July 14, 2026

Husks from Iran

Deniz Khateri
| Puppet Festival 2026

December 3 – 6

[Program tbd]

Runtime: 50-60 minutes

Husks from Iran follows the story of an immigrant artist from Iran who struggles with language; words don’t come to her, and they begin to bend and distort.

Feeling incomplete in her second language, she starts looking for ways through art to bridge the gap between Farsi and English. Her search for answers leads her to explore the lives of a couple of exiled Iranian poets, each navigating similar struggles. The English translations of their poems come to life in a shadow world inhabited by shadow puppets inspired by Persian calligraphy, where language is transformed into image, movement, and live music.

Credits

Playwright,Director & Puppet designer: Deniz Khateri

Co-director: Siobhan Carroll

Composer & sound designer: Bahar Royaee

Performers: Hayley Spivey, Siobhan Carroll, Megan Paldino

Music performers: Bahar Royaee, Pouya Shabanpour

The artists

Deniz Khateri
denizkhateri.com

bio

Born and raised in Tehran, Deniz Khateri is a New York–based multidisciplinary artist working in theater, experimental music-theater, contemporary opera, and animation. Her work explores memory, grief, immigration, and home. She is a PEN America Dream Out Loud selected playwright with additional residencies at the Orchard project, Theaterlab, University Settlement, New Perspectives Theatre, and the Center at West Park.
Deniz has performed extensively in Tehran, and Boston, with some off-off-broadway acting credits in New York. She received the Al-Bustan Award for her solo show A Bach’eh who wanted to become Bach, the UNIMA-USA Nancy Staub Award for excellence in writing for puppetry, and grants supporting her projects from NYFA, NYSCA, and the Jim Henson Foundation. Her writing has been published in American Theatre magazine, Puppetry International, and by Brill. Her Oscar-qualified animated documentary series Diasporan explores immigrant life and has screened internationally. She holds an MA from Hunter College, where she teaches as an adjunct lecturer.

Bahar Royaee
Music composer & sound designer

bio

Recipient of the prestigious Fromm Foundation Commission Awards in 2024, Royaee writes music for various genres, from opera, theater, and film to chamber music. Her work has been performed by luminaries such as Claire Chase, International Contemporary Ensemble, Ensemble der gelbe Klang, Jack Quartet, Fabrique Quartet, Splice Ensemble, and Lamnth. Significant chamber music performances include Biennale Venice 2024 with Hannah Levinson, Festspiele festival in Germany with Opus21 ensemble (2024), Composer Conference Gala 2024 with Talea Ensemble, Ultraschall Berlin with Muriel Razavi (2023), Berlin Prize for Young Artists with Adam Woodward (2023), ICE Festival Germany with ensemble Tempus Konnex (2022), Tehran Electroacoustic Music Festival (2022) and Time: Spans Festival (2020) with International Contemporary Ensemble and Suzanne Farrin.Deniz has performed extensively in Tehran, and Boston, with some off-off-broadway acting credits in New York. She received the Al-Bustan Award for her solo show A Bach’eh who wanted to become Bach, the UNIMA-USA Nancy Staub Award for excellence in writing for puppetry, and grants supporting her projects from NYFA, NYSCA, and the Jim Henson Foundation. Her writing has been published in American Theatre magazine, Puppetry International, and by Brill. Her Oscar-qualified animated documentary series Diasporan explores immigrant life and has screened internationally. She holds an MA from Hunter College, where she teaches as an adjunct lecturer.

The 12th La MaMa Puppet Festival Fall 2026 is made possible by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Howard Gilman Foundation, The Jim Henson Foundation, and The Shubert Foundation. Additional support from Cheryl Henson is gratefully acknowledged.