Los Angeles NewsSanaz Toossi Named Recipient of IAMA’s Shonda Rhimes-Backed CommissionToossi's play English will be seen at Roundabout Underground this month.
By
Olivia Clement
January 10, 2019
Playwright Sanaz Toossi has been named the second recipient of the Rhimes Unsung Voices Playwriting Commission from Los Angeles’ IAMA Theatre Company. TV producer and writer Shonda Rhimes, who was named IAMA’s first Patron of the Arts in 2017, created the commission to support an emerging artist with emphasis on cultural inclusion and the goal to showcase fresh, creative, thought-provoking work.
Toossi is an Iranian-American and a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she received the John Golden Award for excellence in playwriting. Her play English will be seen as part of Roundabout's upcoming Underground Reading Series, January 31. She is a member of Youngblood at Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Clubbed Thumb early career writers’ group. Her short play Baba Karam was read at the Atlantic Theater, where she is the recipient of the Launch commission.
Last year’s recipient of the Unsung Voices Playwriting Commission, Geraldine Inoa, recently made her professional playwriting debut at The Flea Theater with Scraps.
IAMA Theatre Company is one of L.A.’s leading independent companies, with a reputation for producing new plays and championing emerging artists. For more information visit IAMATheatre.com.
The production will include Bernstein’s incidental music for Lillian Hellman’s adaptation of The Lark, and Menotti’s The Unicorn, The Gorgon, and The Manticore.
