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South Asian-American

FIRST

Theater Festival

In New England

August 19th- 21stt

Mosesian Center for Arts, Watertown, MA

In the 1980s, the South Asian presence in the United States was barely noticeable. In American popular imagination, South Asia was a distant site founded on stereotypes. The only well-known brown character in the entertainment industry was Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, the convenience store owner in the famed animated series “The Simpsons”. Let alone a definable diaspora, South Asians living in America had no clear role in the nation’s racial history.

Fast forward to now: Bollywood has a prominent status in American popular culture; major television shows have South Asian characters; and the legislative branch has elected representatives from the community. Yet this exposure has generated equally problematic –if arguably less exotic—stereotypes: ignoring the immense cultural diversity of the region, India is often seen as synonymous with South Asia; anyone from the region is randomly assumed to be a tech expert; and most importantly, South Asian immigrants are collectively labeled “model minority” due to their economic success in the United States, an immigration myth that has only distanced them from other minorities.

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The task of underscoring the complexity of the region, therefore, falls on the immigrants themselves, and “South Asian-American Theater” is an event committed to that goal. Spearheaded by the Boston-based non-profit theater group “Off-Kendrik”, it is a three-day celebration of the performative arts –play, stand-up, storytelling, seminar—that brings together eight creative groups. Their narratives address a range of issues in multiple languages, from politics in their countries of origin and experiences of immigration to complexities of ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. More than simply a celebration of multiculturalism, the occasion, with its insight into the diversity of the South Asian-American diaspora, provides a rare opportunity for education and enrichment, no less for South Asians themselves than for others.

Play

Kultar's Mime

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Mains

A Pasta Hack That Will Transport You to Rome

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Play

The Health Benefits of Drinking Tea Daily 

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Healthy

Creative Salad Ideas for the Veggie Lover

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PERFORMNCES

Special Guests

Suman Mukhopadhyay

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Rohina Malik

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SAATh-Fest is South Asian-American Theater & Storytelling Festival organized by Off-Kendrik.  Off-Kendrik is a 501(c)(3) Non-profit organization serving South-Asian community of Boston/New England area through Art, Theater and Storytelling for today and tomorrow. Our Theatrical Productions are original plays written and performed in Bangla. Super-captions in English are incorporated for non-Bangla speaking audiences. We also produce an English Storytelling series called "Voices" bringing South Asian immigrant voices to American experience.

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