Mohammad Aghebati

Mohammad Aghebati (Persian: محمد عاقبتی, born: 1975) is an Iranian theater director, scenic designer and actor. He has staged numerous dramas during his career, including Oedipus the King by Sophocles, AKA Jocasta; God’s Dead Words, Hamlet, The Prince of Grief by William Shakespeare, and Kiss You and Tears by Václav Havel.

Aghebati graduated from Tehran University of Art majoring in theater directing in 2000. Upon graduation, he became a member of the Leev Theater Group. After departure from Leev Theatre Group, he moved to New York and started a special research fellowship at Yale University, School of Drama. He then followed his education by obtaining his M.F.A in Performance and Media Arts at Brooklyn College, New York.

Agehbati is the co-founder and artistic director of Maaa Theater which is currently active in New York and Tehran.

Career

Director and set designer Apart-Ment @ African American Arts and Culture Complex, New York, NY The Little Black Fish @ Madison Square Park Children Festival(2018), New York, NY Where Do We Come From? @ Art House (2018), Tehran, Iran King Lear @ Iranshahr Theater (2017), Tehran, Iran The Little Black Fish @ Downtown Arts (2016), New York, NY Blackout @ Charles Eisemann Center (2016), Dallas, TX I Was King Richard (Based on Shakespeare’s Richard II) @ Tehran International Fadjr Theater Festival (2016), Tehran, Iran Hamlet, Prince of Grief @ Under The Radar, Public Theater (2013), New York, NY Opera Mani & Mana @Vahdat hall, world children (2012), Tehran, Iran Skellig and Children of the Fly (Based on “Skellig” by David Almond) By Mehdi Kushki @ City Theater (2012), Tehran, Iran Woman from the Past @ City Theater (2012), Tehran, Iran Simorgh (Based on Attar's Conference of the Birds) @ Vahdat Hall for Universal children Day (2011), Tehran, Iran Childhood Songs @Iranshahr Theater (2011), Tehran, Iran Peter Avhh Testimony @ Khorram Abad Theater (2010), Khorramabad, Iran Arash (Based on “The Book Of Kings”) @Vahdat hall, World Children Day (2010), Tehran, Iran Voice Room By Reza Soroor @ Leev Theater (2010), Tehran, Iran The Sky of Snowy Days (Based on “Bonnie & Clyde” script by Robert Benton and David Newman) By Mohammad Charmshir @ City Theater (2009), Tehran, Iran Only God Has the Right to Wake Me Up (Based on "Oscar and the lady in Pink" by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt) By Mohammad Charmshir (2008), Tehran, Iran Jocasta; or God’s Dead Words (2008), Tokyo, Japan Only God Has the Right to Wake Me Up (Based on "Oscar and the lady in Pink" by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt) By Mohammad Charmshir (2006), Berlin, Germany Raiders to the Sea by J.M Synge @ Iran National TV (2006), Tehran, Iran I Have to Go, I am Too Late (based on a novel by Patrick Modiano) by Mohammad Charmshir (2005), Tehran, Iran Kiss You and Tears (based on Václav Havel's letters) by Mohammad Charmshir (2003), Heidelberg, Germany The Maids By Jean Genet @ Fadjr Theater Festival (2001), Tehran, Iran Purgatory By William Butler Yeats @ Fadjr Theater Festival (2000), Tehran, Iran

Honors, awards and nominations Best Director and Set Design from Hamedan International Theater for Children and Youth 2018 Brooklyn Art Council Grant for The Little Black Fish 2018 NYSCA grant for The Little Black Fish 2017 LabWorks Artist @ New Victory Theater for The Little Black Fish 2016 Nominated for the Best Children performance @ The National Critiques Circle for Skellig and Children of Fly, 2013 Nominated for the Best Designer @ The National Critiques Circle for Skellig and Children of Fly, 2013 Won Best Director @15th International Festival of Theater for Children & Youth, Isfahan – Iran Only God has the Right to Wake me Up, 2008 Nominated for the best Set and costume Design @15th International Festival of Theater for Children & Youth, Isfahan – Iran, Only God has the Right to Wake me Up, 2008 Won Best Director @ 22nd International Fadjr Theatre Festival, Tehran Kiss You and Tears, 2004 Won Best Performance @22nd International Fadjr Theatre Festival, Tehran Kiss You and Tears 2004 Awarded the Medal of Honor from President Khatami as Iran’s successful Young Theater Artist for his direction of Kiss You and Tears, 2004 Won Best Director @20th International Fadjr Student Theatre Festival, Tehran The Maids, 2002 Won Best Performance @20th International Fadjr Student Theatre Festival, Tehran, The Maids, 2002 Won Best Director @18th International Fadjr Student Theatre Festival, Tehran Purgatory, 2000 Won Best Performance @18th International Fadjr Student Theatre Festival Purgatory, 2000