15 YEARS OF Cultural ADVISING
The world has been intrigued by Afghanistan in the past 42 years and out of that have come out books, movies, TV shows, and theatrical productions.
As a cultural advisor, Humaira brings cultural literacy to film, theatre productions, plays, and books for authentic portrayal of Afghan people, their customs and Dari language for an enriched audience experience.
Humaira is on the Board of Trustees of Golden Thread Productions, a faculty member at “The Immigrant Experience in California through Literature and History,” a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for School Teachers. She is a member of MENA THEATRE MAKERS ALLIANCE and the anti-racist cohort, Making Good Trouble, which focuses on advocating for equity for BIPOC representation in the arts, and a reader for the BAY AREA PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL.
Work with me on your book, play, tele-play or feature film.
Pre-production:
Conduct script reviews to ensure cultural and historical accuracy.
Develop authentic characters that resonate with the intended audience.
Assist in casting Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) as well as Afghan actors.
Provide cultural input for costume, set design, and props.
Create culturally specific content to captivate and educate the audience.
Collaborate on donor engagement to support project development.
Production
Offer Dari language and dialect coaching and character development assistance for actors.
Post Production
Engage in community outreach to foster diverse audience engagement.
Organize production marketing, talkbacks, and speaking events.
Utilizing my expertise as a skilled moderator to facilitate meaningful interaction and discussion.
“My fascination with cultures, dialects, and religions stems from living in five different countries before I turned eleven — apt training grounds for a future cultural authenticity zealot!
I studied International Business and went on to do international marketing in tech giants for over 8 1/2 years before I started my foundation, Afghan Friends Network. I have traveled to 36 countries and 6 continents, including a pilgrimage to Mecca, a hike up to the Everest Base Camp, a walk through Samburu County of Kenya with Samburu warriors, and four consecutive summers of volunteering in a remote region of Guatemala.”
“I called on Humaira to serve as a cultural consultant on the set of the stage production of my novel, “The Kite Runner”, and she graciously accepted. Humaira was indispensable to the production, providing important insights on a wide array of issues, including language, local customs, clothing, food, and a number of subtle cultural nuances. I know that the production benefited greatly from her assistance and the sense of credibility and authenticity that her consultation brought to the play.
She is very well spoken in Farsi and has a firm grasp of the various shades of local Afghan culture. Humaira is a driven, intelligent, and passionate person, and it has been a blessing to be her friend and to work alongside her”
“Humaira works closely with playwrights, authors, screenwriters, directors, costume designers, set designers, props crew, and of course actors to achieve authenticity. Humaira is a creative educator with a keen eye to get the best performance out of people she works with. ”
Humaira Ghilzai tells her story of escaping Afghanistan as a refugee and coming to terms with her multicultural identity at the Woven Women's 2016 conference in San Francisco.
Cultural Consulting Credits
Humaira with playwright Matt Spangler and award-winning Afghan percussionist Salar Nader.
THE KITE RUNNER, adapted for the stage by Mathew Spangler~ Broadway debut July, 2022.
London West End production, a U.K. and Irish tour ~ Cleveland Play House ~ Actors Theatre of Louisville ~ San José Repertory Theatre ~ Arizona Theatre Company, among others. Winner of countless awards.
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS, The Opera ~ collaboration with award winning composer Sheila Silver and librettist Stephen Kitsakos. World Premiere by,
THE SEATTLE OPERA, FEBRUARY 2022
Main Stage, Full Orchestra
HEARTLAND ~ Collaborated as a Cultural Dramaturg with playwright Gabriel Jason Dean, for five years ~ Script transliteration, dialect editing and cultural input. The Vortex, New Repertory Theatre in Watertown, Interact Theatre, Luna Theatre. 2019 AUSTIN CRITIC’S TABLE DAVID MARK COHEN NEW PLAY AWARD.
