Beyzaie, Niloofar

Niloofar Beyzaie obtained her Master of Arts Degree in German literature, theatre, cinema, television, and pedagogy at Goethe University in Frankfurt. In 1994, she founded her own company 'Daricheh' and started her activity as a playwright, director, light, costume, and set designer.  She has directed thirteen plays such as “Marjan, Mani and a Few Minor Difficulties, “Three Opinions About a Death,” “No Man’s Land,” “Foreign Like You and Me,” and “Blind Owl,” that were staged in Europe over 200 times.
She directed two of her plays, “The Blue Dreams of the Grey Women” and “The Sound of Silence” as guest a director and in collaboration with “Nar“Theatre Company in Berlin. One of her plays named “Daughters of Sun“was staged by Theater Maralam in Zurich. Her plays focus on the subject of identity, exile, freedom and oppression, and women’s political and social restrictions. She has published eight plays, forty research articles on theatre and film, and translations of over twenty articles on theatre. 
In 2005, Niloofar won “The World Academy of Arts, Literature, and Media” award in Dramatic Arts Category for her tireless efforts in directing and writing in theatre. In “Once Upon A Time,” Niloofar will stage the “Blind Owl” based on a masterpiece by one of the greatest Iranian modern writers, Sadeq Hedayat.

Parsa, Soheil
www.moderntimesstage.com

An award winning director, Soheil Parsa is the founder of Modern Times Stage Company, one of the most culturally-diverse theatre companies in Canada. As the artistic director of the company, he has built an amazing repertoire composed of new Canadian, classic European, and Iranian works. He has also received eight Dora Awards. Soheil is an accomplished writer, choreographer, and dramaturge who began his promising career as an actor and director after graduating from University of Tehran. After immigrating to Canada, he obtained a second Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies at York University, and in 1989, he resumed theatrical activities with actor and co-founder of Modern Times Stage Company, Peter Farbridge. The Acting students of Modern Times will present “Only Sound Remains” (Tanha Sedast Ke Mimanad), a theatrical exploration of Forugh Farrokhzad’s poems, during the festival. 

Pesyani, Atila

Atila Pesyani is an accomplished theatre director, actor, and teacher. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Tehran. Over the course of his career, he has directed over twenty-five plays such as: Aora (1991), To Be or Not to Be (1994), Green Snow (1998), Resurrection (1999), Qajar Coffee (2000), Caligula, the Poet of Cruelty (2003), and Wonderland (2003). Currently, he is the leader of Bazi Theatre Company which he founded in 1989. Bazi is a theatre company which focuses on producing experimental, collaborative works. Over the course of the past 16 years, Bazi has produced over 50 performances and taken part in numerous international tours and festivals throughout Asia, Europe, and North America.

Panahiha, Pantea

An award winning actress and an accomplished stage manager, Pantea was born in 1978 in Iran. She graduated with a Bachelor in Film Directing from Sooreh University.  She has acted in numerous plays including Blacks directed by Hamed Mohammad Taheri (Iran 1999; Parma Festival, Italy 2000) and toured with Roberto Chuli’s production of The House of Bernard Alba in Tehran, Malmo Theatre Festival, Sweden, Stockholm, Belgium, Duisburg, Düsseldorf and Berlin in 2002-2004. In 2006, with Chuli’s request, she held an acting workshop in Germany; in 2007, she won the Second Prize for Best Actress in the Festival of the House of Theatre. Pantea will be holding two acting workshops in Tirgan. She also is the Stage Manager of The Mute Who Was Dreamed, directed by Atila Pessyani. In addition to being an accomplished actress, Pantea has worked extensively in film as a Script Supervisor, collaborating with directors such as Bahram Beyzaei, Bahman Farman-ara, Ebrahim Hatami-kia, and Kamal Tabrizi.

Note: To reserve your seat please e-mail us at [email protected]