Mosaic suspends season opener as not COVID safe

'My Father, My Martyr, and Me' — a solo show with audience participation and dancing in an intimate space — could not meet current requirements.

Mosaic Theater Company informed its patrons August 12, 2021, that it has postponed its first production of 2021/22 and made important updates to its COVID-19 Safety Plan:

Playwright Fargo Tbakhi

Mosaic Theatre Company regrets to announce its suspension of My Father, My Martyr, and Me by Fargo Tbakhi due to growing concerns about the COVID-19 Delta variant and the nature of this specific interactive project. My Father, My Martyr and Me includes audience participation, dancing and movement in an intimate space that could not be realized with current safety requirements.

Therefore, Mosaic has made the difficult decision to suspend its production until the artistic aspirations of the playwright/performer, Fargo Tbakhi, and the director, Danielle Drakes, are possible.

“This was obviously a difficult and disappointing decision for all of us working on the project. But the dream of this show is for all of us to gather together and work towards something intimate, difficult, and vital. That work requires safety and trust, and ultimately we felt that the current moment would not allow for us to create that environment while keeping the integrity of the show intact,” said playwright Fargo Tbakhi. “In the meantime, I am tremendously proud of the work Mosaic has done on Dalia Taha’s luminous Keffiyeh: Made in China. It’s funny, beautiful, and bold, and I couldn’t be more excited for folks to engage with it and to see its bright future.”

SEE: Mosaic’s searing ‘Keffiyeh/Made in China’ now a single video on demand — includes reviews of all seven episodes by Amy Kotkin and new information about re-release of the series as a single 75-minute virtual production.

Playwright Anna Ouyang Moench

Birds of North America by Anna Ouyang Moench, and directed by Serge Seiden, is still slated to open October 27 for in-person performances as originally planned. Tickets for Birds of North American are on sale now on Mosaic’s website.

Additionally, all staged productions in Mosaic’s 2021/22 Season will be offered as both an in-person and virtual production option, giving you ultimate control over how you experience and interact with each of Mosaic’s plays this season. You can learn more and purchase both in-person and virtual production tickets on Mosaic’s website by clicking here.

SEE: DMV theaters unite to require proof of COVID vaccination Among those theaters was Mosaic, which explained:

Masks are required for ALL people when attending any Mosaic Theater indoor production.

Proof of vaccination is required for audiences attending Mosaic Theater performances at the time of their entry into the theater.

Patrons ages 12 and above will be required to show proof of vaccination in order to attend performances of Birds of North America, from October 27 – November 21. We are currently working with the Atlas Performing Arts Center on developing the processes by which we will check vaccination statuses when patrons enter the facilities.

All Mosaic staff, artists, over-hire employees, rental clients, vendors working onsite, and volunteers must be fully vaccinated and show their proof of vaccination prior to their first day of work. 

We will continue to heed the advice of public health experts and guidance of our local government to inform policies beyond October and will communicate changes in a timely manner. Please check our COVID-19 information page for more details about our health and safety policies and procedures.

We thank you for helping to make sure our performances remain safe and accessible to all and look forward to welcoming you back to Mosaic Theater this October

 

Mosaic picks six culturally eclectic plays to light up Atlas stage again

Company’s 2021–2022 season to feature live solo shows, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and three world premieres — plus options to stream from home. 

Originally published June 26, 2021

Mosaic Theater Company of DC will return to in-person performance at H Street’s Atlas Performing Arts Center with six new plays in its seventh season. At the same time, Mosaic will continue to provide streaming options for those who cannot attend live shows.

“This season of new work is emblematic of Mosaic: a group of culturally eclectic artists exploring expansive questions about lineage, cycles of consequence, and the moments when pivotal relationships shift,” said the Core Season Planning Team, who collaboratively curated the season. “These six plays couldn’t be more relevant in their self-reflection, their daring emotionality, and their varied aesthetics; and, we hope they can be a vehicle for connection and healing as we re-enter the theater space after so many months of dark stages.”

