Sheherezade (Sharai Bravo) pleads with King Shahryar (Asif Baig) as her sister Dunyazade (Tirzah Farley) watches during the dress rehearsal for Arabian Nights in the Mainstage in the Performing Arts Building at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on Nov. 27, 2017. Photo: Randi Love
Perfect Love (Justine Gorry) allures the Madman (Nickolas Caisse) into loving her during the dress rehearsal for Arabian Nights in the Mainstage in the Performing Arts Building at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on Nov. 27, 2017. Photo: Randi Love
Sheikh (Darnel Young) cowards beneath a crowd of jesters during the dress rehearsal for Arabian Nights in the Mainstage in the Performing Arts Building at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on Nov. 27, 2017. Photo: Randi Love
Madman (Nickolas Caisse) crawls on top of Perfect Love (Justine Gorry) during the dress rehearsal for Arabian Nights in the Mainstage in the Performing Arts Building at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on Nov. 27, 2017. Photo: Randi Love
Sheherezade (Sharai Bravo) and King Shahryar (Asif Baig) watch as a tale unfolds in front of them during the dress rehearsal for Arabian Nights in the Mainstage in the Performing Arts Building at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on Nov. 27, 2017. Photo: Randi Love
The clarinetist (Nickolas Caisse), the butcher (Fady Fam), and he pastrycook (Will Haddon) plead with Harun al-Rashid (Trevor Figueroa) as Sheherezade (Sharai Bravo) narrates the story during the dress rehearsal for Arabian Nights in the Mainstage in the Performing Arts Building at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on Nov. 27, 2017. Photo: Randi Love
King Shahryar (Asif Baig) holds a knife to Sheherezade (Sharai Bravo) throat after hearing a story he didn’t like during the dress rehearsal for Arabian Nights in the Mainstage in the Performing Arts Building at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on Nov. 27, 2017. Photo: Randi Love
Actors jump, crawl and scramble across the stage, dodging carpets and pillows scattered across the floor.
You’re in a tale of 1,001 Arabian Nights.
The Performing Arts Department is putting on its final production of the semester, “Arabian Nights.” The story focuses on King Shahryar (Asif Baig) and his new wife Sheherezade (Sharai Bravo).
Within the first few minutes of the play, King Shahryar’s first wife cheats on him and he kills her. Out of spite, he vows to marry and kill a woman the day after he marries her out of anger. Wazir’s daughter Sheherezade is betrothed to Shahryar, and he vows to kill her as he did all his previous wives.
Sheherezade convinces Shahryar to listen to a tale before she dies. This continues every day until she has told all the tales. There are narratives within stories. The play has 21 individual characters and each actor has multiple roles.
The play is directed by Shaheen Vaaz, who has the actors and actresses get into character by feeling the space on the stage and saying lines while walking the area.
“Arabian Nights” opens Dec. 1, at 8 p.m. and continues through Dec. 10. Friday and Saturday night shows are at 8 p.m. and Sunday shows are at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 for students, $15 for seniors and $20 general admission.
