Syrian-Armenian-American Artist Sona Tatoyan & OBIE-winning Director Jared Mezzocchi Create Immersive Theatrical Experience Spanning Centuries of Genocide, Intergenerational Trauma, and Healing
SAN FRANCISCO—Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East, and Hakawati, a nonprofit dedicated to bridging divides in the Middle East and beyond, will present the world premiere of “AZAD (the rabbit and the wolf).” This kaleidoscopic multimedia performance is written by Syrian-Armenian-American theatre and film artist Sona Tatoyan in collaboration with two-time Obie Award-winning theater director and multimedia designer Jared Mezzocchi.
“AZAD (the rabbit and the wolf)” features a revelatory fusion of ancient Karagöz shadow puppetry, indigenous Middle Eastern folk music, oral storytelling, video projection, and movement. The result is an immersive, autobiographical, theatrical experience performed by Tatoyan herself alongside a tribe of 120-year-old Karagöz puppets and world-renowned oud player Ara Dinkjian. “AZAD (the rabbit and the wolf)” plays from April 11 to May 3 at San Francisco’s Potrero Stage, with an opening night set for Monday, April 14 at 8 p.m. Tickets, priced between $20 to $130, are now on sale.
In 2019, Tatoyan found herself stranded in her family’s abandoned Aleppo home during the Syrian war. At the same time, her dear friend and mentor, Turkish human rights activist Osman Kavala, had been recently jailed and was facing a possible life sentence. While confronting historical trauma and the present-day tragedies of her friends and family, Tatoyan discovers her great-great-grandfather’s handmade Karagöz shadow puppets, salvaged from the Armenian Genocide. Guided by the spirit of Scheherazad from “One Thousand and One Nights,” the puppets act as a bridge between Osman’s work to heal the ruptures of various indigenous communities of Anatolia, the war that surrounds Tatoyan, and our greater human experience. The puppets unveil bawdy, hilarious, and harrowing tales that transport Sona through an intergenerational, psychedelic journey, alchemizing a radiant truth: stories, when reimagined, possess the power to transmute trauma to healing.
“At a time when our communities are reeling from the livestreamed Palestinian genocide, presenting Sona’s story of survival, intergenerational trauma, and healing holds powerful resonance,” says Golden Thread Executive Artistic Director Sahar Assaf. “’AZAD’ inspires resilience and reminds us of the importance of collective healing to build towards social justice and more compassionate communities. We’re honored to collaborate with Hakawati to present the world premiere of this important piece.”
At the heart of “AZAD (the rabbit and the wolf)” is a collection of 180 Karagöz shadow puppets, created and used by Tatoyan’s great-great grandfather Abkar Knadjian in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These ancient puppets are symbols of survival and the ongoing refugee experience. Abkar, a storyteller and survivor of the Armenian Genocide, was forced to leave his home in 1915, but he salvaged both his family and his art. Today, these same 120-year-old puppets, discovered in the attic of Tatoyan’s family home in Aleppo, find themselves as refugees once more — this time, displaced by the violence and destruction of the Syrian war.
“When I found my great-great grandfather’s Karagöz shadow puppets that he saved from the Armenian Genocide, I had this epiphany,” says Sona Tatoyan. “All my life, I’ve been identifying with the trauma of my inheritance, but these puppets, storytelling, are also my inheritance. This ancient technology allows me to navigate that trauma, transmute it. I believe I was summoned back to Aleppo to find these puppets, to build on the work of Osman Kavala, and to enter into a quantum collaboration with my great-great grandfather on a story that serves as a spell. We’re creating a space together to heal.”
The journey of the puppets mirrors that of Tatoyan’s own family who were forced to flee their ancestral homeland during the Armenian genocide and then again during the Syrian conflict. Like Tatoyan’s family, Abkar’s 120-year-old puppets have survived exile and war through the centuries and serve as vessels for a multitude of stories, ranging from the bawdy and humorous to the haunting and tragic, inviting audiences into a complex, multi-layered narrative.
“Working with Sona and this cast of amazing Karagöz puppets (which, of course, speaks to the brilliant puppeteers who bring them to life), I am profoundly moved by this project and the innovative ways we are seeking to tell these stories in this crucial moment of global politic.” Says Jared Mezzocchi. “Blending the ancient technology of shadowplay with contemporary multimedia design, “AZAD (the rabbit and the wolf)” has a one-of-a-kind opportunity to actualize a multi-century collaboration between innovations of the past and present, in hopes to offer audiences a new way of thinking about the future of theatrical storytelling and the obligation we have as artists to inspire the global community to take better care of one another.”
