Workshop of REFUGE/MAJIA Comes to Portland Stage

Portland Stage announces a workshop of Bess Welden's Refuge/Malja with Arabic translation by Ali Al Mshakheel and directed by Todd Brian Backus on January 6th at 7pm in the Studio Theater at Portland Stage 25A Forest Avenue. To reserve your free tickets or to get more information visit portlandstage.org or call the box office Tue-Sun 12pm-6pm 207.774.0465. The workshop is generously supported by a joint grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Maine Humanities Council.

The play will be performed by a cast of local actors featuring: Tess Van Horn, Khalil Lesaldo, Deborah Paley, and Zahra Salim. Following the play there will be a discussion featuring Ali Al Mshakheel discussing his work as a translator and his collaboration with Bess Welden on this new work about cross-cultural exchange and histories.

ABOUT THE PLAY

In Refuge/Malja, Jamie, a fiercely independent Jewish-American photojournalist, calls up an old friend, Ibrahim, in the middle of the night for help and advice. She is used to covering harrowing situations, but when shoeless, motherless Waleed steps in front of her camera lens, she suddenly feels compelled to cross the professional line and assist the young refugee. Now backed into an impossible corner, Jamie needs Ibrahim to translate a message into Arabic, but hesitates to tell him the secret of why she is so drawn to the boy. This decade-spanning drama, written in English and Arabic, explores what it means to truly communicate across languages and cultures as well as within our own families, and how each of us defines and finds our own malja (refuge).

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Bess Welden (Playwright) has been making theater professionally for over 20 years as a playwright, performer, director, and educator. This November she directed the premiere of Not Always Happy, written and performed by Kari Wagner-Peck, as part of Portland Stage's Studio Series. Last June she premiered Legbala is a River, an original theatrical storytelling event with live music and illustration at Mayo Street Arts. Her full-length play, Refuge/Malja is currently in development with Portland Stage, and her script-in-development, Death Wings, was a semi-finalist for The Bridge Initiative's 2016 Playwright Award. In 2015 her one-acts Madeleines and Magic In The Attic received premieres. She has toured extensively with her two solo comedies, Big Mouth Thunder Thighs and The Passion of the Hausfrau. She is the librettist of two musical works, A Little Miracle (Lincoln Center premiere) and Eagle Girl, composed by David Stock. Bess earned an MFA from the National Theater Conservatory and has performed throughout the country and with many companies in her adopted home state of Maine. She is currently a Teaching Artist in Colby College's Theater and Dance Department where she has directed mainstage productions of Tartuffe and A Midsummer Night's Dream, and will teach/direct this year's Activist Storytelling Workshop: The Passion Project with performances in the Studio Theater. She is a proud member of Portland Stage's Affiliate Artists, and performs and teaches regularly for PS's Theater for Kids program. www.besswelden.com.

Ali Al Mshakheel (Translator) worked in media relations and outreach for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq before he and his family left Baghdad, Iraq in 2014. He had previously been a producer for ABC News reporting on events throughout Iraq; editor of news and feature stories for Aswat Al-Iraq web based News agency; and reporter and interpreter for The Times of London and Asahi Shimbun.

Todd Brian Backus (Director) is a new works director, producer, dramaturg, and occasional playwright. He is an Affiliate Artist as well as the current Literary Manager at Portland Stage. He's drawn towards what he describes as "weird theater," by which he means: Chekhovian cavemen plays; time-traveling gentrification musicals for kids; and plays that combine poetry, swordplay, and ghosts. His most recent projects include workshops of Things That Are Round by Callie Kimball and The Cave by Eleanor Burgess. His work will next be seen on the Mainstage during Portland Stage's inaugural Dark Week Project, featuring Sarah Ruhl's Dear Elizabeth with a rotating cast of Affiliate Artists.

STUDIO SERIES

The Studio Series is an ongoing program consisting of performances hosted by Portland Stage featuring Affiliate Artists that are performed in the Studio Theater at Portland Stage. These performances range from readings of fledgling plays, more focused and rehearsed workshops, and even full productions.

Our Affiliate Artists present and participate in a diverse range of programs each season, dedicated to exploring new theatrical works, bringing the written word to the stage, and welcoming the community into the theater.

PORTLAND STAGE

Portland Stage is a hub of creative activity and energy that engages and contributes to the entire community. Located in the heart of the Arts District on Forest Avenue, Portland Stage is known for its professional Mainstage Theater Productions, its creation of vital Education Programs, both in-schools and in-house, and for cultivating new voices in theater through its New Work Programs that foster experimentation and artistic risk. Visit www.portlandstage.org to see all of our upcoming plays and events.

AFFILIATE ARTISTS

Portland Stage's Affiliate Artists are an artistic collective of local theater professionals who choose to devote themselves to this community. During each season, these actors, directors, and educators present and participate in a range of programs dedicated to exploring new theatrical works, bringing the written word to the stage, and welcoming the community into the theater.

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