Theatre NOVA Will Present the World Premiere of ARABIC TO ENGLISH by David Wells

Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor's professional theatre with an exclusive focus on new plays and playwrights, will present the world premiere of "Arabic to English" by David Wells.

In a high-stakes immigration case, an Arab American man is accused of fraudulent marriage to gain a visa, and deportation could be life-threatening. When his interpreter, a young Arab American woman, receives a marriage proposal from his White American lawyer, she is caught between the image of a storybook American life, her feelings for the defendant, and her need to define her own identity, leaving it up to her which words to translate and which to leave unspoken.

Directed by Carla Milarch. Featuring Robbie Abdelhoq, Aya Aziz, and Jeremy Kucharek (Apple Season, Admissions). The production and design team includes Xavier Williamson (scenic design), Daniel C. Walker (lighting design), Marley Boone (costume design), Diane Hill (sound design), and Briana O'Neal (stage manager/props).

"Arabic to English" will run Mar. 20 through Apr. 12, 2020, at Theatre NOVA (410 W. Huron, Ann Arbor), a downtown performance space. Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday matinees are at 2:00 p.m. Theatre NOVA features free parking for patrons, as well as quick access to the city's restaurants, bars, bakeries, and coffee shops.

Tickets are $22, and Theatre NOVA continues its commitment to making theatre accessible by offering pay-what-you-can tickets for those who need them. For tickets, visit TheatreNOVA.org, call 734-635-8450 or buy them in person at the box office one hour before showtime.

Theatre NOVA is Ann Arbor's resident professional theatre company. Its mission is to raise awareness of the value and excitement of new plays and playwrights and provide resources for playwrights to develop their craft by importing, exporting, and developing new work.

David Wells' writing has earned the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, a National New Play Network Showcase Selection, two Wilde Awards for Best New Script, a Motion Picture Academy Nicholl Fellowship In Screenwriting Finalist, a National New Play Network Finalist, and a Wilde Award for Best Original Production. He is an NNPN Affiliated Artist and a member of the Writers Guild of America. www.davidjwells.com

Carla Milarch (Director) is a former artistic director of Performance Network Theatre, whose passion for new plays led her to co-found Theatre NOVA. As a dramaturg and director, she has helped bring 25 brand new plays to fully-staged productions, as well as hundreds of plays to staged readings, including those at the Michigan Playwrights Festival, the Fireside New Play Festival, the NNPN National Showcase of New Plays (board member), and the Kennedy Center's MFA playwrights' workshop. She served as board president of the Michigan Equity Theatre Alliance. Some awards include "Best Overall Season/Artistic Direction" from the Oakland Press, "Outstanding Contributions to an Ensemble" from The Detroit Free Press, "Most Valuable Performer" from the Oakland Press, and the Between the Lines "Angel" award for outstanding contributions to the LGBT community. Carla's love and experience for both sides of the stage have taken her from producing theatre at The Barn Theatre in Port Sanilac Michigan, to co-founding a theatre in Amarillo, TX with her Purchase classmates, to producing theatre in a barn again-this time in the middle of a world class city.