World Premiere Production Of BIPOC Playwrights Selection At Boise Contemporary Theater

World Premiere production at Boise Contemporary Theater (BCT) of a 2023 BIPOC Playwrights Festival Selection, The Life You Gave Me by Novid Parsi, directed by Hamid Dehghani. Previews start Wednesday, Apr 23, and shows continue through Saturday, May 10, 2025.

“I wanted to create for other people the kinds of emotional and intellectual experiences that literature evoked in me. So, after earning my Ph.D. in English at Duke University with a dissertation that blurred the line between creative and academic writing, I briefly wrote short fiction before returning to my first love as a child: the theater,” Parsi explains. His writing is informed by a variety of experiences, growing up in East Texas as the son of Iranian immigrants, professional journalism, and writing and editing for an arts-and-culture magazine, to name a few. “As a journalist, you realize you have this incredible power to listen to someone talk about their life and work, and then translate that into a piece of writing that faithfully captures who they are and what they do. You also realize how much of the story depends on what you decide to put in or leave out. There is an ethical weight to every storytelling decision you make. It's all very similar to The Life You Gave Me. In this play, the writer character tries to tell his mother's story truthfully, but at the same time, his desire to satisfy his audience shapes the various versions of her story that he tells,” Parsi said.

The Life You Gave Me was selected to participate in BCT's Third Annual BIPOC Playwrights Festival, where Parsi workshopped the play with a professional director and cast over the week, culminating in a reading of the work for BCT audience members. BCT is thrilled to have the opportunity to fully produce Parsi's work for its world premiere under the direction of Hamid Dehghani, who recently directed English by Sanaz Toossi at Goodman Theatre in Chicago and The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.

“To see our second world premiere come to our MainStage from the BIPOC Playwrights Festival is beyond my wildest expectations. It is a testament to the incredible caliber of talent that has come to Boise for the Festival. The folks Novid and Hamid have assembled for this production are all world class designers and actors, and we're thrilled to bring them, and this funny and moving play, to our stage,” added Producing Artistic Director Benjamin Burdick.

The Life You Gave Me

by Novid Parsi
Directed by Hamid Dehghani
April 23-May 10, 2025

Cast:
Aidan Bristow
Pantea Ommi
Jim Kieffer
Sophie Zmorrod

Production and Design Team:
Director – Hamid Dehghani
Stage Manager – Elena Maddy
Technical Director – Nicholas Jules Hewitt
Scenic Designer – Omid Akbari
Lighting Designer – Maximo Grano De Oro
Sound Designer – Luke Santy
Assistant Stage Manager – Sophia Ventresco
Master Electrician – Paul Miller
Master Electrician – Kendyl Johnson
Props – Lily Kennedy
Sound Engineer – Ashlyn Clark

Previews: 7 PM, Wed, April 23 – Fri, April 25, 2025 – All seats only $28.

Pay What You Want Night: First preview, 7 PM April 23, and the last Wednesday, May 7. No online sales: pay what you want at the door. Accepting cash and cards (cards incur a small transaction fee).

First Thursday Happy Hour: 5:30-6:30 PM, Thursday, May 1. Only at our box office during this happy hour event get 20% off tickets for any performance of this play (excluding closing night). Join us for discounts on tap beers and wines while you enjoy charcuterie and local art on display in our lobby.

Opening Night: 7 PM Saturday, April 26. Tickets to opening night include the exclusive after-party!

Educators' Night: 7 PM Wednesday, April 30. Any school district employee with a valid school I.D. may buy one $20 ticket through our box office with code EDUNIGHT25. Show school I.D. at the door. (Not just for teachers, but any school district employee with a school I.D.)

Post-Show Convos: 2 PM Sat, May 3, & 7 PM Fri, May 9. Stay after the performance to talk with actors and other theater makers.

Closing Night: 7 PM Saturday, May 10.

Performances run Wednesday through Saturday for three weeks, Apr 23 - May 10, 2025. More information and performance times are available at
https://bctheater.org/2425-mainstage-season/the-life-you-gave-me/.

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