a world premiere play by Mia McCullough
directed by Seema Sueko
presented by Local Theater Company

About the show

“People are uncomfortable when women are powerful.” Nineteen-year-old Syrian refugee Farzana is stuck. Once the top student in her school, she’s now educating girls in Zaatari, the largest refugee camp in the world. But when an older Jordanian doctor offers Farzana an education in exchange for marriage, she takes the chance—and finds herself embroiled in her new husband’s bizarre plot to redeem himself. Wisdom From Everything is one woman’s stirring story of sacrifice, hope, and resilience.

Age rate: 16 + with an adult

Photos by Michael Ensminger.

Location

The Dairy Arts Center
The Grace Gamm Theater
2590 Walnut Street
Boulder, CO 80302

Ticket prices

$45 / opening night (includes party) March 4
From $25 / March 8-25

Groups of 10 or more can purchase $20 tickets by contacting The Dairy Box Office at (303) 444-7328.

Running time

TBA
Late seating is at the discretion of the theater management

Meet the cast

Amy J. Carle (Miryam) lives in Chicago with her dog, two cats, nine chickens and her husband. Chicago credits: Harvey, Orlando (Court Theatre); The Book of Joseph (Chicago Shakespeare); Wonderful Town, The Sins of Sor Juana, Rock 'N' Roll, Desire Under the Elms (Goodman); The Book Thief, The Internationalist, Animals Out of Paper, Sex With Strangers, Hedda Gabler (Steppenwolf); Hard Times, North China Lover, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Peter Pan, Trust (Lookingglass). Regional: The Profance (Chataqua Theatre Company); Fully Committed, The Diary of Anne Frank (Madison Rep.); Or, (Forward Theatre); Morning Star (KC Rep.). TV: Law & Order, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, CRISIS (NBC).

Mehry Eslaminia (Farzana) was recently in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time with Indiana Repertory Theater and Syracuse Stage. Before that, she performed in Illinois Shakespeare Festival's A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the world premiere of The Q Brother's I Heart Juliet. Select Colorado credits: Curious Theatre’s The Happiest Song Plays Last, Local’s Home in the Heart (a one-woman adaptation of Sandra Cisnero’s “The House on Mango Street.”), Denver Center's A Christmas Carol and the world premiere of Appoggiatura, and Creede Repertory’s Guys And Dolls, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, August: Osage County, and Our Town.

Naseem Etemad (Tamer) is a San Diego born Iranian-American actor known for her work surrounding activism through storytelling. Past film and theater roles include Maryam in the short film Strength and Fortune (Zein Productions), Pakeeza in Suburbia (Breach Once More), Samar in Viels (The Pear Theater), Yuliana in Turning Tricks (Golden Thread Productions), and most recently, multiple roles in the 2017 ReOrient Festival (Golden Thread Productions. She is a resident artist with Golden Thread Productions and is based in Los Angeles.

Yusef Lambert (Asef) is making his Local Theater Company debut. A Los Angeles resident, he has performed with Odyssey Theatre, San Francisco Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, San Francisco Playhouse, American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, TheatreWorks, The Annex Theatre, Theatre Schmeatre, and Zach Scott Theatre Center, and is a founding member of the award-winning Commedia D’elle Arte company Tongue and Groove in Austin, Texas. Yusef spent several years performing Grand Guignol horror plays, and starred in the independent Kung Fu film The Mandarin as well as the award-winning silent film, The Magic Man.

Kunal Prasad (Dallin) is a native of San Francisco and recently seen in The Waiting Room (EnActe Arts) and Taylor Mac: A 24-Decade History of Popular Music (The Curran SF). Other theater credits include Vignettes on Love (Playground SF), Hedda Gabler (Cutting Ball Theater), Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat (Golden Thread), and A Dreamplay (Cutting Ball). He has worked at Cal Shakes and Magic Theatre and understudied and performed the role of Amir in Disgraced at Berkeley Rep. He is an improviser, dancer, and a graduate of the A.R.T./Moscow Art Theatre Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University.

Ayla Sullivan (Perla) is the current Denver Youth Poet Laureate and a third-year student at the University of Colorado Boulder pursuing degrees in theatre performance and education. In addition to productions at CU Boulder, recent shows have included last summer’s Julius Caesar, Taming of the Shrew, and Henry VI Part III at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. An avid activist on campus, they serve the Gender and Sexuality Center as the communications coordinator.

Meet the writer and director

Mia McCullough (Playwright) is a playwright, screenwriter, and producer. Her plays have been seen at theaters around the country including Steppenwolf, the Goodman Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, The Old Globe, Red Fern Theatre (NYC), and InterAct Theatre. Her Squirrel Plays will be seen at the Edinburgh Fringe Fest this summer. After 10 years of teaching playwriting and screenwriting at Northwestern University, McCullough wrote and published a book on the creative writing process called Transforming Reality, available at www.lulu.com. She is currently writing and co-producing a web series called “The Haven,” inspired by her experiences working at a domestic violence shelter. You can learn more about The Haven at www.thehavenweb.com.

Seema Sueko (Director) was born in Pakistan of Pakistani/Japanese heritage, and raised in Hawaii. She currently calls Washington, D.C. home, where she is deputy artistic director of Arena Stage. Prior, she was associate artistic director at Pasadena Playhouse and executive artistic director of Mo`olelo. Seema’s R&D work includes Consensus Organizing for Theater, the Green Theater Choices Toolkit, the neuroscience of theater, and augmented and virtual reality. Other directing and acting credits include People’s Light, The Old Globe, San Diego Rep, Yale Rep, 5th Avenue Theatre, and Native Voices. Her work has been recognized by the American Theatre Wing, California State Assembly, NAACP, and Chicago Jeff Awards.

Performances

Discount Previews
Thursday, Mar 1 at 7pm
Friday, Mar 2 at 7pm
Saturday, Mar 3 at 7pm

Opening Night
Sunday, Mar 4 at 4pm

Weekly Performances
Thursday, Mar 8 at 7:30pm
Friday, Mar 9 at 7:30pm
Saturday, Mar 10 at 7:30pm
Sunday, Mar 11 at 4pm
Thursday, Mar 15 at 7:30pm
Friday, Mar 16 at 7:30pm
Saturday, Mar 17 at 7:30pm
Sunday, Mar 18 at 4pm
Thursday, Mar 22 at 7:30pm
Friday, Mar 23 at 7:30pm
Saturday, Mar 24 at 7:30pm
Sunday, Mar 25 at 4pm

Hard Talks Series

Wearing the Hijab:
A Community Conversation
Saturday, Mar 10 at 6pm
The Dairy Arts Center
Free

Mariam Shareefy will discuss how the ideology of hijab limits a woman's access to education, work and healthcare. Get details and RSVP

Audience Conversations

Thursday, Mar 8 after the show
Moderated by Mare Trevathan

Sunday, Mar 11 after the show
Moderated by Betty Hart

Sunday, Mar 18 after the show
Moderated by Helen Thorpe