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS, adapted for stage by Ursula Rani Sarma and directed by Carey Perloff ~ American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco ~ World Premier, Theatre Calgary, The Old Globe, Seattle Rep - Winner of countless awards.
An Interview with Playwright Gabriel Jason Dean and Humaira Ghilzai on their collaboration on HEARTLAND.
BLOOD AND GIFTS by J.T. Rogers ~ La Jolla Playhouse , Cultural Advisor
LOVE IN AFGHANISTAN by Charles Randolph-Wright ~ Arena Stage, Cultural Advisor to the director Lucie Tibergien
Humaira at the New York Opera Center with the cast of A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS Opera workshop
IN BLOOM ~ playwright, Gabriel Jason Dean, ~ Script transliteration, dialect editing and cultural input. 2019 Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Competition winner.
MOST DANGEROUS HIGHWAY IN THE WORLD by Kevin Artigue ~ Golden Thread Productions, Cultural Advisor
THE PREPARED TABLE: A Feast of Foods and Stories from Iraq, Afghanistan and the F.O.B. ~ ALICE Arts, Cultural Advisor
SLOW FALLING BIRDS by Christine Evans ~ Performing Arts at USF, Cultural Advisor
THE MOURNER ~ playwright Bridgette Dutta Portman, Script Advisor
FILMS: MERRY FRIGGIN CHRISTMAS with Robin Williams ~ Hollywood Production
WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT ~ Casting ~ Hollywood Production
TELEVISION: Apple TV+, Little America, Season 2
BOOK: THE NIGHT LETTERS, a novel by Dr. Denise Leith
“When I gave my manuscript to Humaira she was professional, responsive to my concerns and easy to work with. She returned it with her comments in record time. She examined the backstory of each character and how I represented Afghans and contemporary Afghan issues. Her attention to detail was nuanced and her responses were always clear and honest. Where I was wrong, or where she thought I could improve the narrative or characterisation, she offered constructive suggestions.
I cannot recommend Humaira highly enough as a professional, highly informed and disciplined Afghan Cultural Adviser for your project. ”
Aref Yaqubi, Afghan Photographer and Journalist
Cultural Advocacy
Foreword, 151 Afghan Pashto Proverbs
Delegate, U.S. State Department Cultural Exchange
Marketing and Media Campaign Ghazni 2013, U.S. Embassy in Kabul
Organized Afghan Government Delegation, a project with U.S. State Department and the Asia Foundation
Hosted Afghan Female Leaders in San Francisco
Organized Governor of Ghazni's visit to San Francisco Bay Area
Authored Paper, Women on Women Violence, Ghazni Forward Operating Base women’s initiative
Project Artemis Afghanistan, Thunderbird University
Director, Carey Perloff
Humaira is a writer understands the artistic process and the sensitivities inherent in it. She is comfortable in a rehearsal room and respectful of the actors’ and director’s process; she intervenes only when asked or when she feels a “cringe” moment might happen in which something completely culturally inappropriate is about to be portrayed! We enjoyed her enormously and felt extremely grateful to her for the wisdom, passion and truth she brought to into the rehearsal room. I am absolutely convinced that a big part of the credit for the (A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS) production’s enormous success, particularly with audiences from the Middle East, is due to what we learned from Humaira and the authenticity, which she helped us achieve in the work.
Praise for Humaira’s work
“Humaira was able to bring a great deal of depth and detail to our production while fitting seamlessly into our production process. I would go so far as to say her work was indispensable.””
San Jose Repertory Theatre, Cast of the Kit Runner Play
"Humaira is one of a kind. She's knowledgeable, insightful, and proud to share her history and culture. with projects that portray Afghanistan. But even more important - she is just cool, and has a real understanding of what's at stake for the artist. She helps artists and creative teams not just get all things “Afghan” but raises their conscience, while also honoring the artistic process.
