Lee Sunday Evans to Direct World Premiere of The Courtroom

Waterwell has announced the world premiere of a new work, The Courtroom. The production features text rearranged from real court transcripts by Tony Award nominee and Waterwell cofounder Arian Moayed, with Waterwell artistic director Lee Sunday Evans directing. The Courtroom will play four performances: two at the Fordham University School of Law on Wednesday, January 23, and Saturday, January 26; and two at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse on Thursday, January 24, and Friday, January 25.
Additional information, including casting, will be announced shortly.

The Courtroom is described as "a re-enactment of deportation proceedings. In 2004, an immigrant from the Philippines who was married to a U.S. Citizen came to this country on a K3 Visa. After inadvertently registering to vote at the DMV in Chicago, receiving a voter registration card in the mail, and voting, her removal proceeding was set in motion. It began in Immigration Court and her case was eventually heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. The Courtroom will be performed entirely verbatim from the court transcripts."

"As an immigrant from Iran, I can't tell you how profound and life-changing it is to have become a United States citizen," Moayed said in a statement. "I have benefited so much from the incredible resources that this country has given my parents, brothers, sister, and children. I also recognize — in a deeply personal way — how difficult it is to come to this country as a stranger and navigate American cultures, new languages, and the overpowering bureaucracy of the law. These actual transcripts give an invaluable insight on how difficult it can be for a new immigrant in an unfamiliar environment."