This episode is a deep dive into the founding of Golden Thread Productions with founding artistic director Torange Yeghiazarian—tracing how one artist’s vision grew into a movement that reshaped Middle Eastern theatre in the US. Kunafa and Shay is a podcast produced for HowlRound Theatre Commons byco-hosts Nabra Nelson and Marina Johnson. Kunafa and Shay discusses andanalyzes contemporary and historical Middle Eastern and North African(MENA) and Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) theatre from acrossthe region.Kunafa and Shay highlights MENA/SWANA plays and theatremakers,spotlights community-engaged work in the region and diaspora, andanalyzes the past, present, and future of MENA/SWANA theatre in theUnited States and beyond. Theatre artists and scholars Nabra Nelson andMarina Johnson bring their own perspectives, research, and specialguests in order to start a dialogue and encourage further learning anddiscussion.The name, Kunafa and Shay, invites you into the discussion in the bestway we know how: with complex and delicious sweets like kunafa, andperfectly warm tea (or, in Arabic, shay). Kunafa and Shay is a place toshare experiences, discuss ideas, and sometimes engage with ourdifferences. In each country in the region, you’ll find kunafa madedifferently. In that way, we also lean into the diversity, complexity,and robust flavors of MENA/SWANA theatre. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.comfor information about our collection and use of personal data foradvertising.