*
Rasaka Theatre / DesiLit Creativity Workshops
Saturday, February 10-11, 2007
Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Avenue, Room TBD
DesiLit and Rasaka Theatre cordially invite you to participate in our creativity workshops!
February 10, 2007, 9:30 - 5:00 p.m.
An introduction to writing fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
This workshop is geared for beginners -- no experience needed! We'll
do exercises that introduce you to all four genres, and by the end of
the workshop, you'll leave with a complete piece of writing. Over
lunch at a local cafe, we'll discuss the business of writing -- how
to market and sell your work.
Instructors: Bobby Zaman and Mary Anne Mohanraj.
February 11, 2007, 9:30 - 5:00 p.m.
An introduction to acting. This workshop is geared for beginners --
no experience needed! We'll do group and individual exercises
designed to unlock your inner actor. Over lunch at a local cafe
we'll discuss the business of acting -- how to begin auditioning and
performing as a stage actor in Chicago.
Instructors: Anjali Thawani and Bobby Zaman.
Cost: $40/day ($25 for students/seniors); $70/entire weekend ($40 for
students/seniors).
Space will be limited to fifteen participants/session.
To reserve your spot, please e-mail Mary Anne Mohanraj at:
info@desilit.org
Instructor Bios:
Anjali Thawani is delighted to once again be working with Rasaka
Theater Company. A graduate of the University of Illinois BFA program
in Acting, she has worked throughout Chicago in various venues,
including The Stage Left Theater, and with The Steppenwolf Theater
Company (Summer Arts.) Favorite roles include Darlene in Balm In
Gilead, Viola in Twelfth Knight, the Infanta in Stories from a
Garden (world premiere cast), and of course, any role that she has
ever played for Rasaka. :=)
Mary Anne Mohanraj is the author of BODIES IN MOTION, a set of Sri Lankan-American linked stories, covering two families and three generations (HarperCollins), which recently received an honorable mention from the Asian American Book Awards. She teaches fiction at Vermont College and Roosevelt University, and is working on a follow-up book, THE ARRANGEMENT, a contemporary threesome novel (forthcoming HarperCollins). Mohanraj recently received an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in Prose. She currently serves as the Executive Director of DesiLit (www.desilit.org), an organization that works to support S. Asian and diaspora literature, and also directs the Speculative Literature Foundation (www.speclit.org). Mohanraj was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. http://www.maryannemohanraj.com
Bobby Zaman is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago with degrees in English Literature/Writing & Theatre. He has been working as a playwright and actor in the Chicago theatre scene for the past 12 years. During this time Bobby has worked with such companies as the Next Theatre Company, Keyhole Theatre Company, Saint Sebastian Players, Polarity Ensemble Theatre, The Theatre Building Chicago, Arts Lane Absolute Shakespeare Company, Rasaka Theatre Company and many more. His latest play THE PALACE received a staged reading with Rasaka Theatre Company in May of this year and is currently being shopped around for near future production. Bobby is currently at work on a trilogy of plays.