The Interview: Pooya Mohseni (Part 3)
Interview conducted by Michael Raver
Pooya Mohseni has been busy.
She’s having a major moment right now. This past fall, she appeared in Sarah Mantell’s heartrending dystopian drama, IN THE AMAZON WAREHOUSE PARKING LOT at Playwright’s Horizons. There have been stints on television and some powerful performances on film. And she’s just getting started.
Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, Mohseni knew from a young age that she was made of very stern stuff. Bullied, threatened, harassed, propositioned, and even arrested as she fought her way toward a sense of wholeness, she and her mother relocated to New York in 1997. It was there that she managed to forge a future for herself as an actor and an activist.
A steadfast champion of LGBTQIA+ rights and a veracious mama bear to the community (particularly to trans youth), she has coalesced as a kind of avenging angel for the queer population.
“The world tells you that you can’t or you shouldn’t or you’ll never be good enough,” she says, reflecting on trans youth.
Perhaps it is this determination that made Mohseni so appealing to playwright (and Pulitzer Prize winner) Sanaz Toossi, whose play ENGLISH has recently opened on Broadway. The production marks a Broadway debut for both women, as well as the rest of the cast.
The piece concerns four adult students and their teacher in an Iranian classroom preparing for an exam, The TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) which is essential to each character’s future abroad. Since its premiere at the Atlantic Theatre Company in 2022, Mohseni has been making her way through a string of high-profile productions of ENGLISH across the country. Now, she has, at long last arrived on Broadway in a gorgeous and moving production that has had critics raving and audiences swooning.
How did this role originally come to you?
The first time I read for this role was a reading at NYU for Sanaz’s thesis in 2018. I don’t quite remember who had recommended me or how Sanaz and I were connected, but I remember thinking that I had never read a part that reminded me of the women I had grown up with and that was when Roya came into my life, almost seven years ago.
When you first get a new script, what are the first few things that you do in preparation for entering the rehearsal room?
I read it once, like a novel. That way I get a general understanding of the story. Then, I read my character’s track backwards, to understand the journey of my role, on step, backwards, at a time. This way I can track the blocks in slow motion, from the last piece to the first.
You’ve done a few productions of ENGLISH after that first run at the Atlantic. How has your relationship with the piece evolved?
Having done ENGLISH with different ensembles, different directors, and in different roles, has been like doing the show in rep. You get to see, hear, and try so many variations. You see the characters from different angles and understand how the play functions in motion—what each character brings and how they all hold up and move the story forward. I feel grateful that I’m doing Roya again after over a 100 performances, because I have gotten the appreciation for this character that she deserves and on my journey to this moment. I think I’m better equipped at sharing her with audiences on Broadway.
What was your initial reaction when you found out the Broadway transfer was happening?
I learned that ENGLISH was going to Broadway after we’d finished the Barrington Stage production and I couldn’t tell anyone for about a year. That was hard! But, I felt overwhelmed by the news, and also feeling like it’s the perfect next step for the play and filled with joy that this play, about a group of Iranians, most of whom are women, is going to be on the biggest stage theater has to offer and getting the opportunity to, collectively, share it with thousands of people every week. It’s more than a dream come true—it’s a dream I didn’t even know I could have.
How has rehearsal for the Broadway run differed from when you were at the Atlantic?
Everything is more. More people. More attention. Higher stakes. But at the same time, same cast, same design team, and in that way, it’s no different. It’s just now, the show is brighter, bolder, and more colorful. I think that’s because we had our run and now we’re back after all the awards and it feels natural that the show is more vibrant and even better, because we as the creative team, have grown and are better at what we do, but also we’ve lived with these characters so we get to breathe even more life into them.
Have there been any surprises while rehearsing over the last few weeks?
The biggest surprise was that we’re not doing the same show as we did 3 years ago. Same play, but new day and how we’ve approached the characters and the play is almost like we’ve never done it before, while having the experience of having done it. Everything is a new discovery and that is what is giving it this new life, on a new stage and hopefully, if possible, even a better show than our Off-Broadway production in 2022.
What does it mean for you to have this play making its way to Broadway?
I’m grateful to have been with this play since its early days and be able to stay with it for this journey. I’m grateful that I get to portray a character that I love, who is so close to my heart and I get to share that with a Broadway audience. This play is elegant, heartfelt, witty, and funny. It needs to be seen. Broadway is a natural place for it to be.
How does it feel making your Broadway debut?
As a queer actor of color who wasn’t received in the business 20-something years ago. I didn’t think this day would come. And now that I’m here, it feels that everything up to this moment has led to this. I guess it’s a matter of trusting that life takes you to where you need to go. You just have to trust in yourself, in the forces around you, and release yourself to the path. In short: OMG! Mama’s on Broadway!
If you could go back to a few years ago when you first read the script, what would you want yourself to know?
If I could go back, I’d like to enjoy the journey more. I didn’t always. I had insecurities that showed up in different ways and it made me question my place in the play and now, looking back, I smile because it was just my insecurities. I could’ve loved the process and the journey more. But, here I am and I know now what I didn’t know then. So, nothing’s lost. We know what we know, when we’re meant to know it. And, I guess that’s now.
As a staunch advocate for trans rights, is there anything you’d like young trans actors to know about the path to Broadway?
This is a big one. What I’ve learned is that if you want it bad enough and are willing to give your heart, your soul, and your time to it, whatever it is, you can accomplish anything. Be your best self. Be your authentic self. Be what you want to see from the world and release the expectations. What is meant for you, will find you on your path, but you have to stay on your path. And never, never stop learning from others.
Given the charged nature of what the Iranian community has faced, what do you hope people take away from seeing ENGLISH?
I hope that these thoughts will linger in the audience’s head: that the Iranian people are PEOPLE. Just like anybody else. They want the same things for their children. They have ambitions and desires. They want to achieve and be respected, regardless of what government is in power. They want security and freedom to be who they are. I hope this play shows that regardless of accent, ethnicity, and color, we’re not that different from one another. I hope people will feel more compassion and humanity towards those who look and sound different from them.
ENGLISH is presented by the Roundabout Theatre Company and is currently in performances at The Todd Haimes Theatre in New York. For Tickets, visit www.roundabouttheatre.org
