Hypokrit Theatre Company Announces Line-Up for TAMASHA: FESTIVAL OF SOUTH ASIAN PERFORMING ARTS

Hypokrit Theatre Company, in association with The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation, is pleased to announce the line up for Tamasha: Festival of South Asian Performing Arts. The festival will take over the entire Paradise Factory (64 East 4th St) to spotlight over fifty South Asian performers. Tamasha takes place September 26th through October 2nd, 2016.

Tamasha is the first festival in Manhattan fully dedicated to South Asian artists of all performing disciplines.

• UPSTAIRS THEATER

The Music in My Blood

Written by Shubhra Prakash; Directed by Marcus Yi

Music by one of India's most promising classical singers, Sandip Bhattacharjee
Tues, Sept 27 at 8pm; Sat, Oct 1 at 1pm and 7pm

http://www.tamashanyc.org/themusicinmyblood

Prema has run away from home escaping her strict mother who has given her life to the pursuit of music. Archana has struggled all her life to learn music which she must pass on to her daughter. Walter Kaufmann a western classical pianist's has become a refugee to India during WWII, he discovers the music of India. As Prema learns about Walter's journey, she has a chance to repair the relationship with her own mother.

Eh Dah? - Questions for My Father

Written and performed by Aya Aziz

Wed, Sep 28 at 6pm; Thu, Sep 29 @8pm

http://www.tamashanyc.org/theatre-eh-dah-questions-for-my-father

This year's runaway hit at the New York Musical Festival is Hypokrit's own production, Eh Dah. It tells the story of "Ghetto-Hippie-Arab-Commie-China Doll" Aya Aziz, who was shaped by the eclectic community of New York City. Aya's father, an Egyptian-American world-traveler, remained a mystery, as did her Muslim family. In this award-winning solo musical, Aya enacts the world she came from and the family she went in search of. With a range of accents, voices, and zany characters, Aya's story deals with contemporary conflicts - identity, the culture war, Islamophobia, all while asking Eh Dah - what is this?!

3-2-1

Presented by Rovaco Dance Company

Wed, Sep 28 at 8pm; Sun, Oct 2 at 5pm

http://www.tamashanyc.org/dance-321-by-rovaco

"3-2-1" is a contemporary dance production presented by Rohan Bhargava/Rovaco Dance Company. The program features three dancers in three different works titled Kool Kids(World Premiere), Havas, and The Devil's Advocate (commissioned by Mare Nostrum Elements). Performed by Nico Gonzales, Mariel Harris, and Jared McAboy, this dance show is filled with physical movement, exciting theatrics, sprawling narratives, and engaging music.

HONOUR: Confessions of a Mumbai Courtesan

Written and performed by Dipti Mehta; Directed by Mark Cirnigliaro

Sun, Oct 2 at 3:15pm; Wed, Sept 28 at 9:15pm

http://www.tamashanyc.org/theatre-honour-confessions-of-a-mumbai-courtesan

Visit India's red light district and meet the eunuch, priest, pimp, mother and daughter who call it home. A fun and poignant look at the exotic, dangerous life of Mumbai's real-life brothels and why they exist. HONOUR: Confessions of a Mumbai Courtesan is a testament to survival and pride. A mother's gift to her only daughter. "Memoirs of Geisha" meets "Slumdog Millionaire" meets Indian epic "Mahabharata" in this dark tale of pursuit of truth in modern day Mumbai.

Hiding Kanye

Written and directed by Mayadevi Ross

Fri, Sep 30 at 6:30pm; Sat, Oct 1 at 4:15pm

http://www.tamashanyc.org/theatre-hiding-kanye

"Are you Black and also Asian, or are you Asian and also Black?" A story of a young woman grappling with her mixed race identity and culture. Through music, dance, laughter, and celebration, she navigates her way through being Black, and being Asian, all the while living in White America.

Dance Night

Fri, Sep 30 at 8pm; Sat, Oct 1 at 8:30pm

http://www.tamashanyc.org/dance-night

Featuring works by Bollywood Funk NYC, Chun Ya Chun, Dance Drama Dramatics, Ishq in Motion, Junoon Performing Arts, Manhattan Andaaz, Nikita Chaudhry, and Swarali Karulkar.

Forces

Presented by the SAPAN Institute

Sat, Oct 23 at 2:30pm

http://www.tamashanyc.org/theatre-forces

The SAPAN Institute, a South Asian performing arts company based in Washington D.C., presents FORCES, a collaborative production between our three branches of dance, music, and theater, exploring the emotional range and enigmatic nature of the four elements: wind, fire, water, and earth.

