Kayhan Irani

October 9, 2016

Civic Engagement, Education, Theatre

Back from the White House & Cambridge. Fall in NYC

Kayhan Irani

October 9, 2016

Civic Engagement, Education, Theatre

Back from the White House & Cambridge. Fall in NYC

After the whirlwind of fabulousness in D.C. I joined the team of the Anna Deavere Smith Pipeline Project to support the production of Notes from the Field: Doing Time in Education!!

It is an extremely powerful and extraordinarily timely performance. Urgent and inspiring, it depicts the personal accounts of students, parents, teachers and administrators caught in America’s school-to-prison pipeline. Investigating a justice system that pushes minors from poor communities out of the classroom and into incarceration.

Kayhan Irani

December 21, 2013

Arts, Theatre, Theater

Longest Night

Kayhan Irani

December 21, 2013

Arts, Theatre, Theater

Tonight, we will pass through the longest night of the year. We will regain a tiny bit of light, with each new day. The end of 2013 seems to have opened a thousand little doors of terror inside me. This is the first time I am “properly” developing a play. That means I’m not jumping right into a production process but taking time to write, re-write, show it to others, share my thoughts, and hear the words read aloud. It’s brought me face to face with many of my feelings of inadequacy, superiority, futility, and desperation. It’s been a long night in the life of this artist.

Kayhan Irani

August 26, 2012

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theater, Theatre

How to value difference?

Kayhan Irani

August 26, 2012

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theater, Theatre

How do I talk about difference without putting a value judgment on it? If one thing is different than another, must one thing be better than the other? How can I value multiple experiences, approaches and perspectives while keeping a sense of self? Must I choose one as better so that I can hold on to something familiar? This project is different than the rest of my work in Afghanistan. I am not working directly with a theater group, I am working with media makers; writers, producers, researchers from Equal Access, Afghanistan. I am training them in methods of participatory storytelling for community engagement and social change

Kayhan Irani

April 27, 2012

Afghanistan, Art, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed

Friday, Friday

Kayhan Irani

April 27, 2012

Afghanistan, Art, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed

It’s a Friday full of sweetness and sadness for me. I leave in a couple of days and I am spending this lazy Friday visiting friends to say goodbye … until we meet again. Everything about the city seems magical today. The mountains are glowing white, circled by grey clouds. The streets are calm and people are out and about.

Kayhan Irani

April 20, 2012

Afghanistan, Art, Theatre of the Oppressed, Theatre, Theater

Life Interrupted

Kayhan Irani

April 20, 2012

Afghanistan, Art, Theatre of the Oppressed, Theatre, Theater

This week was a long week with lots of prodding and pushing. We were telling stories about oppression, personal experiences of oppression, something simple, clear. I started by asking them to make a frozen body sculpture of one such experience. After the activity, we spoke about what they were showing. It turns out no one made an image of something from their own life! They made images from other people’s lives, images from stories they heard, or things they saw. They were finding it hard to access those personal stories, without compounding them with others.

Kayhan Irani

April 15, 2012

Afghanistan, Social Change, Theater, Theatre of the Oppressed

I’m Alright … But It’s Not OK

Kayhan Irani

April 15, 2012

Afghanistan, Social Change, Theater, Theatre of the Oppressed

I was completely unaware of the attacks in Kabul today until much later in the afternoon. Our office is far from the areas targeted in a normal, very Afghan part of the city. No embassies, international NGOs, or political offices.

Kayhan Irani

April 11, 2012

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theater

Working Hard for the Money

Kayhan Irani

April 11, 2012

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theater

It’s hard, hard work here in Kabul.

Kayhan Irani

December 28, 2011

Art, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre

Little Light of Mine

Kayhan Irani

December 28, 2011

Art, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre

I love this time of year since its often the only extended break I have to reflect on my life, gather with people I love and appreciate the small, simple moments of grace from the year gone by. The lights we burn on Yalda, Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa are all rooted in primal symbolism and full of references to the light of human goodness triumphing over fear and confusion.

Kayhan Irani

December 3, 2011

Afghanistan, Art, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theater, Theatre of the Oppressed, Women

Back to Basics

Kayhan Irani

December 3, 2011

Afghanistan, Art, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theater, Theatre of the Oppressed, Women

Hello Kabul! Hello mountains. Hello kindness. Hello community. Hello learning. Hello growing. Hello change. I feel so full of joy and gratitude to be here and do what I love. It’s been such a busy week and I can’t believe that already I am half way done! I am finding out that being the sole facilitator and workshop coordinator is pretty time consuming but I promise to send more updates.

