Hi! My name is Shaudi Bianca Vahdat. I’m a composer, songwriter and theatre artist. I’m currently serving as an Artist-in-Residence at Inscape Arts in Seattle, where I’m working on a project called The Golden Door: An American immigrant song cycle. And I’m looking for people who identify as members of a BIPOC immigrant community in the US to join the project as interviewees! 

For this project, I’m using documentary theatre-making techniques to create a song cycle exploring contemporary American immigrant stories. Here’s my process: 

1. Interviewing local members of immigrant communities, specifically those who identify as members of a BIPOC immigrant community in the US, who want to share their stories.

2. Adapting these interviews into songs, in a process that respects and honors the interviewees. (Each song is from the point of view of a different character, with a different perspective and story about their immigration process.)

3. I’ll perform this song cycle as a solo piece at Inscape next month, and it will receive a performance with a full cast at Seattle Center in the spring.

Interview logistics: 

• We’ll work around your schedule–I’m flexible on time and day of the week. 

• We can either meet at my studio space at Inscape in the International District (which is ADA compliant/ accessible), or via Zoom. 

• We’ll chat for an hour to ninety minutes, and can always schedule a follow-up conversation if you realize you have more you want to say. Conversely, you can always cut the interview short if you need to. I understand telling these stories can sometimes bring up a lot of emotions, and you are always in control of how much you share. 

• We’ll review a simple contract together pre-interview, to make sure you understand and are comfortable with how your words will be used and how you will be credited. 

• Looking to schedule these before October 28 if possible! 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How will I be credited in the performances? Can I be anonymous?

If you decide to give an interview, you have the choice to either be credited by name on the project as an interviewee, or to remain completely anonymous.

Will you record my interview?

You can decide to be filmed or only audio-recorded, and you can decide how public those recordings are (including not public at all, and only for use by me as the songwriter).

How will my interview be used?

I have written songs based on interviews like this in the past, and my songwriting process varies. Sometimes, I use the interviewee’s words verbatim. Sometimes, I get an idea for a song from an interview, and use the interviewee’s words and stories as a more abstract inspiration–the core ideas and emotions may be the same as their interview, but the details are different. And of course, it can be a mix of the two.

It’s a big responsibility as an artist to work with real people’s words and stories, and I take that trust seriously. My goal is to honor the person and their story by writing the best song possible. Sometimes that means making small changes for better lyric flow, for example, or more concise storytelling. But honoring the story is at the center of each artistic decision I make, and when past interviewees have heard the songs inspired by their interviews, they’ve had only positive reactions to share.

What kinds of questions will you ask?

I’ll ask things like, why did you come to the US? How was it different than what you were expecting? What was your journey like? Is there anything you miss about your home country?

If there’s anything you specifically don’t or do want to talk about, you can always let me know.

How does compensation work?

Interviewees are volunteers, and won’t receive financial compensation for their interviews.

This is because this song cycle is for artistic expression and community benefit rather than commercial use. The participating artists and I may be compensated for performances via grant money, audience contributions, or ticket sales. But the compensation is to cover performance and production costs, and not for profit. I’m also not being compensated for my time interviewing or songwriting.

However, if the song cycle is commercially used in the future on a scale that does generate profit, the interviewees would receive a share of the profits at that time. Have more questions about any of this? Please feel free to ask!

What’s your connection to the local immigrant community?

I’m a second generation Iranian-American with many immigrants in my family and wider community. Because of my family’s history, immigration is a key part of my own identity. I know enough about immigration stories to know that no two are the same. There are as many experiences and opinions on life in US as there are members in the immigrant community, and that’s why this project is interview-based. These stories are so worth recording, sharing, and putting onstage for the community.

Do I need to be a US citizen or permanent resident to be interviewed?

Definitely not! People of all immigration statuses are welcome and encouraged.

I’m interested in being an interviewee for the project, but I don’t speak English. Can I still participate?

Yes! Please get in touch and I will find a translator.

What is Inscape?

(From the Friends of Inscape website): From 1932 till 2004, the US Immigration & Naturalization Service building served as Seattle’s detention and processing center for immigrants. In 2008, a group of investors purchased the building, renamed it Inscape, and built the spaces out as artist studios with the assistance of arts-friendly tax help from the city. A thriving artist community has been growing there ever since.

Rarely do cities have the opportunity to both preserve a vital and often overlooked piece of history and strengthen the future of creative and underrepresented communities in the process. The Inscape Arts and Cultural Center presents such an opportunity.

We are working to realize this goal in collaboration with public and private partners, to build something that truly demonstrates how powerful the intersection of place, people, past and present can be.