Interview: Keyanna Khatiblou's Throwing Another A GOING AWAY PARTY PLAY

Next up at Boston Court, Keyanna Khatiblou’s A Going Away Party Play world premieres September 28, 2024 (with previews already started September 19th). James Fowler directs the cast of Mehrnaz Mohammadi, Kodi Jackman, Nathan Mohebbi, Giovanny Camarena and Cindy Nguyen.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Keyanna!

What motivated you to submit A Going Away Party Play to the Los Angeles Open Submission Window in 2022?

The story of A Going Away Party Play is very personal to me, so I was selective about where I submitted it. I really respected Boston Court's focus on developing new plays, and I connected with their mission to create a magical, innovative style of theatre. I'm very interested in creating theatre that is a community experience, and I also love to experiment with the form, so Boston Court felt like the perfect fit. 

What was the process that your play went through? A reading and …?
The play had a workshop and staged reading with Theater on the Lake in Chicago pre-pandemic, and then the play was workshopped with a virtual staged reading during the Alliance Theatre's Festival of New Works. Every group of artists brought so much to the piece, and I am so grateful for those opportunities. You really don't know if a play works until other artists come together to bring it to life.

Has your play changed much from the reading to this world premiere production opening September 28th?
Because so much of the play is based on real stories I heard growing up, or real stories that I or my friends experienced, the actual plot has remained pretty consistent. However, the tone and urgency when it comes to the present-day characters has shifted. I spent a lot of time thinking about the different perspectives of first-generation Americans, what they would want to tell an audience, and how I can best amplify these important conversations. 

Was it more comfortable for you to have James Fowler directing again?
James has done some really innovative directing work in L.A., and we had a great working relationship during the New Play Reading Festival. We are both passionate about creating new, exciting theatre that can connect with a broad audience. I was impressed with the way he ran the rehearsal room and allowed everyone to have a voice in the creative process. When Boston Court suggested having him direct the full production, I was all for it!

What have you learned from James’ input?
It's important for me to work with artists who genuinely connect with the story I'm trying to tell, because I tend to be very self-critical and sometimes too collaborative. James and the artistic staff at Boston Court were clear that I should only incorporate feedback if I truly felt it matched my vision for this play. I've learned so much about not just agreeing to a note because someone else wants it - I need to trust my own voice and my own opinion.

In the cast and creatives, whom besides James, have you worked with before?
Mehrnaz Mohammadi read as Mina/Niloofar in the staged reading, and has been an integral part of this process. She is a phenomenal actor and a true artist. She brings such an honest energy to these roles that it's hard to believe the same performer is switching back and forth so seamlessly! Outside of the rehearsal room, our conversations about Iran and America, identity and family, have been incredibly helpful in allowing us to understand all the various points of view these characters' have. 

What is your three-line pitch for A Going Away Party Play?
Mina is an Iranian-American woman who can't picture her place in America's future, so she looks into the past. She throws a party and invites her closest friends to re-create the story of her parents falling in love and fleeing the Iranian Revolution. A Going Away Party Play is a celebration of multi-cultural American identities and an exploration of what it means to love and lose your home country.

Is there a character in A Going Away Party Play that closest resembles yourself?
Mina is definitely most similar to myself, but all of the characters feel like my friends and family. Or they feel like different parts of my brain arguing for 95 minutes. This play is based on real experiences in my life and my family members' lives, but everything I write ends up feeling very personal to me. Writing for me is just a long, public way of figuring something out. And I need to hire actors and designers to get me closer to an answer.

Have you ever thrown a party or attended a party similar to the one in A Going Away Party Play?
Yes! I did DIY-style theatre in Chicago for several years. I had a spoken word poetry phase, where my producer friends would invite me to perform in arts lofts, bars, and back patios for an audience of other artists. Then afterwards, we would drink and talk about what each others' performances brought up for each other. These party-plays were a space where I could write whatever unfiltered, personal thoughts I was grappling with, and they were a safe space to find support and friendship. I would leave those parties feeling so inspired and alive. I hope I can create a similar space for our audience. 

You were one of 50 selected to be an intern for STARZ. Tell us about that experience.
I interned at Starz as part of the TV Academy's internship program, and then I worked in the Original Programming department for almost two years. This was my first introduction to TV development and production. I was a fly on the wall for probably over 100 pitch meetings, dozens of notes calls, and I was asked to give creative feedback starting the first week I worked there. I learned so much about the business side of entertainment, how to sell a project, and how to create stories with enough complexity to last several seasons of TV. Starz is so writer-focused and a champion for diverse storytelling; I was able to be a very small part of projects that genuinely excited me.

What made you start writing plays instead of television scripts or screenplays?
I have a few pilots being passed around, and I also do scripted podcast work. Each medium has their own set of limitations and their own opportunities to connect to different audiences in different ways. But there is something so lovely and powerful about telling a story in a room full of people. For me, theatre is a celebration. I hope I am lucky enough to do this forever!

What’s next for Keyanna Khatiblou?
Nothing I can announce (ugh, such an L.A. answer), but I'm revising a play, and I have an audio project in the works.

Thank you again, Keyanna! I look forward to attending your Party.

For A Going Away Party Play tickets through October 27, 2024: click on the button below:

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