We hope you are well! Apologies for the delay in the newsletter this week, we were having some technical difficulties at MENA Arts HQ!

Thank you so much to all who attended our MENA+ Arts Mixer- we had a wonderful time meeting some of our members, and can’t wait to see more of you at the next one!

Sharing Conversations and Opportunities 

• A special ticket offer EXCLUSIVELY for our mailing list!

Almeida Theatre is offering £10 best seats in the house for their upcoming production Once Upon A Time In Nazi Occupied Tunisia. This production features the work of three of our members: Laura Hanna and Yasmin Paige (cast), and Sepy Baghaei (assistant director).

Enter the promo code MENAOFFER at the top of the screen before selecting your ticket, and check out the flyer attached to this newsletter!

Click here to book.

• Applications are now open for Missing Link Yorkshire, a FREE, 12 week programme for aspiring actors from under-represented backgrounds in West Yorkshire. The programme is Arts Council Funded and it will run from Leeds Playhouse.

Further information on the programme & details of how to apply can be found here: www.missinglinkarts.org/missing-link-yorkshire

• Check out #FreshInk, a 3 month lab for emerging screenwriters from marginalised backgrounds wanting to develop ideas for features.

Deadline: 12/09. More info: https://lastconker.com/freshink

• A Producer callout from Curious Monkey:

"Curious Monkey is looking for a Producer to join our core team to be part of an exciting new chapter for Curious Monkey, supporting in the planning and delivery of projects across our programme over the next 12 months. We are looking for an experienced producer who is interested in arts and social change, who aligns with our aims and shares our vision of creating a fairer society."

Deadline: 26th August. For more information and to apply visit https://www.curiousmonkeytheatre.com/opportunities

• A casting callout from Jill Green Casting for Dear Evan Hansen:

“A timely and timeless musical about struggling to connect in a hyperconnected world, Dear Evan Hansen is the winner of 3 Olivier Awards for including BEST NEW MUSICAL and BEST ORIGINAL SCORE.

EVAN OFF STAGE COVER (OTHER COVERS TBC:

 (16-21)**** MUST BE 17 YEARS OLD OR OVER ****17 Years old. Strong Pop Vocalist G2-B4 Smart, sincere, and painfully self-conscious, Evan prefers to hover in the background, a supporting player in his own life, too afraid to step forward into the spotlight and risk ridicule or, what might be worse, no one noticing him at all. Playing age:16–21 years

HEIDI/CYNTHIA OFF STAGE COVER FOR BOTH ROLES:

(34-45 YRS)Heidi Hansen (Mid 30’s- 40s) - Strong Pop Vocalist F3-Eb5 (belt) Evan’s mother. Overworked and stretched too thin, Heidi loves her son fiercely, but fears they have begun to grow apart. She is prepared to do anything to repair the damage. Cynthia Murphy (Mid 30’s- 40s)Strong Pop Vocalist F#3-E5 (belt) Connor and Zoe’s mother.

For more info, or to submit for a role contact : office@jillgreencasting.org

• A callout from Aria Entertainment for multiple job opportunities:

“Movement Director- Aria Entertainment are going to be Producing LITTLE WOMEN playing at Park and are looking to engage a Movement Director. Little Women has been praised by critics for its ambition in adapting such a well-known story for the stage. This timeless captivating story is brought to life in this glorious musical filled with personal discovery, heartache, hope, and everlasting love.

Assistant Director and Costume Supervisor- We are also excited to announce that we will be bringing a production of BROKEN WINGS to Charing Cross Theatre in 2022. We are looking to engage an Assistant Director and a Costume Supervisor for this production and would love to hear from as many people as possible. Based on the 1912 novel by the iconic Kahlil Gibran, Broken Wings is written by Nadim Naaman and Dana Al Fardan, with Orchestrations by Joe Davison. New York City, 1923. An ageing Gibran narrates from his cold studio. Through poetry and music, he transports us back two decades to turn-of-the-century Beirut, where he falls deeply in love with Selma."

If you’d like to apply for any of the above 3 positions, please send your CV and a short covering letter to ollie@aria-entertainment.com”

• A casting call for a Manchester based project:

“Tremors by Nikki Mailer

Directed by Daniel Bradford

Produced by Hannah Ellis Ryan

Set in a Bookshop in occupied East Jerusalem about an unequal relationship between two women. Explores the magic of books, erasure of history & the Palestinian struggle against occupation. We are seeking two actors to join an upcoming 5-day R&D of this new play, set in Jerusalem. We want to work with actors who are collaborative, enthusiastic about working with new writing and (ideally) have an understanding or curiosity about the context of Israel/Palestine.

This project is Manchester-based, with a sharing at CONTACT Theatre. Therefore, we are ideally seeking North-West based performers, but open to actors outside the North West if suitable and available.

ROLES:

Layla: Female, 30s. Layla is a Palestinian Muslim, she is sensitive, defiant, stubborn and poetic. A lover of books and owner of a bookshop with her husband in East Jerusalem despite the threat of demolition.

David: Male, 30s.David is Israeli, born in Britain, secular Jew, vegan, charming, a show-off, drinks too much and tormented by the actions he committed in the Israeli army.

Deadline to apply: Monday 23rd August. Casting Day: Friday 27th August. Contact: herproductions19@gmail.com

Directory Shoutouts! 

Part of our Directory and have a show/project coming up? Let us know so we can shout about it in the next mailout! In the meantime, check out the following shows featuring our wonderful Directory members:

• Catch directory member CLEO DEMETRIOU and our very own ARIAN NIK as series leads in CBBC’S “Still so Awkward”. Tune in on Monday’s at 5pm, or watch the entire series on iplayer now!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/so-awkward

• Take a look at Directory Member PEYVAND SADEGHIAN'S  latest commission for Goblin Theatre: https://youtu.be/mvUFGGC6Qp8

• Congratulations to Directory member YASMIN TAHERI on her Arts Council Funding for Missing Link Yorkshire. Aspiring West Yorkshire actors, be sure to apply for the programme included in today's newsletter!

We will soon be running a #MAUKSPOTLIGHT series on socials where we spotlight a Directory member every two weeks with links to their work/portfolio. Directory members, pleasure ensure your Directory profiles are fully up to date as this is where we will be pulling info from!

And that’s everything! For the new members, mailout is usually sent on a fortnightly basis. Please keep sharing and sending me any of your wonderful work or opportunities you want included in the next mailout to this email. Now more than ever lets keep circulating our brilliant stories; whether its past work, articles, videos, or something you think the membership may find interesting, please do drop me an email! Please continue to sign up to our directory, and share our community with your friends in the industry!

Have a great week,

Jessie x

MENA ARTS UK 

 If you can, please considering support us on our journey. No amount is too small, and please help us by sharing with your networks!  Link to donate: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mena-arts-uk?utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet

Our position on endorsement.

Our main areas of work is to help connect the creative industries with UK MENA+ talent, so we will always share castings, job opportunities, or marketing information. We will track these projects in the hope that they are a great example of how MENA+ talent is used. But by sharing this information, it should not be seen as an endorsement of the project.

We will call out work that is appropriating a MENA+ narrative and does not have MENA+ talent at the heart of the creative process; and we will always champion, front and centre, work that is made for and by MENA+ talent.

MENA ARTS UK