Kayhan Irani

October 27, 2011

Afghanistan, Art, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theater, Theatre of the Oppressed

Not just a Banana

Kayhan Irani

October 27, 2011

Afghanistan, Art, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theater, Theatre of the Oppressed

Sometimes a banana is just a banana … and sometimes it’s more! For the young men’s theater group, a banana represents the multiple problems in Afghan society. Dealing with the seemingly insignificant task of where to throw the peel leads the main character on a journey through the maze of maze of problems on all levels of Afghan society.

Kayhan Irani

October 20, 2011

Afghanistan, Art, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre, Theater, Theatre of the Oppressed

Sisters Are Doing It

Kayhan Irani

October 20, 2011

Afghanistan, Art, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre, Theater, Theatre of the Oppressed

I’m writing two separate blog posts, one about the young men’s production and process and one about the young women’s. This one is all about the women. Despite being located in the cosmopolitan capital city, it seems that this theater group is the first all women’s group in Kabul. Many of these young women, even though they have studied theater at university, have not performed on the stage for audiences – not even in university productions. Well, here’s their chance! They are talented, smart, passionate, and ready to shout from the rooftops.

Kayhan Irani

October 8, 2011

Afghanistan, Art, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed, Theatre

Training Days

Kayhan Irani

October 8, 2011

Afghanistan, Art, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed, Theatre

Today is Friday, the traditional day of rest. Families spend time together, friends meet, people go out. Today is the end of my second week in Kabul and the end of my first week training the brilliant young actors. Today I also rested, met friends, and ran errands.

Kayhan Irani

October 2, 2011

Afghanistan, Art, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre

Stupid American

Kayhan Irani

October 2, 2011

Afghanistan, Art, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre

Being raised in a South/West Asian home, in NYC, I have the privilege to be able to see things from different cultural perspectives and to carry with me the knowledges of many people. (I use the plural to reflect that there is no one “knowledge”.) I am blessed to have an extended family of second mothers, sisters and brothers who have shared with me some of Puerto Rican culture, African American culture, LGBTQ culture, Jewish culture and so on. I am grateful to have that information and perspective as a part of my being.

Kayhan Irani

September 29, 2011

Afghanistan, Art, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed

Kabul goes to my head

Kayhan Irani

September 29, 2011

Afghanistan, Art, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed

The last four days at the Kabul Theater Festival has been heady, thrilling, hopeful, and heartful. I was overjoyed to meet most of the theater artists that I worked with last year. They were presenting their work at the festival (one of them won best scenery and costumes!) and they all looked radiant and full of life. Moreover, I met so many new, creative people working in MANY different provinces of Afghanistan and in different forms of theater.

Kayhan Irani

May 2, 2011

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed

May – A Million Flowers Bloom

Kayhan Irani

May 2, 2011

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Social Change, Theatre of the Oppressed

What d’ya know … the world keeps changing. It’s May! May Day 2011 had me thinking about the immense contribution of working people. Our work creates wealth, our labor produces the foundation of our societies. I say “we” because all artists are workers. Our collective labor transforms the world we live in and enriches people’s lives on a daily basis.

Kayhan Irani

October 27, 2010

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Video, Theatre of the Oppressed, Social Change

Afghanistan Video and Upcoming Events

Kayhan Irani

October 27, 2010

Afghanistan, Civic Engagement, Video, Theatre of the Oppressed, Social Change

A big thank you to everyone who participated in the conversation on Afghanistan this past Sunday. For folks who couldn’t be there I spoke about the power of images (both negative and positive) to shape reality. We interrupted the negative monologue on Afghanistan and moved closer to other human beings through seeing the artists’ faces and hearing their stories. The audience created new images of solidarity and love to send overseas. HERE IS THE VIDEO OF THOSE GREETINGS!!!

Kayhan Irani

September 4, 2010

Social Change

On the road again...

Kayhan Irani

September 4, 2010

Social Change

Yes, I’ve only been home for one month and I am taking off again! This time I am going to the gorgeous Adirondack mountains, in upstate New York, for a month-long playwrighting residency. I am staying at the Blue Mountain Center and will be putting down my thoughts for a brand new play! Wish me luck and see you in October!