PROJECTS

Over the last four years, we have dedicated significant creative energy to a piece of original musical theater, “Tear a Root from the Earth.” To create this “folk opera,” we have collaborated with Afghan-American musician Qais Essar, as well as New York-based theater director Marina McClure. We blend American and Afghan folk music and instruments to tell the story of a family in Afghanistan as they deal with the repetitive foreign invasions of the last 30 years. The production’s musical conceit is to humanize its Afghan characters – including those who fight against the US – by having them communicate primarily through traditional American folk and blues music. As the story evolves, we introduce traditional Afghan raags which we also composed, and conclude with a hybrid of traditional Afghan and American styles that is unlike anything that has been performed before.  

Please visit Tear a Root from the Earth for additional information.