Deniz Khateri

Born and raised in Tehran, Deniz Khateri is a multidisciplinary artist based in New York. Her work spans theater, experimental music-theater, contemporary opera, and animation exploring themes of memory, grief, immigration, and home.

Deniz Khateri’s work has been recognized by critics across theatre and opera. The Boston Globe called her “an excellent Deniz Khateri” for her performance work. Broadway World LA noted that in her shadow puppetry “the shadows were fascinating,” while a review of her opera Salt described it as “remarkable on every level.” At the Philly Fringe, her solo show A Bach’eh Who Wanted to Become Bach was praised: “Apart from illustrating Khateri’s range and multifaceted talent, these touches create a sense of constant dialogue despite the single actor.”

Residencies include University Settlement’s Performance Project, New Perspectives Theatre, and the Center at West Park. In 2024, she received the Al-Bustan Award for a solo performance featuring a musical instrument as a puppet. She has also received the Nancy Staub Award from UNIMA-USA for excellence in writing for puppetry, as well as several awards and grants from NYFA, NYSCA and the Jim Henson foundation.Her Oscar-qualified animated documentary web series Diasporan, for which she serves as writer, director, animator, and singer, explores the daily lives and struggles of immigrants and has been nominated at many international festivals.

Deniz holds an MA from CUNY and has performed and collaborated with theater companies in Tehran, Boston, and New York. She teaches as an adjunct lecturer at Hunter College.

http://denizkhateri.com

Residency goal:

When I first moved to New York, everyone who knew my work told me that La MaMa could be my home. I already had that feeling years earlier, watching Tadeusz Kantor’s videos in Tehran with my theatre teacher. After I arrived here, I never missed a show at La MaMa, and each time I felt more connected to the space and its community.

The piece I’m working on during my residency is a political Brechtian play with shadow puppetry about exile and the idea of home. I want to see how working on it at La MaMa – with people whose aesthetics are close to mine and with its unique audience- will shape and develop the work.