Seda Iranian Theatre Ensemble was founded in 2019 as the first Iranian theatre company in Seattle, USA. We named our ensemble Seda – which means ‘voice’ in Persian – because we believe that every human has a voice, and every voice deserves to be heard. We chose the name Seda as we aim to create an opportunity for refugees and immigrants whose voice cannot be heard. In a world where the powerful majority controls the mainstream media and is the dominating voice, theatre is an incredible place to be seen and heard. Theatre is created out of nothing: all it takes is a viewer and a performer. The stage could be a house, a performance hall, an alley, or an abandoned warehouse. At Seda Theatre, we want to amplify and give voice to the issues and stories of immigrants by creating work on stage and through imagination and art. We will teach and learn.

Seda is home to all immigrants with a “voice”.

Be Seda’s voice!

تیاتر صدا در سال 2019 ، به عنوان اولین تیاتر ایرانی در شهر سیاتل تاسیس شد. عنوان ِ "صدا " را برگزیدیم ، چرا که باور داریم هر انسانی صدایی دارد و صدای ِ هر انسان، ارزش ِ شنیده شدن. عنوان ِ صدا را برگزیدیم چرا که این کمپانی می خواهد امکانی فراهم کند برای ِ شنیدن ِ صداهای ِ مهاجرانی که دور از سرزمین های ِ خویش اند و فرصت محدود تری برای ِ شنیده شدن دارند . در جهانی که غالب رسانه ها را قدرت ها به تسخیر خود در آورده اند و صداهای ِ مسلطشان را به گوش ما می رسانند ، تیاتر یک امکان شگفت انگیز است برای ِ دیده و شنیده شدن؛ چرا که تیاتر با هیچ شکل می گیرد : تنها یک تماشاگر و یک اجرا گر کافی است که تیاتر زاده شود و مهم نیست که مکان اجرا خانه باشد ، یا سالنی بزرگ ، کوچه باشد ، یا کارخانه ای متروک. در کمپانی تیاتر صدا ، ما می خواهیم حرف ها و دغدغه های ِ مهاجران را از طریق ِ به صحنه بردن وبا تکیه بر خلاقیت و هنر ، به گوش ِ دیگران برسانیم : اگر لازم باشد آموزش می دهیم، یا می آموزیم. اگر لازم باشد در سالن های ِ بزرگ اجرا می کنیم ، یا در خانه های ِ کوچک. اگر لازم باشد از مهاجران ِ ایرانی می گوییم، یا از مهاجرانی از ملیت های ِ مختلف که هر یک به گوشه ای از این .جهان پهناور پناه برده اند .صدا خانه ی تمام مهاجرانی است که صدایی دارند

. صدای ِ صدا باشید

Naghmeh samini, Artistic Director

Naghmeh Samini (PhD), playwright, scriptwriter and lecturer in Dramatic Arts, was born in Iran and received her BA in Drama and MA in Cinema from the University of Tehran. She did her PhD in Art Studies at the University of Tarbiat Modarres in Tehran with a thesis focused on Drama and Mythology.

More than twenty of her plays have been staged in Iran, France, India, Canada, the United States and other countries. These include Sleeping in an Empty Cup, Sky Horses Rain Ashes, Making Faces and The Home. Her screenplays, including Main Line and Heiran and 3 women won awards. In 2007 critics selected her as one of the five top playwrights in Iran. Her plays are experimental in structure and handle a variety of topical subjects at personal and sociopolitical levels. Inspired by One Thousand and One Night, she uses magic realism and non-linear narratives in her plays. One of her recent plays entitled The King and the Mathematician: A Legend(2012) was selected by UNESCO as one of the cultural achievements of the year.

Naghmeh has been Assistant Professor/Lecturer in Dramatic Literature at the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, University of Tehran, since 2005. She was also affiliated with the School of Drama, University of Washington between 2012 and 2017. She has run several creative writing and drama workshops in Iran and abroad. As a researcher, she has several publications among which the most important ones are two books: one about One Thousand and One night entitled The Book of Love and Magic (Tehran: Markaz, 2000) and the other which is focused on reflections of Iranian Mythology in Iranian drama is entitled The Theatre of Myths (Tehran: Ney, 2008). The latter book won the awards of ‘the best book of the year’ in Iran in 2010. She has recently submitted her manuscript for a monograph entitled Battles and Bodies (Tehran: Ney, forthcoming 2019) on the semiotics of human body in post-war Japanese cinema.

She has published numerous articles and delivered lectures on cinema, theatre and cultural studies in Persian and English. Her most recent lecture delivered in Stanford University was entitled ‘Feminine body and Feminine Mind in Iranian Cinema. Naghmeh has won several scholarships and bursaries for her creative writing and research projects from Japan Foundation, Aschberg UNESCO and other cultural organizations..

parmida ziaei, managing director

Parmida Ziaei is an Iranian performer, designer, and choreographer based in Seattle. She has been merging her love of performing arts and her skill set in architecture by working in the themed-entertainment design industry, creating branded experiences, themed attractions, and other immersive spaces. Parmida has also been a scenic and production designer with many local Seattle theatres, including Macha Theatre Works, Theatre22, and Sound Theatre Company. Parmida is the co-founder and Managing Director of Seda Iranian Theatre Ensemble, and the resident set designer with Macha Theatre Works. When not designing, Parmida performs, teaches, and choreographs contemporary and Persian dances. Learn more at parmidaziaei.com.