CENTER THEATRE GROUP PRESENTS “DISGRACED” COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS

DISCUSSIONS INSPIRED BY AYAD AKHTAR’S PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING PLAY

Speakers Include Salam Al-Marayati, Reza Aslan, Edina Lekovic, Brie Loskota, Najeeba Syeed, Ani Zonneveld and the Play’s Director Kimberly Senior

Conversations Occur Before Three Performances of “Disgraced” at the Mark Taper Forum

Center Theatre Group presents “Disgraced” Community Conversations, a series of three talks with leading experts, activists and scholars from Los Angeles’ Muslim community and beyond. The Conversations will take place on June 15, June 24 and July 7 before performances of Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Disgraced,” which plays at CTG/Mark Taper Forum from June 8 through July 17, 2016.

Community Conversations are inspired by issues that arise in “Disgraced,” and will include discussion of cultural appropriation, images of Muslims in the media, Islamophobia and the intersection of religion and culture. As part of CTG’s audience engagement programming, Community Conversations bring together voices and perspectives from across Los Angeles. The engagement programming will also include talk-backs after each performance of “Disgraced.”

The first Conversation will be held on Wednesday, June 15 and will include “Disgraced” director Kimberly Senior, Salam Al-Marayati, president and co-founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), and Edina Lekovic, public affairs consultant for MPAC.

The second Conversation will be held on Friday, June 24, and will include Dr. Reza Aslan – internationally acclaimed writer, scholar of religions and creator and owner of Aslan Media – and Ani Zonneveld, founder and president of Muslims for Progressive Values.

The third and final Conversation will be held on Thursday, July 7, and will include Brie Loskota, executive director of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California, Najeeba Syeed, assistant professor of Interreligious Education at the Claremont School of Theology, and Lekovic.

All Community Conversations will be held at Center Theatre Group Annex at 601 W. Temple Street from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free with a purchased ticket for that night’s performance. Light hors d’oeuvres and wine will be provided.

Tickets for “Disgraced” are available by calling (213) 628-2772 or online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org. Tickets range from $25 – $85 (ticket prices are subject to change). The Mark Taper Forum is located at the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012.

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June 10, 2016