<div><strong>Sohrab Haghverdi, Benjamin Rosenthal, and Mason Rosenthal hope to bring their extraordinary show FORIEGNER to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>But we need your help!</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>FORIEGNER</strong> is a dizzying theatrical solo that simultaneously explains—and refuses to explain—Sohrab Haghverdi's experience as an Iranian asylum seeker in the United States. It’s a paradoxical, autobiographical, anti-identity, anti-comedy clown show inspired by Andy Kaufman’s hijinks and Sufi mystic Rumi's call to kill yourself.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>“An inventive and often outrageous piece of clowning about art, immigration, and identity which makes the border tangible in maybe the most disgusting possible way. Unconventional. Undismissable. Unforgettable.” — <a href="https://playsunpleasant.substack.com/p/philly-fringe-cannonball-reviews-sohrab-haghverdi-bumbling-foriegner-mimebaby-phone-claw-for-mister-holland-andrews-solar-myth-fluxus-brothers-good-art-bad-art-jeff-evans-shitter-morgan-kauffman-mk-rewatch-podcast-jungwoong-kim-within-without" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plays Unpleasant</a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>FORIEGNER is co-created by Sohrab Haghverdi and the Rosenthal brothers. The show is performed by Sohrab, who was born and raised in Iran, and has been seeking asylum in America since 2013. The three of us started our work on FORIEGNER (first called Sohrab is Bumbling Foriegner) in the summer of 2024. The show premiered in Cannonball 2024 with the support of the Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture Award for SWANA Artists. In 2025, it received an encore performance at Philadelphia's FringeArts. This June, before our August Edinburgh run, we will tour the show to the Denver Fringe Festival with support of the Ed Tyler Touring Fund.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><a href="https://foriegner.show/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.foriegner.show</a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>The Opportunity</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the largest performing arts festival in the world. Each August, Edinburgh, Scotland becomes a hub for artists, presenters, producers, and audiences from across the globe. For independent artists like us, it can be a pivotal moment, offering a chance to form international connections, attract touring opportunities, and extend the life of a piece far beyond its premiere.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>FOREIGNER has been invited to perform at Summerhall, one of the Fringe’s most respected venues, known for presenting ambitious, avant-garde work. A performance slot at Summerhall is a significant artistic endorsement and a major opportunity for visibility. FORIEGNER will have a whopping 24 PERFORMANCES in Edinburgh throughout the month of August.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Why Your Support Matters</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Edinburgh Fringe is an extraordinary opportunity, but also an expensive one. Independent artists self-fund most of the costs, including:
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<ul>
<li>Fees for our designers
</li>
<li>Production materials
</li>
<li>Venue fees
</li>
<li>Travel
</li>
<li>Lodging for the month
</li>
<li>Marketing and publicity
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Even with careful budgeting, the costs add up quickly, and the tour itself is not necessarily a money-making venture. Instead, our hope is to establish connections for future opportunities that could eventually allow us to be paid for all the blood, sweat, tears—and yes, pee—we’ve put into this work of art.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Why This Matters</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>FOREIGNER couldn’t be more timely. With ICE’s cruel deportations, a global rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, and war in Iran, the pressure to declare who we are and what we stand for feels unbearable. Our show is grounded in Sohrab’s experience as an Iranian asylee, but rejects tidy categories of good foreigner vs. bad foreigner, American vs. Iranian, victim vs. survivor, profane vs. divine. Instead, it opens a space beyond them. Like a powerful psychedelic trip or a profound meditation, FOREIGNER is alternately hilarious, terrifying, hopeful, sad, and beautiful. FOREIGNER in Edinburgh is a chance to encounter audiences from around the world. Our goal is to blow minds.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>How to Help</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Donate to our GoFundMe and spread the word! 
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Contributions will directly support travel, production, and artist costs for the Edinburgh run.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>With immense gratitude,
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Sohrab Haghverdi, Benjamin Rosenthal, and Mason Rosenthal
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><a href="https://foriegner.show/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.foriegner.show</a>
</div>

Dan Winikur

Marcia Ferguson

John Muse

Danielle Solomon

James Weissinger

Mary McCoy

Michael Norris

Anonymous

Kori Miner

Andromeda Godsey

Karen Orrick

Kelly Looney

Sheri Sandrof

Rebecca Pavkovic

Curt and Lois Himmelberger

Melissa Krodman

Monica Wiles

Hannah Kenah

Lori Kaplan

Send this FORIEGNER to Edinburgh

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Eligible for Profile Comment Badge

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

isEligibleForProfileCommentBadge

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Send this FORIEGNER to Edinburgh

Still $1,682 to go. Help us build momentum.