The Seven Valleys - A performance commissioned by The Getty Villa Museum in Los Angeles. July 16, 2022
Conception and script by Sholeh Wolpé, based on her translation of Attar’s “The Conference of the Birds”

A group of six performers on stage, with some standing and some seated, under a backdrop of large bird silhouettes in flight projected on a screen.

Writer and performer: Sholeh Wolpé Choreographer and dancer: André Megerdichian Vocalists: Kirk Averitt (Base), Kons Hedari (Tenor), Molly Pease (Alto), Joslyn Sarshat (Soprano). Dancers: Tippy Dringman, Catalina Jackson-Urueña. Projection art: Nathalia Karagiannis Getty Villa Museum

Silhouette of a hummingbird flying upward, viewed from underneath, inside a white paper cup with a brownish stain around the edges.

Image by Barcelona-based Greek artist Nathalie Karagiannis

Stage performance with dancers and musicians, audience in foreground, large columns and draped translucent fabric with dragon silhouettes in the background, inside a grand building.

Vocalists: Kirk Averitt (Base), Kons Hedari (Tenor), Molly Pease (Alto), Joslyn Sarshat (Soprano). Dancers: Tippy Dringman, Catalina Jackson-Urueña.
Writer and performer: Sholeh Wolpé Choreographer and dancer: André Megerdichian Getty Villa Museum

A group of performers on stage during a theatrical production, with three main actors in the foreground and musicians in the background, one of whom is elderly and reading sheet music.
The image shows four women on stage, with the central woman standing and wearing a gown and a red shawl, flanked by two women standing behind her, and a woman sitting on the floor in front. The background is dark, and the logo of Farhang Foundation is visible in the bottom right corner.

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Writer and performer: Sholeh Wolpé Choreographer and dancer: André Megerdichian Getty Villa Museum

Cast:
Sholeh Wolpé : Writer and performer
André Megerdichian - Director/Choreographer
Fahad Siadat – Composer (not in the picture)
Catalina Jackson-Urueña – Dancer
Tippy Dringman – Dancer
Kirk Averitt – Bass
Kion Hedari – Tenor
Molly Pease – Alto
Joslyn Sarshad – Soprano
Projected Art – Nathalia Karagiannis (not in the picture)
Projection – Jesse Gilbert (not in the picture)

All photos courtesy of Farhang Foundation

A man on stage with short dark hair, mustache, and goatee, wearing a maroon velvet jacket, raising his hands above his head, with a serious expression. Behind him are musicians and colorful fabrics, with a logo reading 'Farhang Foundation' in the bottom right corner.

Choreographer André Megerdichian as Hoopoe Getty Villa Museum

Poster for Persia After Hours event at Getty Villa, featuring a man with a beard playing percussion, and a woman with dark curly hair in a red outfit, set against artistic backgrounds.
Stage performance with six actors, three standing and three kneeling or sitting, engaged in a dramatic scene, with microphones and music stands around them, on a dark stage with a colorful patterned rug, and a logo reading 'FARHANG FOUNDATION' in the bottom right corner.

Sholeh Wolpé in performance Getty Villa Museum

A stage with four women, three standing behind microphones and one seated on the floor, engaging in a performance. Three women are dressed in black, and one is wearing a colorful, flowing dress. Two women sit on the floor facing the performers.
A theatrical scene featuring two women on a stage. One woman is kneeling, with her back to the camera, wearing a brown dress. The other woman is standing, facing her, wearing a colorful, patterned robe. The standing woman has her hands extended towards the kneeling woman in a gesture of explanation or supplication. The stage has a dark background with some music stands and lighting visible. The image includes the Farhang Foundation logo in the bottom right corner.

Sholeh Wolpe and Tippy Dringman Getty Villa Museum

A theatrical performance on stage featuring six performers, three men and three women, with some barefoot, engaged in singing or acting. Behind them, four women are singing into microphones, with music stands and chairs around them. The stage has a dark, textured surface and a backdrop that appears to be a blue curtain or panel. The performers are dressed in dark or earth tones, and some women are in flowing costumes, while the men wear black. The logo of Farhang Foundation is in the bottom right corner.

