Reflection Session #14: When Are We Going to Talk About the Wa--?

Reflection Session #14: When Are We Going to Talk About the Wa--?

Special Guest: Bina Sharif

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

6-7:30pm Central / 7-8:30pm Eastern

Our October episode features Bina Sharif, award-winning Pakistani American playwright, director, actor, poet, visual artist and performer. Bina is truly one of the most prolific playwrights of our time. Art2Action previously celebrated Bina Sharif's "Thirty Plays in Thirty Years" in 2016, and we are thrilled to have her join us again as part of the Reflection Sessions series. In this episode, Bina will read excerpts of her internationally acclaimed one-woman show, Afghan Woman. A powerful and again timely work, it is deeply meaningful for us to present this in October 2021, the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. We'll also screen Andrea Assaf's "When Are We Going to Talk About the Wa--?" from the digital production of Eleven Reflections on September, and discuss the resonance these works now. We invite you to join the conversation!

Bina Sharif has written over 30 plays, produced in the U.S., Europe, and Pakistan. Following September 11, 2001, she wrote 7 plays dealing with Islam, fundamentalism, terrorism, and war, including Democracy in Islam, Muslim Glitter, Republic of Iqra, Why?, and Here Comes The Change, all produced in NYC. Ms. Sharif’s one woman play Afghan Woman, written as a response to September 11th and the war in Afghanistan, was produced at the Theater for the New City in January 2002. Afghan Woman has been performed in theatres and universities across the globe, including the University of Hawaii, Islamabad Club Pakistan, Belgium, and Manchester (UK). Her play, My Ancestor’s House, is published in the anthology Contemporary Plays by American Women of Color and is being taught in many universities throughout the U.S. Ms. Sharif has won a number of awards for her playwriting, including the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), Jerome Foundation Award, and Franklin Furnace Award. She was also nominated for a Joseph Jefferson award for her acting by Chicago's Goodman Theater. She has an on-going project of visual art and writing combined called “Manhattan Days.” Ms. Sharif holds a medical degree from Pakistan and a Masters in Public Health from John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

This event is part of a year-long series of Reflection Sessions held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Launched in September 2020 by Art2Action and the Carver Community Cultural Center,  this series continues through the 20th Anniversary of 9/11 this year, in conjunction with our 2021 community-engaged theatre project "Eleven Reflections: San Antonio." These online sessions are live, interactive, art-based, participatory events reflecting on our nation in the post-9/11 era. Each session is  grounded in a performance excerpt from Eleven Reflections on September, by Andrea Assaf, with guest artists, creative prompts, and facilitated dialogue.

Save the Dates for full "Reflection Sessions" series:

2nd Tuesday of each month, through 2021

6-7:30pm Central / 7-8:30pm Eastern