I first met her working on "Blood and Gifts" at La Jolla Playhouse and have since called upon her for anything I work on that has to do with Afghanistan. Recently she coached me, as well as another actor, in the Robin Williams Comedy, "Merry Friggin Xmas" where I was required to do my entire role in Dari. Not only did she help me nail the language and accent authentically, she helped shape the role to my personal specifics, helping me find new and authentic ways of saying jokes and asides - basically all the fun details!
We had a blast together. Naturally, she has since become a friend. Regarding Afghanistan, I can't imagine better resource - in life, a cooler new friend."
~ Amir Arison - Actor, The Blacklist, Homeland, Girls and more
Humaira was a vital collaborator throughout the process of writing, re-writing, and performing my play THE MOST DANGEROUS HIGHWAY IN THE WORLD. She approaches her work like an artist: with an exacting yet sensitive eye for detail... and big-picture respect for the creative process. I left my meetings with Humaira with not only a better understanding of Afghanistan, it's people and culture, but with images, stories and insights from her life that transformed the play. She's generous with her time, easy to work with, yet exceedingly professional. Her presence raised the bar for us all.
—Kevin Artigue, Writers, Playwright and Screenwriter
Actors Theater Louisville, Cast of The Kite Runner Play
"Humaira helped me not only with complicated transliteration of the Dari language in the play, but also with richly specifying interactions between my Afghan and American characters. Her knowledge of Afghanistan both personally and scholarly is immense. Since Humaira is a writer herself, she's a great editor and dramaturge and she gives feedback in a respectful and productive way, putting the writer at the center. BOY PLAY is much fuller and more authentic now. It was an honor to work with her and I hope we will cross paths again soon."
~ Gabriel Jason Dean - Playwright, Author, Director
"Humaira had a fantastic ability to share her knowledge of the Afghan culture, history and way of life with the large cast (17 actors) in a relaxed and easy fashion. Her historical and cultural knowledge, as well as her deep understanding of the region and its geo-political complexities were invaluable to the process of directing this play. It helped on a dramaturgical and on a design level (with costumes and sets) as well as with certain acting and staging choices."
~ Lucie Tiberghien - Director, Blood and Gifts
Humaira has a tremendous insight and understanding of the intricacies of the various stages involved in both the creative and the production process. She fitted in seamlessly with the artistic team, offering her invaluable knowledge when needed. She was called upon by every member of creative and production team at one point or another including; myself the Playwright; the director; the costume and set designers; and the actors. She was able to offer each of us the cultural authenticity that we both needed and desired to ensure that the overall production would have that ring of truth that is so essential when you are depicting a world other than you own.
Humaira was also asked to speak to Donors, which she did with enthusiasm and to organize, facilitate and host community events. The latter brought members of the Afghan community directly into contact with our creative team and with the production itself. It was wonderful to meet with and speak to people for whom the events of A Thousand Splendid Suns were all too familiar. Our interaction with this community both enhanced and enriched our understanding of the subject matter we were dealing with and gave a fictional story a very realistic aspect. Humaira worked hard to make this community feel accepted and wanted and in turn, their faith and trust in her was made obvious by the sheer number of people who attended the events.
—Ursula Rani Sarma, Playwright
I was deeply grateful for the opportunity to consult with Humaira on the script for my play The Mourner, which features a young Muslim American woman and her mother as central characters. The insight that Humaira brought to the script, stemming both from her cultural and religious knowledge and from her keen dramaturgical sense of character, motive, structure and story, was instrumental in moving this play forward on its developmental journey. Humaira helped me to clarify my characters’ relationship with Islam as well as with each another, and also to develop what I feel is a more effective climax to the play. She delivered her feedback in a way that was clear, constructive, and encouraging. This is a much stronger script because of her input and I would love the chance to work with her again.
—Bridgette Portman, Playwright
"We were thankful to Humaira for dedication and help throughout the entire production of A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS at A.C.T. We could not have had such a deep and rich connection with the Afghan community without Humaira. It was a joy to work with her."
~ Elizabeth Brodersen, Director of Education & Community Programs A.C.T., San Francisco