The ReOrient Festival is a critical part of the identity of San Francisco’s Golden Thread Productions. It’s a premiere event that features the cream of the crop of new Middle Eastern plays, based on sheer numbers alone.

For this year’s festival, more than 100 scripts were sent in for consideration, but only six made it to a production from the company that was founded in 1996. The large volume of plays along with the infintesimal number produced allows for the highest caliber of artistry for the famed collective that boasts a status as the first American theatre company devoted to stories of the Middle East. 

The latest version of the festival kicks off Monday, Oct. 16, and the company’s artistic director Sahar Assaf takes great pride in the stories chosen for this year’s artistic gathering.

“I’m happy to say the plays are quite diverse not only in terms of theme but also in style,” said Assaf, who took over for Golden Thread’s founding artistic director Torange Yeghiazarian in August of 2021. 

What makes the variety of the offerings a challenge is in how the festival is produced. Assaf says five directors are featured, responsible for producing six plays, but there is only one lighting and one scenic designer. This forces all the creative teams of each play to find common ground on their visions.

“The festival is really our opportunity to give this one space to more than one playwright, and a chance to introduce new voices,” Assaf said. 

Amal Bisharat wears many hats for Golden Thread. An artist-in-residence, co-producer of the festival and director of two of the selections, Bisharat has seen the evolution of both Soutwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) narratives for the stage. As a sign of wider visibility, in the past two years, Middle Eastern narratives were recognized by the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, including Sanaz Toossi’s play “English,” which won the prize earlier this year.

It’s these SWANA and MENA stories that feel fulfilling to Bisharat, who appreciates an opportunity to explore shared humanity.

“These sets of plays are really focused on the human experience,” Bisharat said. “They’re really reclaiming a narrative. It feels very personal and very individual when it comes to the stories in these plays. It feels like they are not trying to do anything other than tell our own stories.”

Assaf sees the humanity aspect of these plays as essential storytelling.

“These plays are not trying to force a political agenda and they’re not trying to explain themselves,” Assaf said. “They are just existing, which I feel is a necessary step in our fight for equal representation.” 

For Bisharat, the term Middle East carries some complications because it’s so broad. It also comes with some unfortunate stereotypes, often frozen in a certain time period. That’s what makes the idea of human narratives so critical.

“In the range that is the Middle East, humans that live there are evolving and they are in this modern day, just as anyone is,” Bisharat said. “We are all impacted and the stories reflect that. Not only does it take it out of the stereotype, whatever the characters or stories may be, but it takes it out of the stereotypes of the time that are stuck in the past.”

Assaf came to Golden Thread at an interesting time. The pandemic shut down theatres nationwide beginning in March of 2020, so more than a year later in August of 2021 when she took over, many companies were reckoning with a renewed interest in belonging, equity, diversity and justice. New examinations amongst systems everywhere meant that theatres were now ripe for a reset. And while legacy festivals such as ReOrient are making their way back, theatre as a whole is struggling. 

According to Assaf, this festival is an opportunity to remind patrons why theatre continues to be so essential, especially an event that has been a part of the Bay Area’s artistic fabric for many years.

“All the work without the audience means nothing,” Assaf said. “We want folks to be coming back. We’re doing our best to give our audiences a nice evening in the theatre with strong performances that will touch their hearts and minds equally.”

WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU GO

Golden Thread Productions presents “ReOrient Festival 2023”
Oct. 13 – Nov. 4
Potrero Stage
1695 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94108
Tickets range from $15 – $100
For tickets and information, visit www.goldenthread.org