.org/people/Jay_You/], bigmanjoe [https://freesound.org/people/bigmanjoe/], kevp888 [https://freesound.org/people/kevp888/], Erdie [https://freesound.org/people/Erdie/], newagesoup [https://freesound.org/people/newagesoup/], cgrote [https://freesound.org/people/cgrote/], CastIronCarousel [https://freesound.org/people/CastIronCarousel/], stomachache [https://freesound.org/people/stomachache/], Almusic34 [https://freesound.org/people/Almusic34/], Thalamus_Lab [https://freesound.org/people/Thalamus_Lab/], digifishmusic [https://freesound.org/people/digifishmusic/], straget [https://freesound.org/people/straget/] © 2021 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/]

A group of nervous visa applicants in an unnamed country sit in a waiting room, trading stories and tips on how to best present themselves before US consuls — the “gODs.” Their reasons for coming to the US vary, but will the gODs consider them? APPOINTMENT WITH gOD Written by Asiimwe Deborah Kawe (Uganda) Directed by Nana Dakin CAST Andrew Agress, Stage Directions Anita Abdinezhad, gOD 1 and Voice One Petrina Ampeire, Kakye Anita Ganesan, gOD 2 and Voice Two Kambi Gathesha, Announcer and Man 1 Shiro Kihagi, Achen and Voice 5 Janet Kilonzo, Fatima and Voice 3 James Okungu, Man 2 and Voice 4 PRODUCTION Andrew Agress, Literary Manager Gavin Browning, Director of Public Programs & Engagement Natalie Layne Baker, Sound Editor Jessi Cotter, Production Manager Caroline Eng, Sound Designer Jordan Fleming, Student Producer Jim Petty with Five OHM Productions, Audio Engineer Zoe E. Rotter, Casting Director Kanika Vaish, Literary Manager Daniel Vaughn, Stage Manager FESTIVAL CO-FOUNDERS Carol Becker, Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts David Henry Hwang, MFA Theatre Program, Columbia University School of the Arts Special thanks to the following, who created some of the sounds you heard in today’s episode and made them available through freesound.org: Damsteegt, [https://freesound.org/people/Damsteegt/]bigjoedrummer [https://freesound.org/people/bigjoedrummer/], boykind [https://freesound.org/people/boykind/], Sorrow-Fox, [https://freesound.org/people/Sorrow-Fox/]InspectorJ [https://freesound.org/people/InspectorJ/], hazure [https://freesound.org/people/hazure/], Natty23 [https://freesound.org/people/Natty23/], devilfish101 [https://freesound.org/people/devilfish101/], Andrew Duke [https://freesound.org/people/Andrew%20Duke/], Veridiansunrise [https://freesound.org/people/Veridiansunrise/], mariadrrs [https://freesound.org/people/mariadrrs/], dj997 [https://freesound.org/people/dj997/], jobro [https://freesound.org/people/jobro/], mansardian [https://freesound.org/people/mansardian/] © 2021 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/]

Co-founded by Carol Becker, Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts, and David Henry Hwang, Theatre Program, this annual festival presents readings of three plays by living international playwrights. Now in its fourth year, the 2021 Columbia University School of the Arts International Play Reading Festival [https://arts.columbia.edu/2021/international_play_reading] features Asiimwe Deborah Kawe (Uganda), Nick Makoha (United Kingdom), and Dima Mikhayel Matta (Lebanon). © 2020 by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/] Trailer sound design by Ada Westfall.