Alice in Arabialand
A new play by Sameer Arshad
Directed by Eden Aztlán
May 30 – June 14, 2025
Fall down the rabbit hole with Alice on an adventure to “Arabialand” where she will meet queens, challenge djinns, and learn from mystics. As Alice journeys through the queer underground, she learns more about the impact of decades of colonialism and imperialism on the region. A magical realism fusion of Lewis Carroll’s novel and Arab folklore, Alice in Arabialand will delight and move those familiar with and new to queer life in the Middle East.
Ticketing and Box Office
Sliding-scale tickets starting at $5
The box office opens 30 minutes before curtain.
Performances
Friday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m. (Opening Night)
Saturday, May 31 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 1 at 2:00 p.m. (Matinee)
Thursday, June 5 at 7:30 p.m. (PWYC)
Friday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Monday, June 9 at 7:30 p.m. (Industry Night)
Thursday, June 12 at 7:30 p.m. (PWYC)
Friday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 14 at 7:30 p.m. (Closing Night)
Masking & Air Filtration
All audience and staff are required to wear masks in all spaces unless they are actively eating and drinking. The theatre has minimal airflow and air filtration devices, so utilizing masks maintains safety for our performers, patrons, and staff. If you forget your mask, we will have extras available at the box office.
Cast
Alice — Hannah Wangº†
Sandro — Mateo Acuña^º
Lisha — hk goldsteinº
Reem — Coco Justino†º
Hossam — Esparza Zapatero
Deena — Juju A.D.†
Yarqa / Farasha — Yousif Abouzgayaº
Istama’a / Baseera — Khane Berry^
Swing: Alice, Istama’a, Lisha — Meg Carleton†º
Creative Team
Playwright — Sameer Arshad*
Director — Eden Aztlán†
Stage Manager — Amity H. Blight†‡
Asst. Stage Manager — Mak Liang†
Dramaturg & Graphic Designer — Ethan Pante^
Choreographers — Ali Kareem^, Lucien Oberleitnerº
Scenic Designer — Gretchen Ugalde†
Associate Scenic Designers — Siyin Yan†, Lucien Oberleitnerº
Lighting & Projections Designer — Jacob Nguyen^
Sound Designer — Erin R. Lammie†
Costume Designer — Kit Loyº
Asst. Costumer — Arlo Stephenson^º
Props Designer — Isabel Castillo†
Sound Board Operator — Carolyn Baxter†
Production Managers — Lucien Oberleitnerº, Anna Salizzoni†
Marketing Team — Catherine Blake Smith†, Justin Lauer^, Emily Fortunaº, Siyin Yan†, Madison McVeigh†
Pronoun Guide: º they/them † she/her ^ he/him ‡ it/its * any
Bios
Sameer Arshad — Playwright
Sameer Arshad is an Arab-Persian-Indian-Pakistani-Turkic playwright, graphic artist, actor, cultural consultant and dialect coach who lived in the Middle East for 20 years. His ongoing body of work explores themes in multi-ethnic existence, community healing, peacemaking and examining social problems around the world. Previous playwriting credits: Crewmates (Annex Theatre) and several short plays produced with the 14/48 Projects and Cafe Nordo.
Eden Aztlán — Playwright
Eden Aztlán is a Queer, Transfemme, Latine/Indigenous theatre director from California who believes that good vibes make good shows. Since moving to Seattle, Eden co-directed Women & Femmes, or Females at Theatre Off Jackson, and is currently directing La Tormenta for The Distillery New Works Festival at Seattle Public Theater. When not directing, she creates audio dramas, joins in Neofuturist performance, writes plays, (and like all pretentious artists – she does have a podcast). But above all else, she is someone who is so grateful to you for reading this, and hopes you enjoy the show 🙂
Hannah Wang — Alice
Hannah is a Seattle-based social worker and policy analyst. Recent acting credits include Women & Femmes, or Females (Theatre Off Jackson), Victorian Christmas Cards: Return 2 Sender (Latitude Theatre), Leave Only Footprints (Annex Theatre), and The Comedy of Errors (Emerald Theatre). Offstage, you can find them birdwatching, baking sourdough bread, or curled up with a good modernist novel. Hannah works at Seattle Public Theater on show weekends and would love to say hi if you’re ever strolling around Green Lake! Free Palestine.
Mateo Acuña — Sandro
Mateo Acuña (Little Shell Chippewa and Quechua heritage) is a Peruvian-American actor, poet, and writer. He was the 2023 – 2024 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate and currently serves as the 2024 – 2026 Auburn Poet Laureate. Acting credits include Peter Pan (Peter Pan) at Auburn Ave Theater and Anne of Green Gables (Gilbert Blythe) at the Red Curtain Foundation. He is the author of a poetry chapbook, “Dear Spanish,” and librettist for the chamber opera Blood Dawn of the Inti Sun.