Vocalists: Kirk Averitt (Base), Kons Hedari (Tenor), Molly Pease (Alto), Joslyn Sarshat (Soprano). Dancers: Tippy Dringman, Catalina Jackson-Urueña.
Writer and performer: Sholeh Wolpé Choreographer and dancer: André Megerdichian Getty Villa Museum

Performance on stage with dancers and musicians, audience watching, in front of a building with columns and large screens with bird images, at an event organized by Farhang Foundation.

Writer and performer: Sholeh Wolpé Choreographer and dancer: André Megerdichian Vocalists: Kirk Averitt (Base), Kons Hedari (Tenor), Molly Pease (Alto), Joslyn Sarshat (Soprano). Dancers: Tippy Dringman, Catalina Jackson-Urueña. Projection art: Nathalia Karagiannis Getty Villa Museum

A performer on stage kneeling with arms raised, with two standing singers behind her, set against a dark stage background, during a live music or theatrical performance.

Sholeh Wolpé and André Megerdichian Getty Villa Museum

Stage performance with dancers and musicians at an indoor theater with a large projected background image of a hand holding a circular object. Audience seated in front.

Sholeh Wolpé and her cast performing at Getty Villa Museum Projection art: Nathalia Karagiannis

A woman with long brown hair and green eyeshadow singing into a microphone on stage during a performance. She is wearing a black outfit and earrings, with a dark background behind her.

vocalist Molly Pease Getty Villa Museum

Two women are performing on stage, one lying on the ground and the other kneeling over her, with musicians playing in the background.

André Megerdichian and Catalina Jackons Urueña Getty Villa Museum

An outdoor theater with tiered seating filled with a large audience, near a stage with musical instruments, in a scenic hillside location.

Sold out audience waits for the show to begin Getty Villa Museum

Performer on stage with arms extended, wearing a flowing colorful costume, behind sound equipment and music stands, with Persian rugs on the stage floor.

Sholeh Wolpé performing at Getty Villa Museum

An outdoor amphitheater at dusk with a large audience watching a live performance on stage, featuring musicians and performers, with a backdrop of a large screen displaying graphics.

Sholeh Wolpé and her cast performing at Getty Villa Museum

A live performance on a theater stage with dancers, musicians, and a large screen displaying a bird in flight with trees. Audience seated watching the show.

Sholeh Wolpé and her cast performing at Getty Villa Museum Projection art: Nathalia Karagiannis

Performers on stage engaged in a theatrical production, with musicians in the background playing instruments, and four actors in colorful costumes interacting in the foreground.

Vocalists: Kirk Averitt (Base), Kons Hedari (Tenor), Molly Pease (Alto), Joslyn Sarshat (Soprano). Dancers: Tippy Dringman, Catalina Jackson-Urueña.
Writer and performer: Sholeh Wolpé Choreographer and dancer: André Megerdichian Getty Villa Museum

A stage performance featuring a woman in colorful attire singing into a microphone, two women standing on either side reading from music stands, and two women sitting on the stage floor looking up at the singer.

Sholeh Wolpé, vocalists Joslyn Sarshad and Molly Pease Getty Villa Museum

A woman with curly dark hair, wearing a pink patterned shawl and jewelry, is speaking passionately with her arm extended during a performance or presentation. There are other people and equipment around her.

Sholeh Wolpé as Attar Getty Villa Museum

Group of eight performers on stage, applauding, with musical instruments in the background, at a concert or theater event.

Final bows Sholeh Wolpé and her cast at Getty Villa Museum

Group of seven performers at the end of a stage show, with three women and four men, some barefoot, clapping and smiling, with musical instruments and chairs in the background.

Final bows Writer and performer Sholeh Wolpé, Choreographer André Megerdichian and their cast at Getty Villa Museum

Poster for Persia After Hours, an event on Saturday, July 16, 2022, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm at Getty Villa. The poster features a man playing a percussion instrument at the top and a woman in a red patterned shawl with closed eyes and a hand on her chest at the bottom, against a yellow and green leafy background.