Silk Road Rising Presents Public Staged Readings of THE DOCTOR IS INDIAN, 8/3-8/5

Silk Road Rising presents three staged readings of Shane Sakhrani's new play THE DOCTOR IS INDIAN, directed by Anish Jethmalani, and featuring Minita Ghandi, Puja Mohindra, Kelly O'Sullivan, Anita Chandwaney, Dipika Cherala, Behzad Dabu, Neal Dandade, Kamal Hans, and Khurram Mozaffar.

The Gupta family of Mumbai, India is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. In Shane Sakhrani's hilarious play The Doctor is Indian, an unexpected takeover of the Gupta family business lands it in the hands of an American corporation. Marital woes abound as traditional male-female dynamics are challenged. The specter of inter-racial dating rears its unruly head, and a poisonous legacy threatens the security of the family's home. Traditionally, an Indian family would have suffered said struggles with silent resentment, but in the age of globalization, intrusive modes of communication and Western style family therapy turn tradition on its head.

Playwright Shane Sakharani says of the play: "It's an honor to be developing my comedy about globalization and Culture Clash with Silk Road Rising and to finally get a chance to work with Jamil and Malik. The Doctor Is Indian is my first-born play and therefore very close to my heart. Having lived between Asia and different Western cities throughout my life, my goal with this play was to try and reconcile these two worlds, at least in my own mind. It explores how traditional family structures in Asia might choose to cope with the changing world in a way that I hope is both lighthearted and touching. I originally wrote the play with an Asian audience in mind and after having had a successful run last year in Singapore, I feel truly blessed to have an opportunity to re-create this play once again, this time for an American audience. I am very excited to see how this play is going to grow over the course of the workshops and readings in Chicago."

The readings will take place Friday, August 3rd at 8pm; Saturday, August 4th at 8pm; and Sunday, August 5th at 2pm at Pierce Hall at The Historic Chicago Temple Building, 77 West Washington St, Chicago. Tickets are $5 each, and can be purchased online or in person at the box office one hour before each reading. Reservations can be made in advance at http://www.silkroadrising.org/ or by calling (312) 857–1234, x201.

Shane Sakharani (playwright) was born in Hong Kong to Indian parents and has also lived in London, Toronto, and Los Angeles. After many years of crippling cultural confusion, Shane is finally comfortable describing himself as a "Global Indian." He holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from the University of Southern California. Shane was a finalist for the 2010-2011 Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Award from the ALLIANCE THEATRE in Atlanta for the The Doctor Is Indian. In 2011, Shane's comedy A Widow of No Importance received its world premiere at East West Players in Los Angeles, and The Doctor is Indian was produced in Singapore. He is inspired to tell new stories about contemporary, urban, and globalized Asia. Shane also teaches playwriting and screenwriting at Hong Kong University. He divides his time between Hong Kong and Los Angeles.

Anish Jethmalani (director) recently directed 16th Street Theatre's acclaimed revival of Rebecca Gilman's The Crowd You're in With. His directing credits include productions of Rebecca Gilman's Spinning into Butter in 2006 and the Jeff Award winning production of Blue Surge in 2009 with Eclipse Theatre Company where he is an ensemble member. Other directing credits include the Jeff Award winning production of The Masrayana in 2005 in a co-production with Rasaka Theatre and Prop Thtr, The Plebian Decimal as part of the David Mamet Festival at the Goodman Theatre in addition to staged readings of Durango and Celestial Motions for Silk Road Rising as well as The Opposition and Women of the Dust for Rasaka Theatre. He also directed Rebecca Gilman's The American in Me in at The DePaul Theatre School. As the former Artistic Director of Eclipse, Anish helped produce and oversee over 20 Eclipse productions, including the Jeff award winning productions of Pearl Cleage's Blues for an Alabama Sky in 2007 and Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest in 2000. In helping to shape Eclipse seasons around the works of one playwright, Anish has worked and consulted extensively with world renowned writers such as the late Romulus Linney, John Guare, Keith Reddin, Lanford Wilson, Rebecca Gilman, and Pearl Cleage. As an actor, he has appeared in productions at several Chicago Theatres including The Goodman, Steppenwolf, Court, Chicago Shakespeare, Lookingglass, Writers, Victory Gardens, Next, Apple Tree, First Folio, Silk Road Rising, Chicago Dramatists and many others. He has also worked at The Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Silk Road Rising creates live theatre and online videos that tell stories through primarily Asian American and Middle Eastern American lenses. In representing communities that intersect and overlap, we advance a polycultural worldview. Silk Road Rising was founded by life partners Jamil Khoury and Malik Gillani in 2002 under the name Silk Road Theatre Project, as a direct response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the ensuing backlash against Middle Eastern Americans and Muslim Americans. To learn more about Silk Road Rising please visit www.silkroadrising.org

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