hk goldstein — Lisha
hk goldstein (they/them) is a non-binary theatremaker from Long Island, New York. recent credits include (((god/hole))) (Shattered Glass Project), CASSANDRA (Vera Project) and Anyone Can Whistle (Reboot Theatre). they have directed shows at the NYC Int’l Fringe Festival, Dixon Place, Prelude Festival and more. hkgoldstein.com
Coco Justino — Reem
Coco Justino (she/they) is a multidisciplinary theatre artist based in Seattle. Coco’s onstage credits include the likes of Book-It Rep and Village Theatre, while her work as a playwright has been developed at such institutions as Cornish College of the Arts and Seattle Public Theatre. Holding a BFA in Acting/Original Works from Cornish, Coco’s storytelling is influenced by her intersectional identities and her love for folk and rock music and reality TV, to name a few. www.cocojustino.com
Khane Berry — Istama’a/Baseera
Khane is a local artist from the humble land of tacoma. He just got off the presses from being a Mr. T impersonator to be the man of everyone’s dreams. Khane like naps, video games and compliments, so give him some if you have a some. Khane works as a bartender by day and acts at night (or vice versa) he’s performed at the Seattle Rep, tacoma musical playhouse, and reboot theater company.
And Mr Berry hopes you have a magical time watching the show.
Meg Carleton — Swing: Alice/Istama’a/Lisha
Meg Carleton has worked locally as a production manager, stage manager, and actor. Favorite theatre credits are Fellow Passengers (Strawberry Theatre Workshop), ExpandUpon: Health Care (Mirror Stage), Much Ado About Nothing (UW), and showcases with Jet City Improv. Film and Television credits include Limbo, The Things She Left Behind, and The Sex Lives of College Girls (Max). Special thanks to her friends and family for laughing at her and with her.
Yousif Abouzgaya — Yarqa/Farasha
Yousif Abouzgaya graduated from the American University in Cairo in 2022, where they performed in 11 stage productions. Based in Seattle, they also work in sound engineering and music production, and are a proud IATSE-affiliated audiovisual technician.
Amity Blight — Stage Manager
Amity is excited to be working on her first project with Annex Theatre. Stage managing has been a career long passion and using that skillset to help uplift queer Arab voices is a gift. It would like to thank the wonderful cast and crew for making every moment of the process a blessing.
Mak Liang — Assistant Stage Manager
Makenzie “Mak” Liang is in her final year of the OLS program at Bellevue College and works part-time at Seattle Rep. Originally from Los Angeles, she moved to Seattle in 2019. Mak enjoys spending time with her cat, Jake, and exploring her creativity through art and music—especially hardcore and other alternative genres, which often surprise people given her petite frame. New to the Seattle theater scene, she’s eager to get more involved after graduation. Mak brings curiosity, passion, and a unique perspective to all she does and looks forward to growing within the local arts community in the years ahead.
Ethan Pante — Dramaturg & Graphic Designer
Ethan Pante earned his BA in Drama at the University of California, Irvine, and is currently pursuing his MFA at West Virginia University, with research experience under Dr. Radhica Ganapathy. Bringing his former illustration experience into his theatrical career, he has designed posters and programs throughout his time in educational theatre, from community college one-act festivals to full productions. You can visit his website, ethanpante.com to learn more!
Erin Lammie — Sound Designer
Erin Lammie (she/they/it) is thrilled to be Sound Designing for Alice in Arabialand at Annex Theatre. Right before this show, she Stage Managed the staged reading of Paradise Untapped at Annex Theatre. She has house managed for Seattle Shakespeare for the past three seasons and was Assistant Stage Manager for their production of Romeo & Juliet last Spring. She has a BFA in Stage Management from SUNY Purchase.
Kit Loy — Costume Designer
Kit Loy (they/them) is a mixed-race, queer theatre artist who specializes in costume design, graphic design, acting, directing, and arts education. In every artistic pursuit, they seek to physically represent what lies intangibly below the surface— to hopefully visibly capture the growth and self-actualization of each character arc. Recent costume design credits include Mojada, Side Quest, and Addams Family Values. Out of the theater, Kit is back in California’s Bay Area with their lil orange furball, Calcifer. While they are sorry to miss you this go around, they still thank you for coming and hope you enjoy (and cheer loudly for) the show!
Jacob Nguyen — Lighting Designer
Jacob Nguyen is elated to make his design debut at the Annex Theater. Recent credits include Puffs, La Belle et la Bête, and Edward Tulane. Jacob currently has a BA in Drama from UC Irvine with an Honors in Lighting Design. He will be attending the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University this Fall for an MFA in Lighting Design. A more complete design portfolio can be found at www.jdnlighting.com.
Arlo Stephenson — Assistant Costumer
A. Stephenson has put his life into the world of fabrication through the exploration of what it means to be creative in props, makeup and costume from film to theatre. Having dedicated their life to the arts they have spent the last few years focusing on developing their skills in physical mediums all along the west coast.
Isabel Castillo — Props Designer
Isabel is so excited to be returning to the Seattle Theater scene after completing her degree in Theatre Arts (Production and Design) from Azusa Pacific University this past year. When she’s not terrorizing local Goodwills and art supply stores for props materials, she works full-time in Marketing at Seattle Repertory Theater. She would like to thank the cast and crew for a wonderful introduction to Annex.
