Two Staged Readings May 12, 2011

Quantum Theatre and the University of Pittsburgh have united to present a three-day series of lectures, staged readings, and conference events, May 12-14, 2011. The events aim to initiate new inquires into the aesthetics and impacts of diasporas onto theater practice.

Thursday, May 12, 7pm: Fawzia Afzal-Khan’s two-person play, "Jihad Against Violence." The play showcases the perspective of contemporary Pakistani-American women on Pakistani politics and Muslim identity.

Preceding the reading, Fawzia Afzal-Khan will deliver a lecture entitled “Performative Interventions in the Body Politic of Pakistan.” This lecture will take place at 5:30pm in the auditorium.

Friday, May 13, 8pm: a staged reading of "Merchant on Venice" by Shishir Kurup. Kurup’s funny and moving play, liberally adapted from Shakespeare’s ...play, explores the diasporic condition of South Asian immigrants in Los Angeles.

Preceding the reading at 5pm, Neilesh Bose will speak about “South Asia, Diaspora, and History: Merchant on Venice and Post-Colonial Secularism.” Neilesh Bose, historian, theatre artist, and editor of "Beyond Bollywood and Broadway, Plays from the South Asian Diaspora, an anthology of plays from the global South Asian diaspora." These events link scholars in South Asian studies through interdisciplinary conversations about the role of theater in South Asian diasporas.

Both the lecture and reading are free and open to the public.