In 2013 theater artist Anu Yadav first performed “Meena’s Dream.”
Anu Yadav is a writer, actress and theater-based educator who has perform in a countless number of well-known theaters located both nationally and internationally.
“Yadav has performed with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Imagination Stage, Theatre Alliance, and African Continuum Theatre, as well as at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Strathmore Mansion and the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in Beijing,” according to her biography on her website.
“Meena’s Dream” is a solo play about a nine-year old girl who’s biggest desire is for her mother to be able to afford the medicine she needs.
It is written and performed by Yadav.
“It is the story of a young girl whose mother can’t afford the medicine that she needs and who has this dreams that are her way to wrestle with the reality of her mother’s illness, basically the play is about
a young dreamer who is visited by Hindu God Lord Krishna in her dreams and who tells her that the Worry Machine is going to destroy the universe and he needs her help,” said Yadav.
“It kind of alternates between imagination and reality,” it’s about her faith and beating those fears and fighting for this world where there is enough medicine for her mom, there’s enough for people to live
well and that imagination could thrive and in doing so in every human being as well,” she said.
Although she turns the play into a fictional story she uses her experiences growing up as a jumping off point to begin writing the play.
“I kind of got to mixed in, not only my experiences but kind of created this other world,” said Yadav.
This is included the loss of her father at an early age and always having the fear the same could occur with her mother.
At the same time the joy and playfulness children have or find even in dark times was what truly inspired her to write “Meena’s Dream.”
“The playfulness and joy that we have as young people, that young people have and that even in the midst of fears, tragedies and sorrows young people find joy and how important and valuable that is in living
life,” she said.
Another unique aspect about Meena’s dream and Yadav’s favorite part, is that after the performance the audience is invited to “share their stories in a positive and constructive way” said Yadav.
The importance of creativity and imagination as well as reminding people that we are all connected and that we are not alone is Yadav’s goal for the audience.
Yadav also hopes to communicate, “that we all matter and that our minds, all of our minds are important to helping created the world we want to lived in.”
“Meena’s Dream” will be performed by Anu Yadav at the Tillie Lewis Theater at Delta on October 27 at 7:30-8:30 p.m.
Tickets are $9 for adults and for 18 & under, Seniors 62+ tickets are $4.
Tickets are available in the Delta Center for the Arts Box Office in Locke Center or called (209) 954-5110 (2 hours prior to performance) or go to http://dca.deltacollege.edu
Box Office Hours are 11am-6pm Tuesday-Friday and Saturday 11am-3pm.