UVA Department of Drama is thrilled to share that Mona Kasra, Associate Professor of Digital Media Design in the Department of Drama and Department of Art, has been nominated for a 2024 Helen Hayes Award in the Outstanding Media/Projection Design category! This nomination recognizes her work as Projections Designer of Unseen, by playwright Mona Mansour, which follows the journey of American conflict photographer Mia as she tries to piece together what she cannot recall of her recent assignment in the Middle East, using the contents of her camera. Unseen was performed at Mosaic Theater Company in March-April 2023. Last year, Kasra was nominated for her work on Benevolence, the third play of The Till Trilogy, by playwright Ifa Bayeza, about the life and legacy of Emmett Till.

Named after the renowned First Lady of the American Theatre who was a DC native, the Helen Hayes Awards "recognize outstanding achievement from professional theatres and theatre-makers across the Washington, DC region... whose work makes the Washington, DC-area a thriving, notionally recognized theatre community." (theatrewashington.org)

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Celia Wren's review of Unseen in the Washington Post said, "Contributing invaluably to the mood are Mona Kasra's projections, including hazy cityscapes saturated in primary colors, which suggest images glimpsed in moments of trauma."

Reflecting on the experience, Kasra shared that "Playwright Mona Mansour offers a fresh perspective on the ethical dillemmas surrounding conflict photojournalism. It was a distinctive experience to contribute to the design of this production. The themes of Unseen directly resonated with my research on the role and impact of images depicting atrocity, particularly those of war and suffering. In a world saturated with photographic depictions of violence and conflict, have we become desensitied to these atrocities? Do we truly 'see' them? Does documenting or sharing such images perpetuate the cycle of atrocity? As the projections designer, I found myself deeply engaged in grappling with these questions."

"This is a wonderful recognition of Mona's work, which has had such incredible benefits for audiences and for our students," said Drama Department Chair Richard Will. "We will all be rooting for her when the awards are presented in May!"

The Helen Hayes Award ceremony and celebration will take place on May 20, 2024, at The Anthem in Washington, DC.

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• To learn more about Mona, visit her page on the Drama Department website, or www.monakasra.com.
• More information about Unseen is available on Mosaic's Theater's website.
• For more information on the Helen Hayes Awards, visit the 2024 nominations site.