Tazeen Zahida estimates she has been writing plays since she was just 14 years old. “I didn’t even know I was writing a play and I was writing a play,” she says. “I just instinctively think in dialogue and scenes. Even as a kid when I was about to get in trouble, I knew instinctively what my mom and dad would say.”
Now, after seven years in the theater world, she seems thrilled with the act of creation. It has been a long road through COVID to get this production of her folktale-inspired musical And The Clay Pot Speaketh staged in full through Asia Society Texas’ Muslim Series running November 16 and 17.
“I am a big Shakespeare buff. So the reason I named it that was I believed the clay pot was a very important character in this love tale. The clay pot was the main object in the story that signified this young girl’s love – and clay pots were common in those areas in this time, but mainly they brought water from the wells and they used it to play different games or play songs on it by clicking the clay pot. The family of this girl were the ones who made the clay pots. She was very attached to this one clay pot, which she used to cross the river to meet her lover. And the clay pot never got to tell its story.”
Her musical went through more than a few changes to get where it is today.
“During the COVID time, I was lucky. I got the first-ever virtual commission by Performing Arts Houston. That changed my life, I can tell you. They needed a five minute [pitch] for New/Now. And it was maximum 30 minutes long. They did not require the script at the time of the commission process, but they did require the idea. We need all the details.
“I’m a playwright strictly, but because there are so few people in my community doing theater, growing up we never watched theater. There was no way, growing up in Saudi Arabia or even in Pakistan. Theater is live performing art and is not encouraged in Muslim communities. But I really loved theater and this was how we decided to make a show 30 minutes long, I wanted some music and one narrator. That’s how it was designed.
Time limitations weren’t the only restriction on her initial effort.. “The commission had its own restrictions as well, so I had to be mindful. I did it with recorded tracks. A friend of mine who helped me record the tabla, a south Asian like drum, but smaller in size and sharper in tone. A very dramatic sound effect. I knew I couldn’t do this without tabla. So I picked five to six South Asian musical instruments and alternated eight for the mood of the story. There are happy strings, happy songs and I told the entire 30-minute story in those instruments. That’s how it was designed the first time around.
“This time I was fortunate enough to get this commissioned by Asia Society Texas. They support artists who hail from Asia; they are great people to work with. Earlier on, it was strictly 30 minutes. This time, the space and the day was dedicated to my work and there was no limitation of how much time I was to use.
“This sounded like a great idea, but when you touch something that is already being done and dusted and loved already to a great level… Because of the tightness and the way it was done in half an hour, my actors were literally running from one side of the stage to the other. So long story short, I redid this entire script in a way where it could be easily told and that the artists did not have to rush the lines.”
The love story of Sohni and Mahiwaal itself has been something that has entertained and inspired the playwright since her youth. “Sohni Mahiwal is a very popular thing, there have been movies made in India and Pakistan, which share the same cultural heritage mainly. They are two countries divided by a border. If we can talk about culture without talking about religion, it automatically becomes something shared, common and something both sides of the border can relate to. My desire was to do that.
“This story is a folk tale, and was first documented in a book called Shah Jo Risalo. This poet documented all the folk tales that were known in these areas. This was more than 100 years back. We had heard the story and knew it from movies and songs, and like all folk tales, there are parts that defeat your common sense altogether. It does not make sense to a modern mind, that logic.”
As Zahida expanded her canvas, she made adjustments with the contemporary audience in mind. “Now that I was almost two years wiser,” she reflects. “Two years is a very long time in a playwright’s age. I made this tragedy more palatable, because it’s a love story. From a western perspective, there are too many juxtapositions in this. When you tell everyone it’s a tragedy, and it involves honor – I did not want to sell negativity on behalf of my community.
“I did not want to sell something I am ashamed of or something that makes me regret being of this origin. What I do not like in today’s writing is the level of apologetic-ness I am seeing. I do not want to be at that way. The British ruled the entire world and you do not see them apologizing for anything! Why would we be apologetic for things that were done in the community in the name of culture, you know? People had wisdom and people had reasons to do things in certain ways. As a storyteller, my responsibility is not to judge them but to tell the story with how it makes me feel.
“When I decide to tell a story, I don’t really take instructions of anyone worthy of being listened to. I do not care. This is why I stand alone all the time. It is tough, especially being a Muslim, especially being a woman. People are I have to say, scared, of the possibilities that may be realized by a crazy Muslim woman’s pen.’ I just wished they were less scared and more confident. But they are not.”
In addition to singing the praises of Performing Arts Houston and Asia Society Texas, Zahida also highlights the support of Main Street Theater Artistic Director Rebecca Greene Udden, who she describes as ‘very kind.’
In the end, the title remains something of combination of both Easter and Western traditions on display in this bold theatrical hybrid. “So here comes my original post-colonial British upbringing and education,” she says with a laugh.
Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 16 and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 17 at Asia Society Texas Center, 1370 Southmore. For more information, call 713-496-9901 or visit asiasociety.org. $20.