Swanasa Central

05/25/2023

05/24/2023

A Joyful Panel on Underrepresented Perspectives|“There are three billion Muslims out there with inherently unique stories and you keep telling the same one. What does that mean?” “It means people want to keep hearing it.” Lines from Rehana Lew Mirza’s play Hatef**k ring truer than ever in ...

05/24/2023

Next up: a staged reading of Was Dinner Good, Dear Sister? by Riad Ismat produced by collective member in collaboration with ‘s LookOut series

Written in the same spirit as Samuel Beckett's Endgame and other absurdist plays, Was Dinner Good, Dear Sister? is an absurdist two-act play by the late Syrian playwright Riad Ismat. Was Dinner Good, Dear Sister? captures a different spirit of existentialism coming from a Southwest Asian perspective, and yet it defies specific meanings in the same vein as Theatre of the Absurd.

Tuesday August 8th at 8pm at Steppenwolf’s 1700 theatre. Link in the bio for tickets!

05/24/2023

We’re kicking off our 2023 events with a virtual event in collaboration with and ❤️‍🔥

“There are three billion Muslims out there with inherently unique stories and you keep telling the same one. What does that mean?” “It means people want to keep hearing it.” Lines from Rehana Lew Mirza’s play Hatef**k ring truer than ever in a time where Muslim representation is growing, yet still predictably homogenous. Join playwright Rehana Lew Mirza, director Arti Ishak, and Muslim artists from across the country as they dispel the myth of the single story that keeps Muslims inherently tied to or fighting against dehumanizing tropes while speaking to resources and best practices for producing more nuanced and wide-ranging Muslim representation.

Monday June 5th 10am PDT/12pm CST/1pm EDT

08/10/2022

That’s a wrap on our spring and summer programming for 2022! We are so grateful to each and every artist, organizer, community member, and donor who made our return to in-person events possible! Yes, that means YOU! 🤗

Keep your eye out for updates on what’s coming up next — we have an exciting fall and winter lined up for you! ✨

07/07/2022

We truly can’t wait to see this piece tmrw!

Former international street performer turned emcee, Sonal Aggarwal has brought her talents to Chicago as an actor, comedian, producer and movement artist. Her one woman show The Alchemy of Bliss played for a sold out weekend at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater and you can see her on Netflix’s Easy as well as the short A Period Piece which debuted at SXSW 2020. She is a regular host of the Moth. IG www.sonalaggarwal.com

07/07/2022

Who else is excited for tomorrow? Meet another one of our performers!

Sophia Rafiqi is a Pakistani-American comedian, actor, and writer based in her own version of reality. She has studied & performed at The Second City, iO Chicago, and The Annoyance Theatre & Bar. You can stare into the abyss with her on Twitter & Instagram. Google at your own risk.

07/06/2022

We literally have two tickets left! Are they yours? Here’s some of the food Chef Thom will be serving up, each inspired by one of the performers available a la carte!

Repost : Excited to share the other two dishes for Friday’s event!!!

Inspired by I’ve made a dahi puri chaat: puris stuffed with potatoes and chickpeas, covered in a yogurt sauce and tamarind chutney, garnished with cilantro, onions and garlic podi. This dish's presentation is loud and fun, and its taste is approachable but full of surprises. Sonal's energy is the same - bold and interesting, so this dish will pay homage to her.

For I’ve made a bhel puri! Bhel is a delicious mix of crunchy snacks mixed with potato, tomato, onion, green mango and red, tamarind, and green chutney. Sophia's style of comedy is an unexpected, delightful mix, making bhel puri the perfect dish for her. This chaat is all about contrasts and juxtapositions, unexpected flavors and textures coming together in a way that just works.

Cannot wait for this Friday, see y’all there!!!

07/06/2022

ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT UNTIL CHAAT W/ THOM VIA SMS curated by collective member Masood Muhammad Haque] featuring food by ✨

We’ll be counting down by sharing what the evening’s performers have to say about their pieces. We’re kicking it off with collective member and curator Masood Muhammad Haque] — Masood tells stories, does impressions, and cracks jokes while navigating through both joy and sorrow for the audience to experience.

You don’t want to miss his set! Tickets are selling fast, get yours at the link in our bio before they’re all gone 🎟 🚀

Tickets are $15, and food will be available for purchase a la carte starting at 6:30PM. The show starts at 7:30PM! Don’t miss it! 🌟

07/02/2022

We are 6 days away from our next event! Food is so central to our cultures and communities. It’s how we show love, it’s how we heal, it’s how we get to know one another. We are so honored to get to do this collab with . Shout out to collective member for curating this event✨

Repost : Soooo excited to be a part of this South Asian comedy show hosted by !! I will be making a dish inspired by each comedian performing. Stay tuned for posts going into detail on each one, starting here with Masood!

For Masood I am making haleem -- a rich stew of rice, lentils, barley and meat. This dish is warm, soulful, inviting and deceptively complex, and holds so many parallels with Masood's comedy style. He loves to create a rich narrative that takes time to develop and unfold, much like the preparation of haleem, which takes all day to make correctly.

Tickets are $15 for the show. Food will be available a la carte at 6:30 and the show will start at 7:30! Ticket link is in bio 🚀

06/29/2022

Visit our website for more info and tickets at www.swanasacentral.org/upcoming.

06/28/2022

Less than two weeks away from our next event at Jackalope Theatre and we’d love to squeeze you there. This event was conceived and curated by Masood Haque as part of our new structure to support and empower community members to produce their own work.

Come by for a night of community, food and comedy featuring and the chef stylings of 🥘🥘🥘

$15 at the link in our bio, and your donation is fully tax deductible.