Photo by Jati Lindsay. World Premiere of Meena's Dream at Forum Theatre January 2014.
Meena's Dream.
A tale of hope, bravery -- and dreaming of a world where everyone has enough.
Musicians Rajna Swaminathan and Anjna Swaminathan (L-R) play mrudangam and violin respectively during Meena's Dream. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
Musician Sam McCormally plays guitar during Meena's Dream. Photo by Q. Terah Jackson.
The Play
Solo actress Anu Yadav weaves a tale of nine-year-old Meena who wishes her mother could afford the medicine she needs, and Hindu God Lord Krishna who pleads for Meena's help in his war against the Worry Machine. Meena's Dream creates a fantastical world through storytelling and live music, from South Indian classical to indie folk. With music by Anjna Swaminathan, Rajna Swaminathan, and Sam McCormally.
“... extraordinary...”
“... undeniably powerful...gives voice to the troubling conditions of some Americans from a part of the world we don’t see enough of on stages.”
“I watched Meena’s Dream with the most diverse audience I have ever been privileged to be a part of in my more than 40 years of theatre-going, and I am positive that each of them, regardless of cultural background, chronological age or theatrical sophistication, was as transported, terrified and tickled by the story of Meena and her mother as I was.”
Acknowledgments: Meena's Dream premiered at Forum Theatre January 8-18, 2014, directed by Patrick Crowley and choreographed by Paige Hernandez, with dramaturgy by Anjna Swaminathan, Caleen Jennings, and Patrick Crowley. Originally developed and staged February 2013 as an MFA in Performance thesis project in the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, directed by Paige Hernandez, with dramaturgy by Caleen Jennings and Anjna Swaminathan. Staged readings at Studio Safdar in Delhi directed by Walter Dallas and Arena Stage’s Kogod Cradle, produced by Subcontinental Drift and directed by Caleen Jennings. Additional thanks to Faedra Carpenter, Ashley Smith, Sriram Gopal, Ravi D’Souza, Jana Natya Manch, Komita Dhanda, Mala Hashmi, Sudhanva Deshpande, Nick Horan, Teresa Bayer, Claudia Rosales, David Demke, Rob Jansen, Leigh Wilson Smiley, Leslie Felbain, Scot Reese, Mitchell Hébert, Q. Terah Jackson III, and Dael Orlandersmith.