HUSKS FROM IRAN

Husks from Iran

Puppet Festival 2026 at LA MAMA EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE CLUB, 74 East 4th Street, NYC . December 3 – 6, 2026. TICKETS

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.

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. A Dramatists guild and Actors Equity member, she is a PEN America Dream Out Loud selected playwright and a former La MaMa Season 64 resident artist, with additional residencies at University Settlement, New Perspectives Theatre, and the Center at West Park. Deniz has 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 awards 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.

Husks from Iran is made possible in part with public funds from New York State Council on the Arts with the support of New York State Governor and the New York State Legislature. The public events are funded in part by Creative Engagement supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.