Nikta Sabouri & Isabelle Sanatdar Stevens
Selected from over 40 submissions from local artists, these artists represent exceptionally innovative and relevant works for our time. The selected artists are Nikta Sabouri, an Iranian-American freelance theater director, dramaturg, actor, and translator based in Boston and Iranian-American writer, actor and singer Isabelle Sanatdar Stevens.
Nikta Sabouri’s project will be the first English translation of the 60-minute play Testament of Bondar Bidakhsh, a dramatic account of the fall of the Vizier to Yama, the King of Persia. This high-ranking official constructed a magical cup to give Yama infinite knowledge and absolute power, which ultimately led to their mutual downfall.
The Testament of Bondar Bidakhsh is the third play in the “Naqqali Trilogy” book by Bahram Beyzaie. The book consists of three works that blend traditional Iranian storytelling modes with contemporary Western theatrical practice, each concerning a heroic figure from Persian mythology.
Isabelle Sanatdar Stevens’ work centers on the voices of Middle-Eastern immigrants, refugees, and their children. Her solo performance piece, Mahsa’s Last Song, will reflect on what is happening in Iran currently. On September 16th, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini “mysteriously” died in a hospital after being taken into police custody by the Iranian Morality Police for “not wearing her hijab appropriately”. Stevens is also 22, and during the Islamic Revolution her father was arrested, and her uncle was killed by Islamic Republic forces for protesting.
Mahsa’s Last Song also highlights the impact and influence that younger generations have on facilitating change. Mahsa was the same age as Isabelle at the time of her death. The piece will reflect on the revolution transpiring in Iran currently and the four+ decades since the Islamic Revolution, through the use of vignettes of stories, music, and silence.
The Pipeline Project invests directly in local performing artists, writers, and performance makers, providing concrete and tangible pathways to production at the professional level. It embodies core principles of New Rep’s Renewal Vision, with a renewed commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility, and accountability (IDEAA) infusing every aspect of the company’s work as it seeks to build community collaborations and give voice to the diverse interests of those communities.
◊ member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
º member of United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829