Intelligence and Self Transformation

Presented by Dr. Nalini Rau

Sat, Oct 1 at 5:30pm

http://www.tamashanyc.org/dance-intelligence-and-transformation

We begin with a traditional telling in Indian classical dance (Bharatnatyam) of the story of the search for Sita as seen through Hanuman's eyes, a slice of Ramayana, and then shift to a non traditional telling of Sita: a Sitayana. The first depicts a search for a woman who has been kidnapped. The second represents a woman who knows her strength and power. We then present the story of the self transformation of King Ashoka, who is confronted with the result of his violence, and resolves to implement a rule of nonviolence.

• DOWNSTAIRS THEATER

Swiped to Death
Written by Kabir Chopra

Join us for a table read of the upcoming web seriesSwiped to Death, a comedy featuring 8 painfully real stories from the online dating world. Stories include awkward sleepovers, drunken propositions, cringe-worthy text messaging, and plenty more! Written by Kabir Chopra.

Americana Soup Sketch Show
Written by Jacqueline Pereda
Tue, Sept 27 at 8pm; Sat, Oct 1 at 8:30pm
http://www.tamashanyc.org/americana-soup-kitchen

Turning stereotypes on their head... so you don't have to! Join comedians Kent Koren, Jacqueline Pereda, and Jerry Matthew.

Outcry
Written by Tennessee Williams; Directed by Chris Romero Wilson
Wed, Sept 28 at 6:30pm; Sat, Oct 1 at 5pm
http://www.tamashanyc.org/theatre-outcry

Out Cry is an American play by Tennessee Williams, about a grown brother and sister who have been abandoned by their acting troupe in a theatre, and begin to discuss how they got there, both literally and figuratively. This version will cast South Asians in the roles. Williams described the play as "My most beautiful play since A Streetcar [Named Desire], the very heart of my life." We will be performing the entirely of Act 1.

Borders in a Bedroom
Written by Shivali Bhammer; Directed by Celine Rosenthal
Thu, Sept 29 at 8pm; Sat, Oct 1 at 2pm
http://www.tamashanyc.org/theatre-borders-in-a-bedroom

"Borders in a Bedroom gives the audience an intimate look at two different cultures so rarely seen on the American stage, as represented by two likeable, colorful young characters... who happen to be in love!" - JEd Ryan, Huffington Post

Borders in a Bedroom centers around a couple, Maya and Imran, and how deeply entrenched views about the complexities of the outside world can permeate even the most intimate of relationships. It compels the characters to address challenging sociopolitical issues pertaining to racial and religious disparities, philosophical differences, nationalism, and ultimately, love. Borders in a Bedroom demands from its protagonists a raw, visceral honesty about what they want and their feelings for each other. Set acRoss One evening in New York City, the play brings to life with brimming heat, charged emotion, and sustained vigor, the conversations most of us would never dare to have in our lifetimes.

Writer Shivali Bhammer who signed with Sony BMG at the age of 22, is a vocalist best known for bringing devotional music to young people.

Two Texts in Solitude
Written by Nirmal Verma; Directed by Manoj Tiwari, and Mitsushree Tiwari Raphael
Sat, Oct 1 at 3:30pm; Sun, Oct 2 at 1:00pm
http://www.tamashanyc.org/theatre-two-texts-in-solitutude

Among the Hindi writers of his generation Nirmal Verma probably had the closest affinity to Europe and European literature. Decades before exile and alienation became a standard topic of successful Anglo-Indian literature, Verma explored the situation of an Indian in Europe and incorporated techniques and influences of modern European literature into Hindi fiction. In an effort to introduce Verma to the new audience, we present two of the three monologues from his creation, "Teen Ekant"- three stories of solitude-a collage of three monologues.

Yoni Ki Raat
Sat, Oct 1 at 6:30pm
http://www.tamashanyc.org/theatre-yoni-ki-raat

Yoni ki Raat NYC is a transformational performance project that seeks to create community among South Asian or Indo-Carribean-identified cis women, trans people and gender nonconforming artists.

Yoni (vagina) tells the stories that South Asians have been taught to swallow - stories about pleasure and violence, desire and disaster. It's all on the table - family struggles, nighttime adventures and of course, all things hairy. In naming these truths, we engage both ourselves and our audience in a process of transformation.

An Afternoon of Short Plays
Sun, Oct 2 at 2:30pm
http://www.tamashanyc.org/theatre-an-afternoon-of-short-plays

Including Sunita Deshpande's A Sari for Pallavi, one of the top 10 plays at the 41st Festival of Short Plays hosted by Samuel French.

TICKETING INFORMATION

Individual tickets range from $15-25.00. Festival passes are available for $50.00. For more information visit www.tamashanyc.org