Safi Rauf and Sammi Cannold star in the play “From Kabul with Love.” The play is about Rauf, an Afghan-American humanitarian, who was taken hostage by the Taliban in 2021 and held captive in a high security prison in Kabul for 105 days.
Courtesy of Nik House Media
Theatre Aspen’s fifth annual Solo Flights Festival took place Sept. 5-11. It is the only event of its kind that is dedicated to presenting one-person plays. According to Jonathan Silverstein, who directed the 2024 Solo Flights entry “Touch,” that’s a big deal.
“Not only is Solo Flights unique in giving one-person plays an audience, there’s an exchange of ideas at the festival where audience members will come up to you and give you their thoughts,” Silverstein said in an interview before the festival in August.
“There is an opportunity for a one-on-one dialogue with the audience which is invaluable. You can take that feedback into rehearsal and see how it shapes the material. I think what Theatre Aspen is doing is a heroic thing in giving time and space to these projects that often don’t get this kind of incubation opportunity. And of course if you win the prize, that’s a big deal to have money to keep the project moving forward.”
This week, Theatre Aspen announced the two winners of the Solo Flights Project Advancement Fund grants. “Touch” was one of two plays that were awarded $10,000 to help fund the next production of the play.
The Aspen Daily News caught up with Silverstein this week and he was delighted about the award.
“The development process at Solo Flights was gift enough, but receiving the award was the cherry on top,” Silverstein said. “We are so grateful for the award, which will help us in two important ways: One, it serves as a vote of confidence in the piece, which will allow us to get more producers and theaters interested in providing us with a next step in its journey. And two, it will be used directly in the costs associated to mount a new production.”
Director Jonathan Silverstein, writer Kenny Finkle and actor Anthony Rapp field questions from the audience during a Q&A after the performance of the play “Touch” at the 2024 Theatre Aspen Solo Flights Festival. Audience feedback is a focal component of the event.
Courtesy of Nik House Media
“Touch” centers on middle school teacher Sydney Blatter, a gay, middle-aged man. When he encounters a former student after a panic attack on the subway, Sydney’s life takes an unexpected turn, forcing him to confront his ambitious past and his unfulfilled present.
The play starred Anthony Rapp, who appeared in two of the most iconic films and plays of the ’90s — “Dazed and Confused” on the screen and “Rent” on Broadway.
“We loved having ‘Touch’ be part of our festival this year,” said Jed Bernstein, producing director of Theatre Aspen. “Director Jonathan Silverstein is an old friend of Theatre Aspen; this was his third project with us. And the chance to work with ‘Rent’s Anthony Rapp was of course a very special opportunity.”
The other 2024 Solo Flights grant recipient is the play “From Kabul with Love,” written and directed by Sammi Cannold. The play is about Afghan-American humanitarian Safi Rauf who was taken hostage by the Taliban in 2021 and held captive in a high security prison in Kabul for 105 days.
Stateside, his Jewish-American girlfriend Sammi and his devout Muslim family had to find a way to work together to get Safi out. The play is an autobiographical journey across continents in which, according to the Solo Flights program, “love defies the boundaries of captivity, cultural differences and political turmoil.”
“Sammi Cannold is an extremely accomplished Broadway director, but this play was her first attempt at writing,” Bernstein said. “She and her co-author and husband, Safi, have an incredible true story to tell and we were so happy that the Solo Flights Festival was able to help support its birth.”
According to Cannold, Solo Flights was an enormous stepping stone for the play.
“The Solo Flights experience was incredible,” Cannold said. “We are so grateful for the time to explore, experiment with and share what we’re working on and the process benefited the development of the play endlessly. Primarily, we got to have a live audience respond to the show for the first time and understanding what worked, what didn’t, and what folks’ responses were has charted our next steps. We’re already knee deep in our rewrites thanks to what we learned about the show in Aspen. It was a truly extraordinary launchpad.
“When the play one day eventually and hopefully has a full production, the funds will be used to supplement the production budget, which will be invaluable in allowing us to realize the full vision for the piece on its feet. Additionally, the vote of confidence from the judges, the benefactors and from Theatre Aspen means the world to us and will propel us forward as we continue to develop the work.”
Bernstein said he is proud that Theatre Aspen is playing an important role by providing a venue for the development of one-person plays where none other exists.
“Any theater worth its salt needs to be a contributor to the development of new work and we think Theatre Aspen can make a big contribution to the art form by concentrating in this area,” Bernstein said. “The six new works for this year’s fifth annual Solo Flights Festival brought a depth and humanity to the week of presentations that pushed the boundaries of what we’ve seen before. We are so pleased to share our congratulations with ‘From Kabul with Love’ and ‘Touch’ for their grants this year and send our best wishes for the future to all the shows presented.”