NEW YORK CITY: Noor Theatre has announced that founding artistic director Lameece Issaq and managing director Megan Patterson will both step down.
“It was like becoming a part of a family I never knew I could have,” Issaq said in a statement about founding Noor Theatre with Maha Chehlaoui and Nancy Vitale. “We would never be artists alone—we would be activists, too, insisting on our place in the arts, insisting that we tell our stories our way.”
“I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve been moved beyond words watching this community at work,” Patterson added in a statement. “While it’s hard to step away, I’m so thrilled to make space for Ariana as she continues Noor’s work. She’ll be an amazing addition to the team, and I’m so excited to see what she does in this role as she brings new life and vision to the organization.”
Noor recently named Ariana Sarfarazi their new executive director. She will work alongside director of new work development Sivan Battat, artistic producer Kate Moore Heaney, director of development and communication Salma Zohdi, and affiliate producing director Catherine Coray. The team will work to further Noor’s mission of uplifting Middle Eastern and North African (MENA), South West Asian, and North African (SWANA) theatre and communities.
“As Noor’s founding artistic director, Lameece carved out space in New York’s theatrical industry for artists of MENA and SWANA descent where there virtually was none,” Sarfarazi said in a statement. “Then, in support of that vision, Megan helped to transform a grassroots theatre organization into a sophisticated operation that is my absolute honor and privilege now to lead. Their legacy lives on in all that we do.”
Noor Theatre supports, develops, and produces the work of theatre artists of MENA and SWANA descent. The theatre was founded in 2010 to amplify these artists’s voices for diverse audiences, to counter negative stereotypes, and to ensure that their communities are represented and celebrated. As of 2022, their budget was close to $200,000.
