Like so many of us at this time, Maia Directors is in a moment of transition. There are two pieces to this transition that we want to share with you.
First: Our co-founder Kareem Fahmy is stepping away from Maia Directors to focus on his creative life as a director, playwright, and screenwriter. Kareem’s energy, drive, and sense of purpose was instrumental to the creation of Maia Directors and to the work we’ve done for the past several years. There would be no Maia Directors without him. We’re thrilled to cheer Kareem on as he moves towards exciting new heights in his artistic life.
Second: In this moment of transition, we have decided to take stock of Maia Directors’s impact on the American theatre, and to realign our mission with our own needs and the needs of our community at this time. The advocacy work we have been doing requires deep personal and professional commitment. Too frequently, we were brought into projects hurriedly or belatedly, given inadequate resources, and asked to solve problems that would likely never have arisen in the first place if the creative or producing teams were grounded in practices and processes established by MENASA artists and/or artists of color. We want our work as consultants to push the field towards systemic and meaningful change, and not to create cover for white supremacist and xenophobic programming, producing, and hiring decisions.
As we take some time to reflect and reassess, here are some things we know:
Maia Directors will no longer be taking on any cultural consultancy clients or supporting casting requests.
We are still interested in larger-scale artistic and engagement projects that center MENASA creatives from their inception, such as our past collaborations with StoryWorks Theater with Huffington Post and The Big Bridge Theatre Consortium.
We hope to play a role in creating MENASA community spaces for dialogue and coalition-building.
We know that stepping away from casting and cultural consultancy leaves a void in the field. We are supportive of others who are interested in this work and open to advising those in our community who wish to explore such opportunities.
We continue to be committed to supporting MENASA communities in the American theatre, and look forward to further conversation!
Sincerely,
Evren, Megan, and Pirronne