Conflict Photographer Pieces Together Her Past In UNSEEN At Mosaic Theater, Opening March 30

What happens to us when we look? What happens when we don't? Those questions underpin the DC premiere of Unseen, Mona Mansour's suspenseful new work about the trauma experienced-and documented by-American conflict photographer Mia. Unseen welcomes Mansour back to DC for the first time since Mosaic's world premiere production of her critically well-received Vagrant Trilogy. Directed by Johanna Gruenhut, Unseen is on stage at Mosaic Theater Company March 30-April 23, 2023. Tickets at mosaictheater.org.

After waking up in her on-again, off-again girlfriend Derya's Istanbul apartment with no memory of how she got there, Mia relies on the contents of her camera to piece together fragments of lost time after being on assignment in Syria. Her mother, Jane, flies in from the US to help unravel what happened to her daughter. Together, the women embark on a cross-cultural, time-shifting journey that illuminates the toll of Mia's profession, while bringing bigger personal, professional, and political revelations more fully into frame.

American conflict photographer Mia wakes up in her ex-girlfriend's Istanbul apartment and doesn't recall how she got there, although the contents of her camera might. A cross-cultural, time-shifting journey ensues as Mia pieces together the details of her past and wrestles with the costs of her profession. Unseen welcomes Mansour back to DC following Mosaic's acclaimed debut production of The Vagrant Trilogy, which was produced Off-Broadway by The Public Theater in April 2022.

Mona Mansour is pleased to be back at Mosaic Theater with Unseen, which was last produced at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2022 directed by Evren Odcikin. Her play The Vagrant Trilogy made its New York debut in April 2022 at The Public Theater, directed by Mark Wing-Davey; it was postponed for two years due to Covid-19. The trilogy was presented at Mosaic Theater in 2018 (dir. Wing-Davey.) Of the trilogy: The Hour of Feeling (dir. Wing-Davey) premiered at the Humana Fest, and an Arabic translation was presented at NYU Abu Dhabi. Urge for Going: Public Theater (dir. Hal Brooks) and Golden Thread (dir. Odcikin). The Vagrant was commissioned by the Public and workshopped at the 2013 Sundance Theater Institute. The Way West: Labyrinth (dir. Mimi O'Donnell); Steppenwolf (dir. Amy Morton); and Marin Theatre Company (dir. Hayley Finn). Mona was a member of The Public Theater's Emerging Writers Group. With Tala Manassah she has written Falling Down the Stairs. Their play Dressing is part of Facing Our Truths, commissioned by the New Black Festival. Awards: Helen Merrill, Whiting, Middle East America Playwright Award. MacDowell Colony 2018, New Dramatists Class of 2020. Mona was a writer for NBC's New Amsterdam and is currently creating series for FlipNarrative and AMC International.

Johanna Gruenhut is the Associate Artistic Director of Theater J in Washington, DC. Her work has been seen at The Public Theater, The Kennedy Center, Studio Theatre, Everyman Theatre, Weston Theater Company (formerly Weston Playhouse), Long Wharf Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Theater J, and Baltimore Center Stage. She has taught at Georgetown University, University of Maryland, College Park, The Johns Hopkins University, and University of California, San Diego. Originally from New York, she currently lives in Baltimore, MD with her husband and their three kids.

Mosaic Theater aligns its safety protocols with those of the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Masking is optional in public areas of the building, such as hallways and restrooms, however masks are required inside theater spaces. Food and drink purchased at the Atlas Café can be brought into theaters, and patrons can temporarily remove their masks while actively eating or drinking.

For the latest information, visit mosaictheater.org/health-and-safety.

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