SEGAL TALKS: Dima Mikhayel Matta and Yara Bour Nassar

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presented SEGAL TALKS: Dima Mikhayel Matta and Yara Bour Nassar livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 30 July 2020 at 9 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 11 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 12 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 17:00 BST (London, UTC +1) / 18:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC +2).

Dima Mikhayel Matta is a writer, actress, and university lecturer in English and Creative Writing. As a Fulbright scholar, she received her MFA in Creative Writing from Rutgers University in 2013. In 2014, she founded Cliffhangers, the first bilingual storytelling platforms in Beirut. Her first play "This is not a memorized script, this is a well-rehearsed story" toured as a work in progress at the Shubbak Festival, NYU, and the Outburst Festival. It premiered in Beirut in February 2020. She is currently working on her second play

Yara Bou Nassar is a Lebanese performer, writer, and director.

As a theater maker, She is interested in inspecting her identity with respect to the collective memory and the paradoxical binaries of her society. She approaches themes that are often focused on the deconstruction of social stereotypes and daily behavior in the urban context as well as in the private and intimate space. She is particularly interested in manifestations of discomfort in the body in different forms.

Recently, she got selected for a three months residency at La Cité internationale des Arts starting October 2020 to develop a new creation titled “The Missed Adventure of a Hypothetical French Woman”. The project follows her family history and questions belonging and timing in a decision-making process.

She is currently collaborating with an ensemble of artists on a collective creation titled “Nouvelle Nahda”, directed by Antje Schupp. It is a co-production between Theater Neumarkt in Zurich and Station Beirut and will premiere in April 2020

ABOUT SEGAL TALKS
SEGAL TALKS is a daily one-hour LIVE online conversation from Monday to Friday about making art and making sense in the Time of Corona.

SEGAL TALKS was conceived, created and curated by Frank Hentschker in March 2020.

SEGAL TALKS has been made possible by the support of Susan and Jack Rudin, the Hearst Foundation, and Marvin Carlson, Sidney E. Cohn Chair, The Graduate Center CUNY.

ABOUT THE MARTIN E. SEGAL THEATRE CENTER
Originally founded in 1979 as the Center for Advanced Studies in Theatre Arts (CASTA), The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center was renamed in March of 1999 to recognize Martin E. Segal, one of New York City’s outstanding leaders of the arts. The Segal Center curates over thirty events throughout the Spring and Fall academic seasons, all free and open to the public. Dedicated to bridging the gap between the professional and academic theatre communities, the Segal Center presents readings, performance, lectures, and artists and academics in conversation. In addition, the Segal Center presents three annual festivals (PRELUDE, PEN World Voices: International Pay Festival, and The Segal Center Film Festival on Theatre and Performance) and publishes and maintains three open access online journals (Arab Stages, European Stages, and The Journal of American Drama and Theatre). The Segal Center also publishes many volumes of plays in translation and is the leading publisher of plays from the Arab world. The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center (MESTC) is a vital component of the Theatre Program’s academic culture and creating in close collaboration a research nexus, focusing on dramaturgy, new media, and global theatre. The Segal Center provides an intimate platform where both artists and theatre professionals can actively participate with audiences to advance awareness and appreciation.

THE SEGAL TEAM
Assistant Creative Producer: Sunyoung Kim
Next Generation Fellow: Andie Lerner
Junior Assistant Director of Programs: Kyueun Kim

THE GRADUATE CENTER, CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, of which the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center is an integral part, is the doctorate-granting institution of The City University of New York (CUNY). An internationally recognized center for advanced studies and a national model for public doctoral education, the school offers more than thirty doctoral programs, as well as a number of master’s programs. Many of its faculty members are among the world’s leading scholars in their respective fields, and its alumni hold major positions in industry and government, as well as in academia. The Graduate Center is also home to twenty-eight interdisciplinary research centers and institutes focused on areas of compelling social, civic, cultural, and scientific concerns. Located in a landmark Fifth Avenue building, The Graduate Center has become a vital part of New York City’s intellectual and cultural life with its extensive array of public lectures, exhibitions, concerts, and theatrical events.

About HowlRound TV
HowlRound TV is a global, commons-based peer produced, open access livestreaming and video archive project stewarded by the nonprofit HowlRound. HowlRound TV is a free and shared resource for live conversations and performances relevant to the world's performing arts and cultural fields. Its mission is to break geographic isolation, promote resource sharing, and to develop our knowledge commons collectively. Participate in a community of peer organizations revolutionizing the flow of information, knowledge, and access in our field by becoming a producer and co-producing with us. Learn more by going to our participate page. For any other queries, email [email protected], or call Vijay Mathew at +1 917.686.3185 Signal/WhatsApp. View the video archive of past events.