NEWS
UPCOMING
THUMBPRINT at Portland Opera March 18-26th, 2023

Thumbprint (2022) courtesy of Chautauqua Institution/Chautauqua Opera Company | Photo By Dave Munch
Libretto by Susan Yankowitz
Music by Kamala Sankaram
Thumbprint is inspired by the true story of Mukhtar Mai—a trailblazing Pakistani activist whose fight for justice and safety reminds us that women's rights are human rights. After surviving sexual violence perpetrated by a local tribal council in retribution for her brother's alleged crimes, Mukhtar decides to live—and that decision changes the world.
Join Literary Arts for a Discussion With Kamala Sankaram & Susan Yankowitz
Wednesday, March 15, 2023 from 7:00pm - 8:30pm PDT
Literary Arts - 925 SW Washington St Portland, OR 97205
Susan will be in Portland for the discussion above and on opening night, March 18
RECENT
Chautauqua Opera Company | Opera Festival 2022
July, 2022


Chautauqua Opera Company & Conservatory: Opera Chats
March 28, 2022
Listen to an interview with Susan and Kamala here about their process of creating “Thumbprint” and bringing it to Chautauqua Opera Company & Conservatory.
Kamala Sankaram, Susan Yankowitz, Omer Ben Seadia and Thumbprint
In this episode, we travel back in time to the Spring of 2020, right before the worldwide shutdowns due to COVID. Chautauqua Opera was set to produce Sankaram/Yankowitz’s Thumbprint, based on the life of Muktar Mi. We are excited to bring this production to Norton Hall, as we return for the 2022 Season. Please enjoy this spotlight on Kamala Sankaram (Composer), Susan Yankowitz (Librettist), and Omer Ben Seadia (Stage Director).
Interview included in
The new touring production of SEVEN plays at the Queens Theater in Flushing on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 8pm (Open Captioning) and Sunday, Oct. 27 at 3pm (Audio Description and ASL)

SEVEN is a documentary play by seven playwrights based on personal interviews with seven remarkable women who faced life-threatening obstacles before bringing far-reaching changes to their home countries. Each story makes the powerful and timeless statement that even in the darkest times, one person, one voice and a single act of courage, can change the lives of thousands.
The play has been translated into 27 languages and performed in even more countries.
For additional information and tickets, go to
http://queenstheatre.org/seven
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The Trial Of Susan B. Anthony, a commission by LATW to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of women getting the vote.
Nine Monologues: Getting To Know You, publication in Parnassus: Poetry in Review, Spring 2019
Gun, to be published in an anthology by Methuen in January 2020
https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/plays-by-american-women-9781350068742/
SEVEN is the 2019-20 touring production of Los Angeles Theatre Works
https://latw.org/current-tour, beginning in La Jolla, California and concluding in Albany, New York
Bogliasco fellowship, The Liguria Study Center, November-December 2019
RECENT
SEVEN Makes the Best Audiobooks List!
LATW’S production of SEVEN has made the Best Audiobooks List! Joining other amazing audiobooks in Audiofile magazine’s Memoir Category, including work … Continue reading →.
THUMBPRINT
opened on June 15, 2017 to standing ovations and exceptional reviews at RedCat Theatre i L.A. Adapted from a monologue by Yankowitz, the opera dramatizes the extraordinary transformation of Mukhtar Mai from illiterate peasant to a courageous activist on behalf of women, human rights and education. Ms. Mai traveled from Pakistan to Los Angeles to attend the show and participate in talkbacks following each show. To learn more about the performances and watch the trailer, click here.
NIGHT SKY translated into Hebrew

Night Sky has been translated into Hebrew for inclusion in the new anthology A Room of their Own: Six American Women Playwrights in Hebrew Translation, edited by Linda Ben-Zvi. The play explores what Steven Hawking has called the two mysteries remaining to us: the brain and the cosmos.
Night Sky explores what Steven Hawking has called the two mysteries remaining to us: the brain and the cosmos.
Read a review here: somedayprods.com/talking/pillow-talkings-review-of-night-sky
A description of the play here https://www.revolvy.com/page/Night-Sky
(play and a Free Sample (in English) - Samuel French www.samuelfrench.com/Download/GetFile?downloadId=101378
NEWLY COMPLETED

The Crazy but True Tragical-Farcical Trial of Madame P: a theatrical bestiary inspired by trials of the Middle Ages wherein a pig and various four-legged and winged creatures are prosecuted for theft, murder, bestiality and diverse crimes against humankind.
For more information—or a copy of the script—please contact susan.yankowitz@gmail.com