Haïa R’nana Bchiri

Biography

Haïa R’nana Bchiri is a PhD candidate in the department of Theatre & Dance at UC San Diego with a BA in Theater Arts and Creativity, the Arts, and Social Transformation from Brandeis University. She has been involved in theatre on and off stage for many years, working with Black Box Studios, the Cherubs program at Northwestern, Chicago Youth Shakespeare, and more. Haia was awarded the Dita and Erwin Gumpel Judaic Studies Endowed Fellowship and the Katzin Fellowship as well as the John Edward Hill Memorial Prize and the Herbert and Sandra Fisher Award for Exceptional Achievement in the Creative Arts. Recent conference papers include “The Importance of Jewish Dramaturg: Confessions of an Accidental Specialist” at LMDA, “Queenliness is Close to Godliness: Inciting Affective Responses During Crises in Ancient Egypt” at ASTR, and “Mother Cleo: The Traditions of Motherhood Behind Antony and Cleopatra” at SCSC. Her dissertation is centered on the performative potential of ancient Hebrew texts in conjunction with their embodied practices and the throughline of the feminine body as nation in times of crisis. She also specializes in Shakespeare and the Early Modern era, and is generally interested in the interplay of gender and theatre as well unearthing/elevating stories that have historically been left out of the dominant narrative. She is passionate about as well as guiding and empowering the next generation of performance artists-scholars and making theatre more accessible.

Recent projects include dramaturging Cancelina, The Promise, Boxed, Winter’s Tale, Trojan Women, Uncle Vanya, and Romeo & Juliet (Dramaturg/Fight Captain) at UCSD; Eurydice (Director), Fefu and Her Friends (Emma/ASL consultant), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck), Circle Mirror Transformation (Theresa), Woyzeck (Fight Choreographer), and a production of Peer Gynt (Solveig/Aase) devoted to accessibility at Brandeis University; Everybody (AD) with the Northwestern Cherubs program; These and Those (Ayala/Dramaturg) with SD Rep; Hereville at the Old Globe; Family Therapy and Jewish Weddings: A Field Guide (Playwright) at the REGENERATE New Play Festival; and interactive prodcutions of Hamlet (Director/ Fight Choreographer), Midsummer (Puck/Director), and Taming of the Shrew (Kate), plus Cymbeline (Director) and Henry VI Pt. III (Clifford/Dramaturg) with the Public Domain Players, for whom she served as Director of Development, co-Fight Choreographer, and Intimacy Coordinator.

Research

Education

BA in Theater Arts and Creativity, the Arts, and Social Transformation, Brandeis University

UCSD Credits

Cancelina (dramaturg)

The Promise (dramaturg)

Boxed (dramaturg)

Winter’s Tale (dramaturg)

Trojan Women (dramaturg)

Uncle Vanya (dramaturg)

Romeo & Juliet (dramaturg/fight captain)