Spotlight on English Creative Team.
What is the show about?
Two words set in motion playwright Sanaz Toossi’s intricate and profound New York debut: “English Only.”
This is the mantra that rules one classroom in Iran, where four adult students are preparing for the TOEFL — the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Chasing fluency through a maze of word games, listening exercises, and show-and-tell sessions, they hope that one day, English will make them whole. But it might be splitting them each in half.
WHERE
A classroom in Karaj, Iran
WHEN
2008
Who: Meet the characters.
The Teacher
Marjan
44 years old. Accent has traces of both American and British English. Once lived in Manchester, England. Loves speaking English.
The Students
Elham
27 years old. Has a very thick Iranian accent. Wants to go to medical school in Australia. Doesn’t care for English, prefers speaking in Farsi.
Roya
54 years old. Has a noticeable accent. Is studying English before she visits her son and granddaughter in Canada.
Omid
29 years old. Has no accent. Grew up with American cousins. Studying English for a U.S. Permanent Resident (also known as a “Green Card”) interview.
Goli
18 years old. Accent is light and sweet. Has wanted to speak English since she was a child.
TOEFL.
Test of English as a Foreign Language. A standardized test used to measure the English skills of a non-native speaker. Often required for Green Cards, visas, and admission to colleges and universities in English-speaking countries.