by Gabriel Jason Dean
HEARTLAND
a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere
by Gabriel Jason Dean
When Afghan refugee Nazrullah shows up on the doorstep of retired professor Dr. Harold Banks claiming to have known his adopted daughter Getee, the two become unlikely roommates and friends. Getee and Nazrullah’s relationship unfolds in a series of dramatized memories that reveal their uniquely human journey while stunning us with a new understanding of America’s tragic impact on Jihadism in the Middle East. A poignant new work inspired by true events, Heartland is a stirring emotional journey about love, loss, and understanding.
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MAINSTAGE SEASON
Straight White Men | We Will Not Be Silent | 1776 | Cardboard Piano | Becoming Dr. Ruth
BLACKBOX PLAYS
Heartland | Still Standing





Afsoon Pajoufar makes her Boston Center for American Performance and New Repertory Theatre debut. Boston area credits include Cabaret, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Boston University). Film credits include Ruined, Zoya, Remembering the Pentagons, and Nar. She received a BA in Painting from the Azad Art and Architecture University of Tehran and is currently pursuing an MFA in Scenic Design at Boston University. Originally from Tehran, Iran, she currently resides in Allston.

Becca Jewett (She/Her) was the 2015 recipient of the Virgil C. Jonson Award for Excellence in Costume Design. She is currently a freelance costumer. Her most recent design credits include Costume Designer at MRT’s production of “A Christmas Carol”, Speakeasy’s “Fairview” and “The Sound Inside”. Her other recent credits at New Rep include, “Trayf”, “We Will Not be Silent”, “Heartland” and “Blackberry Winter”. Greater Boston Productions include, Costume Designer for Umbrella Arts Center’s “The Colored Museum”, Greater Boston Stage Company’s Production of “Last Night at Bowl-Mor Lanes”, and Mask Designer for the Liars and Believers show “A Story Beyond”. Other recent credits include Crafts Department at the Glimmerglass Festival 2014-2017, Costume Shop Manager at Commonwealth Shakespeare Summer 2018, and Assistant Dyer Painter at the Santa Fe Opera 2019-Present. She looks forward to working on many new creative projects and hopes you enjoy the show.
LEE SCHUNA returns to New Repertory Theatre after designing Two Jews Walk Into a War, Lonely Planet, Statements After an Arrest, Fiddler on the Roof, and serving as Sound Engineer on multiple productions and events. Lee is a transmasculine freelance sound designer, composer, music producer, and graduate of the Music Industry program at Northeastern University. Credits include Hype Man, Peerless, Really, and The T Party (Company One); Every Brilliant Thing, Grand Concourse, and Significant Other (SpeakEasy Stage Company); Fires in the Mirror and The King Stag (Tufts University); and The Women Who Mapped The Stars (The Nora Theatre Company). He is currently working on experimental electronic music to be released on his pet record label at Human Nature Records. He resides in Roxbury. humannaturerecords.com

Renee E. Yancey* (she/her) is a stage manager, production manager, and theatre educator. Previous New Rep credits include: Ripe Frenzy, Heartland, and Still Standing. Originally from Texas, Renee spent 10 years based in the Washington, D.C., area collaborating on projects with Olney Theatre Center, Studio Theatre, theatre Washington/Helen Hayes Awards, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Velocity DC, and AFI Silver Spring. Currently based in Boston, New England-area work includes collaborations with New Repertory Theatre, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Central Square Theater, Wheelock Family Theatre, Opera House Arts, and Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. Most recently Renee was the ASM for the 2022 National Playwrights Conference at The O’Neill. Renee is Head of Management for the School of Theatre at Boston University. MFA Boston University; BFA Texas State University. renee-e-yancey.com