Egyptian Bride | Egypt

Two storylines, separated by 3,000 years of history, and each featuring an Egyptian Bride, are explored in a parallel but intermeshed, and interconnected, telling. One story features Maia, a young Theban beauty, who has just been selected by the God Hapy to be the next Bride of the Nile. The other centers on Maissa, an archeology student who has recently arrived from Cairo to Chicago to become the bride of Nayel, son of a ruthless business magnate from the Arab south side community, through a semi-arranged marriage. At a public lecture in Chicago, Maissa meets Professor Sarah Tanner who introduces her to a newly discovered Papyrus stack, and recruits her to help translate what appears to be the first preserved account of a bride of the Nile; the story of Maia. As the two stories intersect, the two brides-to-be mount respective resistance efforts against the social and cultural pressures forced upon them. Is it too little too late, or can established tradition be successfully upturned?

Fouad Teymour is a Chicago-based Egyptian American playwright, a resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists, an associate artist of Silk Road Rising (SRR) and Medina Theater Collective, and a board member for International Voices Project (IVP). The 2019 world premiere of his play Twice, Thrice, Frice… directed by Patrizia Acerra, was co-produced by SRR and IVP, and was Jeff-nominated for Best New Work and Best Scenic Design. His play Blue Fish in a Tall Clear vase was directed by Jason Smith at Three Cat Productions in 2017. Teymour is also a Professor of Engineering at Illinois Tech.

Egyptian Bride | Egypt

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