ORGANIZATIONAL PARTNER

Cal Shakes is a major Bay Area theater that, guided by the artistic direction of Obie Award-winning Eric Ting, has emerged as a leader in promoting Equity in theater and incorporating the voices and perspectives of community partners in the works on our stage.

In December 2017, California Shakespeare Theater (Cal Shakes) launched a multiyear collaboration with lead artists Leila Buck, Evren Odcikin, and Raeshma Razvi.

The project was to culminate in August 2020 with the world premiere of the play, 1001 NIGHTS – A RETELLING, co-conceived and co-written by Leila Buck and Evren Odcikin, and developed through deep community collaboration led by Raeshma Razvi that took the form of the SHAHRAZAD SQUAD.

The Squad’s role had been to inspire the playwrights to lift up the complicated and multilayered feelings 21st Century MENASA women have toward this work and its Western appropriation.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Cal Shakes to cancel its 2020 season and the staging of 1001 Nights - A Retelling is still on hiatus.

In the meantime, Cal Shakes used this period of uncertainty in the arts in service of community resilience as they invested support to continue the Squad, extend its geographic/virtual reach, and solicit monetary support through foundation partners.