How can theater makers protect dissenting voices and sustain the people who bring them to the stage? Join MENA Theater Makers Alliance (MENATMA) on October 23-24, 2026 for four livestreamed sessions on HowlRound TV.
Broadcast from San Francisco, these sessions are part of MENATMA’s 2026 Fall Convening. This national gathering provides an essential opportunity to network, strategize, and celebrate with Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) and Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) artists, activists, and scholars from around the country. Don’t miss your chance to join this spirited opportunity to share stories, learn about fellow cultures, and discover new ways of collaborating and honing our skills.
Together, we’ll consider how relationships, shared knowledge, and resources can strengthen our communities in a time of growing censorship and suppression. Watch live on this page. Recordings will remain available here after the broadcasts.
The Convening is co-produced by MENATMA, Art2Action, Inc., and Golden Thread Productions as part of their multiyear “Protecting Dissent” partnership, and presented in conjunction with Golden Thread’s ReOrient 2026 Festival of Short Plays.
Explore the full Convening program.
Friday October 23, 2026 Livestream Schedule
Convening Welcome
10:00-10:45am PDT / 1-1:45 EDT
Don’t miss the official start of the convening featuring MENATMA Board Chair Denmo Ibrahim, Golden Thread Artistic Director Nabra Nelson, MENATMA Programming Chair Debórah Eliezer and meet our new General Manager, Sarah Dahnke. Get energized for the weekend and hear about MENATMA’s exciting updates and programs!
Protecting Dissent: Celebrating Voices from the Middle East and North Africa
10:45–11:45am PDT / 1:45–2:45pm EDT
Moderator: Catherine Coray; Panelists include Andrea Assaf, Nabra Nelson, and Yussef El Guindi
How does MENA theater respond to the systemic silencing of our community? How do we protect dissent today? As theater makers, we must uplift and defend the voices of artists in our community who are boldly expressing truths in a time of growing censorship and suppression. This session offers a robust conversation on the theme of this year’s convening with established organizational leaders working in MENA theater today.
Awardee Introductions and Sharing
2:45–4pm PDT / 5:45–7pm EDT
Facilitators: Sarah Dahnke and Torange Yeghiazarian
Introducing the inaugural awardees of The MENA Theater Makers Fund, MENATMA’s historic funding initiative, the first of its kind for MENA artists and organizations that provides unprecedented and significant investment in MENA theater in the U.S. This session will feature and celebrate a number of awardees out of 18 total recipients who represent some of the most impactful MENA and SWANA voices working in American theater today.
Forging Our Paths as MENA Artists
4:15–5:30pm PDT / 7:15–8:30pm EDT
Moderator: Aidaa Peerzada; Panelists include Nora el Samahy, Nakissa Etemad, and Sona Tatoyan
MENA theater makers of various disciplines share how they began their careers, adapted, and evolved to make their mark in the American theater landscape. What is the collective impact made by our community, and how do we preserve our collective wisdom? How do we actively resist the erasure of our history, and break the ‘silo’ to become a consistent part of the mainstream? What can we incorporate from our theatrical and cultural pasts to help us enrich today’s theater culture?
Saturday, October 24, 2026 Livestream Schedule
Creating in Crisis
10am-12pm PDT / 1pm-3pm EDT
Moderator: Amal Bisharat; Panelists: Samer Al-Saber, Sahba Aminikia, Sahar Assaf, Deniz Khateri, and Zoe Rabinowitz
This session brings together artists from Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran to explore what it means to create when crisis is not a distant event but an ongoing reality. How does art respond to moments that can feel impossible to represent? What does it mean to make work while remaining connected to people and places experiencing violence and upheaval? How do artists navigate the expectations placed on them to explain, document, mourn, resist, or speak for a place?
About MENATMA
MENA Theater Makers Alliance amplifies the voices of Middle Eastern and North African theater makers and expands how stories from and about our communities are told on U.S. stages. We take space, make opportunities, champion artists, and build relationships with other marginalized communities and allies to build a more vibrant American theater.
