Rehana Mirza awarded Playwrite-in-Residence

Rehana Mirza

NEW YORK: Playwright Rehana Mirza has been awarded the 2009-2010 South Asian Diaspora Playwright-in-Residence Award by the Lark Play Development Center and Indo-American Arts Council.

The formal presentation of the award will take place at the final celebration event of Playwright's Week on October 4.

As the 2009-10 recipient Mirza will receive a $1,000 cash award, support from the Lark for the year as she develops new work through roundtable readings, and a public reading at the end of the year. After the fellowship, Mirza will be eligible for Lark's alumni programs which provide long term support.

According to Lark Artistic Program Director Megan Monaghan, "This award identifies and supports extraordinary playwrights from the South Asian Diaspora in the New York City metro area, in order to expand the body of work that illustrates the many diverse experiences and interests of South Asian Americans."

Mirza is the founder and Artistic Director of Desipina Productions, a company focusing in film and theatre, which is dedicated to promoting cross-pollinations of artistic, political, and cultural dialogues. About this opportunity Mirza says, "There are millions of reasons out there to stop being a playwright. But the one reason I keep at it is for the love of telling a story that wouldn't (or couldn't) get told by anyone else.

For the next year, I'll have a second reason: a place for the story to be heard, and an artistic community to help shape it. This fellowship is coming at just the right time, as I've been constantly hoping for that extra push that can better connect me to my work, and that can connect others to it."

Rehana's full-length plays have been produced/developed at Asian American Theater Company (San Francisco), Arena Stages (Los Angeles), Studio Space @ Theater Row, HERE Arts Center, Rasik Arts (Toronto), and Asian American Arts Centre (Philadelphia). Her short plays have been presented at the Culture Project, EST, The Flea, Center Stage NY, The Tenement Museum, Richmond Shepard Theater, Artwallah (Los Angeles), CSV Center (2G), and Abrons Arts Center.

Rehana is the founder and Artistic Director of Desipina Productions. She is also the filmmaker of the award winning short film, Modern Day Arranged Marriage, which has played in over 40 festivals and the feature film, Hiding Divya, with Madhur Jaffrey, Pooja Kumar and Deep Katdare.

India Post News Service