OPENING: The World Premiere of Through the Elevated Line at Silk Road Rising Through April 15, 2018

Silk Road Rising Presents

Through the Elevated Line

The World Premiere

Written by Novid Parsi

Directed by Carin Silkaitis

March 7th - April 15th, 2018

Silk Road Rising (Chief Programming Officer Jamil Khoury and Executive Director Malik Gillani) is proud to announce the World Premiere of Through the Elevated Line, written by Novid Parsi and directed by Carin Silkaitis. The production will run from March 7th to April 15th, 2018 at Silk Road Rising located at 77 W. Washington St., Lower Level, Chicago, IL, 60602. 

I'll be out for the press opening on March 17th, so check back soon for my full review.

Synopsis

Having fled Iran where he was imprisoned for being a gay man, a damaged Razi arrives at his sister’s doorstep in Chicago only to disrupt the life she and her American husband built together. As the Chicago Cubs vie to make history, rivalries of a different kind simmer in the Uptown two-flat that Razi tries to call home. With echoes of A Streetcar Named Desire, Novid Parsi’s world premiere drama probes the boundaries between family, loss, prejudice, and desire.

Artistic Statements

“With Through the Elevated Line, I wanted to complicate our easy distinction between good and bad immigrants by exploring two immigrant siblings not as types, but as individuals. Razi Gol, like Blanche DuBois, is an unwanted traveller: caught between two worlds, accepted by neither. Attitudes toward our own Blanches, our own others, have progressed … and haven’t. Through the Elevated Line looks at our idea of ourselves as inherently different from others, and above them. It considers the effects of believing ourselves not only exceptional but superior—elevated. In the end, it poses this question: Who do we count among our own?” - Playwright of Through the Elevated Line, Novid Parsi

“In the next few years, we’ll be hearing a lot about playwright Novid Parsi. He’ll be championed as an exciting new voice in the American theatre and his plays will be produced nationally. He’ll be in the company of playwrights being lauded for bringing new energy and new consciousness to theatrical storytelling. And I say this knowing just two of Novid’s plays, both profound in how they negotiate vulnerability and courage: Our Mother’s Meal and Through the Elevated Line.

Whether or not I’m a reliable prognosticator, only time will tell. But I believe my predictions are more than just wishful thinking. On American stages, the complicated, the questioning, and the curious, are enjoying newfound currency. Novid Parsi, with his impressive capacity to create characters that are charming, prickly, compromised, and resilient, understands that one can be challenged by adversity without being defined by adversity.” - Chief Programming Officer and Mission Trustee, Jamil Khoury

Cast/Crew

The creative team for Through the Elevated Line includes Novid Parsi (Playwright), Carin Silkaitis (Director), Corey Pond (Associate Producer), Kelly Butler (Production Manager), Joshua Baggett* (Stage Manager), Joe Schermoly (Set Designer), Elsa Hiltner (Costume Designer), Lindsey Lyddan (Lighting Designer), Jeffrey Levin (Sound Design and Original Music), Abigail Cain (Props Master), Harrison Ornelas (Tech Director), Kate Cuellar (Dramaturg), Kristen Osborn (Assistant Director), and Stephen Kossak (Assistant Stage Manager).

The cast includes Salar Ardebili as Razi, Catherine Dildilian as Soraya, Joshua J. Volkers as Chuck, Alison Plott as Beth, Scott Shimizu as Ben, Philip Winston as Sean, and Christian Castro as Vendor/Cesar/Immigration Officer. Understudies include Ninos Baba, Christina El Gamal, Bobby Bowman, Amy Gray, Tim Yong, Reed Willard, and Armando Reyes.

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers.

About the Artists

Novid Parsi (Playwright) has authored plays that have been produced or developed at Golden Thread Productions, The New Group, Paines Plough, Playwrights Foundation, Silk Road Rising, Stephen Joseph Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse, and the Young Vic, among others. His plays have been recognized by the Playwrights Foundation’s Bay Area Playwrights Festival (finalist and semifinalist) and the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference (semifinalist). A son of Iranian immigrants, Novid was born in New York, grew up in Texas, and studied literature at Swarthmore College and Duke University. Also a freelance writer, Novid is known for starting a conversation on theatre and diversity when he co-authored the Time Out Chicago cover story that asked: “Why is theater in Chicago so white?” Novid lives in Chicago with his husband.

Carin Silkaitis (Director) previously directed two readings of Mosque Alert for Silk Road Rising. Carin is the Founding Artistic Director of Other Theatre where her credits include I Do Today and The Realm (actor), and Others: A 24 Hour Play Festival (director). A few of her notable directing credits include: La Boheme, La Traviata, Die Fledermaus, Madame Butterfly (Music By The Lake), In Her Footsteps (Greenhouse Theater Center), The Laramie Project, Romeo & Juliet, Twelfth Night, and others (North Central College). Carin is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf, and she received her MFA in acting from the Theatre Conservatory at Roosevelt University. Carin is proud to be represented by Gray Talent Group, and equally proud to be a member of Actors Equity Association.

Performance Schedule

Through the Elevated Line will run from March 7th to April 15th, 2017.

During previews, performances will occur Wednesdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 4:00pm, and Sundays at 4:00pm.

After opening, performances will occur Tuesdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 4:00pm, and Sundays at 4:00pm.

Previews: March 7 - March 16, 2018

Press Opening: March 17, 2018 at 4:00pm

Regular Run: March 17 - April 15, 2018

Tickets

Preview Performances: $28 for adults ($25 if purchased online), $15.50 for students ($12.50 if purchased online)

Regular Performances: $38 for adults ($35 if purchased online), $20.50 for students ($17.50 if purchased online)

Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased at www.SilkRoadRising.org or by calling the Silk Road Rising Box Office at 312.857.1234 x201.

Production Sponsors and Supporters

The world premiere production of Through the Elevated Line is proudly sponsored by: 150 North Michigan, The Bass Fund, and ComEd.

This production is supported in part by the Chicago Community Trust.

This project is partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

Location

All performances will take place at:

Silk Road Rising

77 W. Washington St, Lower Level

Chicago, IL 60602