The creative team for “AZAD (the rabbit and the wolf)” includes world-renowned oud player Ara Dinkjian, Karagöz creative consultant and puppet maker Ayhan Hulagu, puppeteers Vinny Mraz and Kalli Siringas, scenic designer Marcelo Martínez García, costume designer Valérie Thérèse Bart, lighting designer Betsy Chester, sound designer Evdoxia Ragkou, multimedia designer Camilla Tassi, immersive designer Isaac Saboohi, choreographer and movement designer Chelsea Didier, and stage manager Olivia Fletcher. Footage and sound in Aleppo was captured by Antoine Makdis. Documentary Inserts were created by filmmaker Emily Jo West.
Golden Thread and Hakawati would like to thank producers Bill Pullman and Noubar and Anna Afeyan for their ongoing support and championing of this project.
Twenty performances of “AZAD (the rabbit and the wolf)” will take place from April 11 to May 3 at Potrero Stage, located at 1695 18th Street, San Francisco, CA. Opening Night is Monday, April 14 at 8 p.m. The performance schedule is Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets, which start at $20 for previews, $30 for regular performances and up to $130 for True Cost tickets, can be purchased online.
Please visit the website for more information.
Sona Tatoyan’s creative process has been deeply influenced by her heritage and experiences as a Syrian-Armenian-American artist. Raised between rural Indiana and Aleppo, Syria, and currently based in Los Angeles, California and Yerevan, Armenia, she has built an impressive international career as an actor, writer, and producer. Her stage credits include world premieres at Yale Repertory Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, and The American Conservatory Theatre, among others. She starred in “The Journey,” the first American independent film shot in Armenia, which won the Audience Award at the Milan Film Festival in 2002. As a writer, Tatoyan’s first feature film script, “The First Full Moon,” was a participant in the 2011 Sundance/RAWI Screenwriters Lab and the 2012 Dubai Film Connection/Festival Project. Ms. Tatoyan is currently a Georgetown Global Politics and Performance Lab fellow, 2024-2026.
The first iteration of “AZAD,” as a storytelling piece, was performed in April 2022 at the Pico Playhouse in Los Angeles, followed by performances at the University of Michigan Keene Theater in September 2024 and Clark University in October 2024. Solo versions of the piece were also presented at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) in Boston and the Pergamon Museum in Berlin in 2023. The multimedia theatrical experience “AZAD (the rabbit and the wolf)” evolved from this storytelling piece.
Jared Mezzocchi, a two-time Obie Award-winning theater artist, is known for his groundbreaking work integrating multimedia design and theater. He has worked at prestigious theaters across the country, including Playwrights Horizons, The Kennedy Center, Geffen Playhouse, Vineyard Theater, and Arena Stage, and his multimedia innovations have been widely praised, particularly his work on the digital premiere of “Russian Troll Farm,” which was celebrated as one of the first major successes of virtual theater during the pandemic. Mezzocchi’s innovative approach to storytelling and multimedia design brings a distinctive edge to “AZAD (the rabbit and the wolf),” blending cutting-edge technology with the timeless power of traditional storytelling.
Golden Thread Productions, founded in 1996, is the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East. We produce passionate and provocative plays from or about the Middle East that celebrate the multiplicity of its perspectives and identities. We are a developmental catalyst and vibrant artistic home to artists at various stages of their career. We bring the Middle East to the American stage, creating treasured cultural experiences for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. To learn more, visit the website.
Hakawati NGO is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using art as a vehicle for social change, fostering dialogue and healing through theater, film, and multimedia performance. Founded by Sona Tatoyan, the organization focuses on addressing the ongoing cultural and historical ruptures experienced by marginalized communities in the Middle East and beyond, using storytelling as a means of bridging divides and promoting empathy and understanding. With the recent addition of Raffi Niziblian as a producing partner, Hakawati NGO has reached new heights, expanding its reach and impact. Together, Tatoyan and Niziblian continue to drive the organization’s mission forward, creating opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and deeper cultural engagement. To learn more, visit the website.
The development of “AZAD (the rabbit and the wolf)” was made possible through the support of several organizations and institutions, in chronological order: Vineyard Theater NYC; the University of Connecticut, through a generous gift from the Levant Foundation; Harvard ArtLab, with support from the Harvard University Committee on the Arts; Wake Forest University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, in partnership with the WFU Interdisciplinary Arts Center, WFU Office of the Provost, and the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University; and the Noubar and Anna Afeyan Family Foundation.
