Language Rooms: A Dark Comedy About Homeland Security
Thick House (1695 18th St. San Francisco, CA 94102)
- Full Price:
- $28.00
- Our Price:
- $14.00*
* Additional fees apply.
All offers for Language Rooms have expired.
The last date listed for Language Rooms was Sunday December 11, 2011 / 7:00pm.
Currently at Thick House:
Best of PlayGround Festival Features New Short Plays and Musicals
- Full Price:
- $35.00 - $50.00
- Our Price:
- $17.50 - $25.00
Don't miss your chance to see the latest and greatest new work from the Bay Area's hottest up-and-coming playwrights at the 16th annual Best of PlayGround Festival. Each performance of the show, starring and directed by top local talent, features seven short plays in their entirety -- and this year, they've even included two 10-minute musicals as part of the mix. In all, 36 plays were developed as part of the Monday night staged-reading series at Berkeley Rep, and these seven were specially selected to be part of this festival. Stick around after the Sunday night performances for a discussion with the playwrights. VIP tickets include prime priority seating, a glass of wine and a meet-and-greet with the playwrights at intermission. Please see the event description for more information on the lineup. Learn More
Goldstar Member Tips
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B. Marie on Where to Eat
The night we went there were light refreshments--baklava, wine, etc. very reasonably priced.
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B. Marie on Where to Park
Great parking!!!!
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Goldstar Member on Other
Read the posted pamphlets right across the theater entrance before the play..
8 Goldstar Member Reviews
MCP
Engaging and topical. It was a funny play about a hard subject- and I think the audience didn't know whether to laugh or not. The post show discussion was a nice extra.Written on Nov 28 2011
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Goldstar Member
We were a fairly diverse party and everyone liked it and recommends it. A highlight for me was the intelligent and pertinent discourse on minority discomfort and the way it was seamlessly woven in fast paced plot and sharp dialog. No lecture here but you're left with all sorts of questions and challenges to think about. Many of us found the cast impressive, and their performances touching. Very nice brief question-answer session at the end is worth it.Written on Nov 26 2011
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Goldstar Member
Overall, I enjoyed this play, which had a good core concept and some interesting and fun dialogue. However, it wasn't really that funny, and I was disappointed with the weak and ambiguous ending. It almost seems as though the play just peters out, losing an opportunity to do something interesting with the characters and situation established in the play.Written on Nov 21 2011
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Goldstar Member
Well-written, very timely, astute show performed by a strong cast, adept at handling the twists and turns of a comedy-drama without overselling the message.Written on Jan 02 2012
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More Information About Language Rooms
Website
http://goldenthread.org/2011/languagerooms.htm Z
Description
Language Rooms is an unexpected juxtaposition of a comical political thriller and an American immigrant family story. It specifically looks at the question of ‘home’ and ‘fitting in’ from the perspective of Arab Americans and Asian American Muslims, but the issues it raises and the stereotypes it skewers are universal to every American’s experience.
Yussef El Guindi described his play like this: “You could think of Language Rooms as 1984 meets The Office. At least in the first half of the play. In the second half, we add the ‘American immigrant family drama’ to the mix of paranoia and office politics.”
Torange Yeghiazarian, Artistic Director of Golden Thread Productions, observed: “The genius of El Guindi’s writing is his ability to confront serious themes—family bonds and prejudice—with wry humor and intelligent writing that bring out the absurdity of the situation.” El Guindi has since been honored by the American Theatre Critics Association: the M. Elizabeth Osborn Award, and received the prestigious commission by Middle East America: A National New Plays Initiative.
El Guindi explains further: “The wonderful optimism of this country, the propulsion to keep going, to reinvent, that weightlessness, the acceptance that you can change your name, your history, kick your past to the curb as you gun for a new beginning, I think all those good things end up gutting you of a center, a wholeness. What becomes of your touchstones, your anchor, your story, after you leave so much behind? Who are you when you’re always in flux?”
Language Rooms was inspired by the story of Captain James Yee, the Asian American Muslim Army chaplain arrested (since released and exonerated) for possible sympathies with the prisoners he was counseling.
About the Ticket Supplier: Golden Thread Productions
Golden Thread Productions is dedicated to theatre that explores Middle Eastern cultures and identities as represented throughout the globe.
Their mission is to build an organization that consistently produces the highest quality theatre about Middle Eastern culture and to establish a dynamic artistic community and an expanding audience. And to make the Middle East a regular part of the American Theatre Experience and make theatre a regular part of the Middle Eastern community's cultural experience.