Voices Festival Productions

…is an independent, DC-based production company developing and producing new works for the stage that stimulate debate and discourse, introspection and awareness, informed by revelation of our underlying humanity in all its color and complexity, finding resonance between those living with conflict in the Middle East and closer to home, in our Nation’s Capital, along the seams of our nation, and its very real, and perceived, divides. We celebrate diverse, inter-cultural voices and encounters through inter-connected performance of both provocative and introspective new works for the stage, in dialogue with our moment.

Two signature programs embody the heart of our mission: Voices From a Changing Nation and Voices From a Changing Middle East. Together, they bring some of the most compelling contemporary stories of identity, democracy, belonging, and coexistence to audiences throughout Washington. Past Changing Nation world premieres include Priyanka Shetty’s #Charlottesville (produced at Capital Fringe and again in partnership with Keegan Theatre), Rachel Lynett’s Letters To Kamala/Dandelion Peace, following the workshopping of her Yale Prizewinning Apologies To Lorraine Hansberry (You Too August Wilson), and Who Cares: ♥️ The Caregiver Interview Project, co-written by Ari Roth, A. Lorraine Robinson and Vanessa Gilbert.

VFP’s most distinctive programming is its long-running Voices From a Changing Middle East Festival which has been humanizing headlines while bringing the souls and struggles of those living in the Middle East – especially Israel and Palestine – to life for the past 26 years. Created in 2000 at Theater J by Ari Roth, and later moving across town to inaugurate Mosaic Theater Company in 2014, the festival has brought forth over three dozen full productions and many more workshop presentations. In 2022, VFP presented Middle East Festival productions under the umbrella theme, “Losing/Finding Home,” including The Gate (Robbie Gringras), My Calamitous Affair With The Minister Of Culture & Censorship… (Ari Roth), Home? Or A Palestinian Woman’s Pursuit Of Life, Liberty & Happiness (Hend Ayoub) and a virtual presentation of I, Dareen T (Einat Weizman & Dareen Tatour). In 2023-24, VFP presented workshop presentations under the banner “At War, Before & After,” including Balfour, Almond Blossom at Deir Yassin, Stay Safe, How To Remain a Humanist After a Massacre in 17 Steps, and Live From Jenin: Lessons From War. In 2025, the Middle East Festival’s “How We Got Here/Where We Go Next” presented the world premiere musical, November 4 (by Danny Paller & Myra Noveck) which received a 2026 Charles MacArthur Award Nomination for Outstanding New Play or Musical from the Helen Hayes Awards, followed by workshop presentations of Imperfect Allies: Children of Opposite Sides and an earlier version of Apeirogon: Rami and Bassam, which makes its American premiere in 2027.

Photo credits: Stan Barouh