Region Info: Metro Bay Area
Regional VP:
Welcome to Jayne Wenger, our new Regional VP Metro Bay Area! Jayne hosted her first event, the Bay Area Dramaturgy Tea on February 1st, 2026, a gathering of local dramaturgs for a luncheon at her home in Tiburon, CA. It was a great opportunity for local Bay Area dramaturgs to meet, re-establish connections, and get to know one another better. The focus was on developing new relationships and strategies for future shared events, such as group outings to theatre events – including dance, music and new opera – as well as growing the local membership at LMDA. We spilled the tea with one another (without spilling any actual tea), created a group chat for Bay Dramaturgs on Signal, and established a new show recommendation coined “RUN, Don’t Walk.” Then President, now Past President Sara Freeman was able to join the group and speak to attendees about her vision, her work, and moving LMDA and dramaturgy into the future. It was a beautiful and convivial afternoon of delicious tea sandwiches and lovely brews! Stay tuned for future events here in the San Francisco Bay Area….
Latest News
2026
LMDA Continues Partnership with Golden Thread in San Francisco
ReOrient 2026 marks LMDA’s fourth collaboration with Golden Thread Productions on their bi-annual ReOrient Festival of Short Plays! As LMDA celebrates its 40th anniversary and Golden Thread its 30th season, the partnership brings together two organizations that value launching new plays and challenging cultural preconceptions through provocative programming and dialogue. Led by LMDA Treasurer and Golden Thread Affiliated Artist Nakissa Etemad, LMDA expands the ReOrient 2026 production dramaturgy team of Etemad and Marina Johnson by providing three Publications Dramaturgs: Marina Johnson, Emily DeDakis, and Oona Hatton. They will bring their expertise in new play development and contextualization to write feature articles for audiences that explore the rich narratives and artists of this vibrant festival. We look forward to ongoing partnerships between our two organizations and collaborations between dramaturgs and Middle Eastern theatre artists for generations to come!
Check back here to read the three articles by our ReOrient 2026 Publications Dramaturgs throughout September and October.
Visit Golden Thread’s website to learn more about the festival and buy tickets!
(Runs Oct. 9th – Nov. 1st, 2026)
2023
Our LMDA-Golden Thread Partnership: Third Time’s a Charm!
Six short plays. One unforgettable evening.
This year’s ReOrient 2023 Festival marks LMDA’s third collaboration with Golden Thread Productions and the inaugural festival for new artistic director Sahar Assaf. The partnership brings together two organizations that value challenging cultural preconceptions through provocative programming and dialogue, and is curated by LMDA’s Regional VP Metro Bay Area and Festival Lead Dramaturg Nakissa Etemad. The ReOrient Dramaturgy Team consists of a team of professional dramaturgs who bring their expertise in new play development, research, contextualization, and theatre writing. This year’s LMDA partnership augments the team to include a Publications Dramaturg to join the ReOrient Camp & Festival and write a feature article on ReOrient artists and the creative process that brings audiences behind-the-scenes. Be sure to check out the Dramaturgs’ program notes and playwright messages curated by the team in the Festival Program!
In addition to Golden Thread resident artist Nakissa Etemad, the ReOrient 2023 Dramaturgy Team includes Marina Johnson, Vidhu Singh, and Heather Rastovac Akbarzadeh. …Visit Golden Thread’s website for more on the 2023 Festival. Click on the links below to read the full articles by ReOrient Publications Dramaturgs.
- ReOrient 2023 Festival Celebrates a Resilient Return Under Sahar Assaf
As a dramaturgy team member of our third partnership with Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, Publications Dramaturg Vidhu Singh takes you behind the scenes of this year’s ReOrient Festival of Short Plays.
2019
A Fruitful Partnership Continues
In this 20th Anniversary of ReOrient Festival, Golden Thread celebrates its second collaboration with LMDA, the international service organization dedicated to the support, promotion, and advocacy of the dramaturgy field, holding the belief that theatre is a vital art form with the power to nourish, educate, and transform individuals and their communities, and that dramaturgy is central to the process of theater-making. Married with Golden Thread’s belief in theatre’s ability to transcend cultural and political boundaries and to encourage an active dialogue, the partnership – curated by LMDA’s Regional VP Metro Bay Area and Festival Lead Dramaturg Nakissa Etemad – provides ReOrient with a team of professional dramaturgs who bring their expertise in new play development, research, contextualization, and theatre writing. In return, Golden Thread offers LMDA collaboration with multi-national artists and access to ReOrient’s rich narratives and diverse perspectives from or about the Middle East.
In addition to Golden Thread resident artist Etemad, this year’s Dramaturgy Team includes Emily DeDakis, Laura Espino, Scott Horstein, and Michael Malek Najjar.
Visit Golden Thread’s website for more on the 2019 Festival. Click on the links below to read the full articles by ReOrient 2019 Publications Dramaturgs.
- ReOrient 2019: A Homecoming for Golden Thread Alumni
Feature article by Michael Malek Najjar. This year’s festival cements Golden Thread Productions’ longtime working relationships with Yussef El Guindi, Betty Shamieh, and Naomi Wallace. - Brave New Voices in ReOrient 2019
Feature article by Emily DeDakis. Meet four writers who are brand-new to the festival, all clearly at home in ReOrient, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. - Weaving the Golden Thread at ReOrient 2019 Camp
Feature article by Scott Horstein. The twentieth anniversary of the ReOrient Festival of Short Plays began with an incubation weekend that Golden Thread calls “ReOrient Camp.”
2017
A New Partnership for LMDA and Golden Thread Productions in San Francisco
Think you know the Middle East? Think again!
Running now through December 10, the ReOrient 2017 Festival of Short Plays features an LMDA partnership for the first time with San Francisco-based theatre company Golden Thread Productions. (For tickets and info, please visit goldenthread.org). This alliance brings together two organizations that value challenging cultural preconceptions through provocative programming and dialogue. Curated by LMDA’s Regional VP of Metro Bay Area Nakissa Etemad, LMDA has provided a team of production dramaturgs, Etemad and Anna Woodruff, to collaborate on the plays in script development and research, and publications dramaturgs, Emily DeDakis, Maddie Gaw, and Vidhu Singh, to write feature articles that take you behind-the-scenes of ReOrient, posted on websites and in mailings of both organizations. Click on the links below to read the partnership announcement, the invitation to the dramaturgy panel, and the four articles by ReOrient Publications Dramaturgs.
- ReOrient in SF with LMDA & Golden Thread Productions
Announcement of our first partnership on ReOrient 2017 Festival of Short Plays. - Are You Ready to ReOrient?: A Festival Overview by Vidhu Singh
Publications Dramaturg Vidhu Singh takes you behind-the scenes of ReOrient and highlights the importance of Golden Thread in the American theatre. - Being in the Room: Transatlantic Collaborations in ReOrient 2017
Publications Dramaturg Emily DeDakis interviews Sevan K. Greene and Hannah Khalil to discuss their plays, playwriting careers in the U.K., and past experiences with Golden Thread. - Playwright and Dramaturg Tackle Manar a Third Time in ReOrient 2017 Festival
Publications Dramaturg Emily DeDakis interviews Sevan K. Greene and Hannah Khalil to discuss their plays, playwriting careers in the U.K., and past experiences with Golden Thread.
