Cast Announced for Noor Theatre's 3-Part Production THE MYTH PROJECT, 5/1-4

A diverse cast of thirteen join Noor Theatre Artistic Director Lameece Issaq, Executive Director Maha Chehlaoui, and Producing Artistic Director Nancy Vitale for the world premiere of The Myth Project. This director-driven workshop production in three parts from Director/Writers Kareem Fahmy, Noelle Ghoussaini, and Pirronne Yousefzadeh, runs in repertory from Thursday, May 1 through Sunday, May 4 at New York Theatre Workshop's 4th Street Theatre.

Noor Theatre's The Myth Project showcases the work of three emerging directors tasked with creating a contemporary piece inspired by a Middle Eastern myth of their choice. Exploring and illuminating universal themes, and breaking open modern and ancient misperceptions, they created three unique theatrical experiences: The In-Between, phoenicia flowers, and I Am Gordafarid.

The In-Between, written and directed by Kareem Fahmy, is a tense supernatural thriller about the oppositions that define our existence and the eternal conflict between light and dark, where humankind is caught perilously in the middle. The cast includes Leila Buck (In The Crossing, Aftermath), Sara Buffamanti (The Verge, Eleanor alla Barre), Alex Grubbs (These Seven Sicknesses), Eric T. Miller (Sweet Storm, "Kings"), and Babak Tafti (The North Pool, "Blue Bloods"). Fight Choreography by Kyle Knauf and Assistant Direction by Nora Sorena Casey.

phoenicia flowers, written and directed by Noelle Ghoussaini, is the poetic tale of Phoenician gods living on a tourist site in modern day Lebanon. The beautiful Adonis is resigned to fading away when a young boy attempts to changes his fate. Gods and humans struggle to cope with loss and rediscover the spirit of their lives and land. The cast includes Monte Bezell ("Homeland," "Person of Interest"), LaChrisha Brown (The Flight, SKATE PLAY), Peter Ganim (Lapse, "Law & Order"), Fahim Hamid (Hot Fun in the Wintertime, The Kite Runner), and Imran Sheikh ("Guy Code," Disconnect). Choreography by Naliaka Wakhisi, Fight Choreography by Brian Belcinski,original music performed by Jarrod Mayer.

I Am Gordafarid, conceived and directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh, weaves together the story of the female warrior Gordafarid, the modern-day naqqal (storyteller) of the same name fighting to keep her art form alive, and the contemporary Iranian-American theatre makers themselves. Through poetry, myth, movement and music, they grapple with the question of ownership, and the myths and realities of being Iranian, American, and somewhere in between. The cast includes Layla Khoshnoudi (My Daughter Keeps Our Hammer, Women), Leyla Modirzadeh (The Scars at Night Are Big and Bright), and Sade Namei (Emotional Creature, In Medias Res). Projection Design by Robert Figueira and Associate Direction by Sanaz Ghajarrahimi.

The scenic design for The Myth Project is by Starlet Jacobs (Bright Star by Steve Martin and Matilda tour); costume design by Lisa Reneé Jordan (Fetes de la Nuit, Boy in the Bathroom); lighting design by Joseph Thompson; sound design by Mark Van Hare (Eternal, Marisol); production stage manager is Nicole Marconi (What's It All About).

Kareem Fahmy is a Canadian-born theatre artist of Egyptian descent. He wrote the plays, Resolved, The Alternate, and Intervention, and the book of the original musical w/o u i'm nothing, all produced in Montreal. The In-Between is his NYC playwriting debut. Kareem has worked extensively in new play development with companies including Soho Rep (Writer/Director Lab), Berkeley Rep (The Ground Floor), Sundance Institute Theatre (PEN World Voices Series), Ensemble Studio Theatre, and Partial Comfort Productions. He has been a Van Lier Directing Fellow at Second Stage, a Drama League Classical Directing Fellow, and an Emerging Artist Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop. Kareem has assisted Tony Award-winners Michael Mayer (The Illusion, Signature Theatre) and John Tiffany (Once, NYTW). Kareem is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Rising Circle Theater Collective, a founding member of |the claque|, and is an NYTW Usual Suspect. MFA: Columbia. www.kareemfahmy.com

Noelle Ghoussaini is a playwright, director, activist and arts educator. Her work is dedicated to using arts to examine and re-imagine our society within a political, social and historical context. phoenicia flowers is Noelle's fifth original play. She has curated numerous community arts events, which have taken place at site-specific locations and community gardens throughout NYC. As a director, she has worked with companies such as Culture Project, the Jenin Freedom Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, Sepia Works, Noor Theatre, the Bolshoi Drama theatre, and Movement Theatre Company. She received her Masters in Arts Politics at NYU. www.noelleghoussaini.com.

Pirronne Yousefzadeh has directed and developed new work at The Public, New York Theatre Workshop, Ars Nova, Soho Rep, The Playwrights Realm, Noor Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Rep, InterAct Theatre Company, Perseverance Theatre, and Hangar Theatre, among others. She is the 2014 SDC Denham Fellowship recipient, a Usual Suspect at NYTW, New Georges Affiliated Artist and member of The Jam, and an alumna of the Emerging Artist Fellowship at NYTW, Drama League Directors Project, LCT Directors Lab, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, and EST's Resident Director Program. M.F.A.: Columbia. www.pirronne.com.