The playwrights of Mosaic’s 2021–2022 season (left to right from top): Fargo Tbakhi (‘My Father, My Martyr, and Me’), Anna Ouyang Moench (‘Birds of North America’), Psalmayene 24 (‘Dear Mapel’), Mona Pirnot (‘Private’), Jackie Sibblies Drury (‘Marys Seacole’), Benjamin Benne (‘In His Hands’). Background marquee courtesy of Atlas Performing Arts Center.

The Mosaic Theater Company 2021–2022 season

My Father, My Martyr, and Me
Written and performed by Fargo Tbakhi | Directed by Danielle A. Drakes
September 10 – October 3, 2021 POSTPONED

This electric and groundbreaking solo show-in-poetry weaves the autobiographies of the playwright, his father, and RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan to examine the criminality often automatically layered onto Palestinians, and ultimately begs the question: in the face of decades of colonization, erasure, and fear, how can we love each other better?

Birds of North America
Written by Anna Ouyang Moench | Directed by Serge Seiden
October 27 – November 21, 2021

Caitlyn and her father, John, watch birds in their suburban Maryland backyard. Over the     course of a decade in their relationship, this “tale of strained, aching affection” (The Denver Post) examines the ways global changes work their way into our daily lives.

Dear Mapel (World Premiere)
Written and performed by Psalmayene 24 | Directed by Natsu Onoda Power, featuring music by Jabari Exum
January 19 – February 13, 2022

Told with distinctive heart, musicality, and humor, Mosaic’s Andrew W. Mellon playwright-in-residence Psalmayene 24’s joyfully energetic story of loss and healing takes us from Park Slope, Brooklyn, to Washington, DC, on a journey to connect with an estranged father, Mapel, and all he represents.

Private (World Premiere)
By Mona Pirnot | Directed by Knud Adams
March 23 – April 17, 2022 ,

In this explosive and comedic drama, Georgia’s husband, Corbin, has been offered his dream job. But there’s a catch. In an all-too-near future where privacy is a commodity, one married couple grapples with which secrets they’re willing to reveal — especially to each other.

Marys Seacole
By Jackie Sibblies Drury | Directed by Eric Ruffin
May 4 – May 29, 2022

A “dazzling hall of mirrors” (New York Times) told with a furiously singular vision by Pulitzer Prize winner Jackie Sibblies Drury, this play, based in part on the autobiography of Mary Seacole, charts one woman’s extraordinary journey through space and time: from mid-1800s Jamaica, to the frontlines of the Crimean War, to a modern-day nursing home.

In His Hands (World Premiere)
By Benjamin Benne
June 22 – July 16, 2022

Daniel, a video game wizard and aspiring Lutheran pastor, is falling for Christian. But as these men explore the potential of their new relationship, voices from Christian’s past threaten to overpower the connection they share. A radically contemporary, queer rom-com that asks provocative questions about faith and desire, with a gentle and lyrical voice.

For more information about each of the six productions for the upcoming season, as well as information about season memberships, visit mosaictheater.org/memberships. Single tickets go on sale beginning July 15.

To see the COVID policies put in place by the Atlas Performing Arts Center, visit mosaictheater.org/covid.

ABOUT THE MOSAIC THEATER COMPANY OF DC
Mosaic Theater Company of DC is committed to making transformational, socially relevant art, producing plays by authors on the front lines of conflict zones, and building a fusion community to address some of the most pressing issues of our times. Free public programming and educational initiatives complement our productions. Mosaic is dedicated to making our theater a model of diversity and inclusion on stage and off. We strive to foster a culture of listening and welcoming, embracing complexity and a multi-focal perspective.

WEB SERIES NOW STREAMING:

In Mosaic’s darkly funny ‘Inherit the Windbag,’ an epic bickerfest — eight episodes, reviewed by Charles Green (available through June 30, 2021)

A Palestinian playwright sees allegory in occupation, in ‘Keffiyeh/Made in China’ — seven episodes, reviewed as released on alternate Tuesdays by Amy Kotkin

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