Alan Roland Playwright
Playwright Alan Roland is a psychoanalyst well known for his seminal writings on cross-cultural psychology with Asians and Asian Americans (Indians, Japanese, South Koreans, and Chinese). He has written three books on the subject: In Search of Self in India and Japan: Toward a Cross-Cultural Psychology, Princeton University Press; Cultural Pluralism and Psychoanalysis: The Asian and North American Experience, Routledge; and Journeys to Foreign Selves: Asians and Asian Americans in a Global Era, Oxford University Press, 2011. He has also had published, Dreams and Drama: Psychoanalytic Criticism, Creativity and the Artist, Continuum (U.K.) and Wesleyan University Press (U.S.A.). He has written the libretto for the opera-oratorio, “War of the Sons of Light” with noted Israeli composer, Ami Maayani.

Kinan Azmeh Clarinet, Composer
Hailed as a “virtuoso” by the New York Times and “Incredibly Rich sound” by the CBC, Kinan Azmeh is one of Syria’s rising stars. His utterly distinctive sound across different musical genres is now fast gaining international recognition. Born in Damascus, he was the first Arab to win the premier prize at the 1997 Nicolai Rubinstein International Competition, Moscow. He is a graduate of New York’s Juilliard school as a student of Charles Neidich, and of both the Damascus High institute of Music where he studied with Shukry Sahwki, Nicolay Viovanof and Anatoly Moratof, and Damascus University’s School of Electrical Engineering.

Beth Greenberg Director
Stage Director Beth Greenberg is best known for her work at the New York City Opera. For the Lincoln Center company she’s directed original mainstage productions of Tales of Hoffmann and Turandot, and revivals including Der Rosenkavalier, Tosca, La Traviata, Intermezzo and La Boheme. Across the river, aboard an oil tanker moored in Red Hook, Brooklyn, she recently directed the site-specific Il Tabarro. Beth has also earned a solid reputation for her collaborations with living American composers. She works on all phases of a new show’s development from early libretto and workshop readings to fully-staged productions.

Korhan Basaran Choreographer
Korhan Basaran is an Istanbul-based dance artist and the artistic director of “Korhan Basaran and Dancers.”  His “I am Korhan, this is my dance” was premiered at the Ailey Citigroup Theater in June of 2011. He is on the faculty of STEPS and Peridance, and teaches as a guest artist at DNA. He believes art is the only way to change the world into a better place than where it stands now.

Dennis Parichy Lighting Designer
Dennis Parichy is an award-winning American lighting designer. He has designed lights for more than 15 Broadway productions since 1976, including The Price, The Tenth Man, Coastal Disturbances, Penn & Teller, Burn This, The Nerd, As Is, Angels Fall, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Duet for One, Crimes of the Heart, The Water Engine, and Knock Knock. Parichy has been nominated three times for a Tony Award for his work on Redwood Curtain, Fifth of July, and Talley’s Folly, for which he won a Drama Desk Award. He was resident lighting designer for Circle Repertory Company where he worked with director Marshall Mason on the first productions of plays by many American playwrights, most notably Lanford Wilson. He also received an OBIE for Distinguished Lighting Design for his work off-Broadway.