About
Amin Shirazi’s journey to becoming an artistic director began in 1997 when he and his classmates formed their first theatre group. They worked on four plays during those years, with most being written by group members. Shirazi earned his master’s degree in dramatic literature in 2009, around the time he and Mohammad Mohammadi-Nasab started their first theatre company, Namava. After five years of collaboration, during which they staged four plays and made three short films, they created their play « Siphon, » which was showcased at the International University of Iran’s Theatre Festival in 2003.
Amin took on the role of assistant director and acted in the play. During his time in Iran, he participated in the same festival multiple times and even directed a play, « The Tent-Love-Game. » A year after Amin’s arrival in Canada, Mehdi Goleij, one of the members of Namava (the president and artistic director), Nora Zarkandi (playwright and actress), and Amin (playwright and executive director of Namava) co-founded the Goussan theatre company in Montreal in 2016.
Since then, they have worked on seven performances and play readings. One of the company’s most significant achievements was collaborating with Iranian theatre artists and inviting them to Canada to showcase their performances in three major Canadian cities, Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.
In 2018, Amin was named one of the nine recipients of the démART-Mtl program and had the opportunity to work with the Geordie theatre company for six months, leading to the creation of « 9428, » his first play in English.
In 2019, « 9428 » won first place in the Toronto Fringe Festival’s new play contest, affording him the opportunity to present the play at the Toronto Fringe Festival in July 2022.