Nabra Nelson on Art, Community & Golden Thread’s 30-Year Legacy
Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel has been named a 2025 Rising Leader of Color in Journalism by Theatre Communications Group, publisher of American Theatre magazine, the organization announced July 17, 2025. Mikhaiel, a dramaturg, journalist, and oral historian based in Chicago, currently serves as City Bureau’s Digital Producer and teaches at The Theatre School at DePaul University.
Mikhaiel’s operate centers on amplifying and archiving stories often overlooked, with a particular focus on creating a more inclusive and sustainable theatre culture. She writes for publications including American Theatre, Teen Vogue, the Chicago Reader, and Sightlines. As a dramaturg, she specializes in queer family drama, theatre for young audiences, and devised theatre, having collaborated with institutions such as the Goodman Theatre and the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.
The recognition comes as Mikhaiel transitions into a new role at Golden Thread Productions, a theatre company dedicated to the work of writers from the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region. She described the opportunity as aligning with a long-held mission to work within grassroots organizations rooted in community. “I was like, I want to work more in those spaces,” Mikhaiel said, reflecting on her departure from regional theatre. “Golden Thread is such an institution. It’s the place I think we, as MENA theatremakers, appear to as a guiding light.”
Mikhaiel’s path to Golden Thread was informed by her experience growing up bilingual in both the United States and Cairo, a background she believes fostered a strong sense of cultural rooting. Playwright Nabra Nelson, a founding company member of Dunya Productions and Heard Space Arts Collective, noted the benefit of Mikhaiel’s upbringing, stating that Mikhaiel had “the opportunity to have that equal experience of two cultures” that many in the diaspora lack. Nelson and Mikhaiel discussed the importance of navigating multiple identities and the search for belonging, with Mikhaiel emphasizing the need to amplify stories that are “lost/stolen/forgotten.”
Golden Thread’s recent decision to dedicate its 2024 season to Palestine, a move Mikhaiel described as “brilliant and brave and necessary,” exemplifies the company’s commitment to addressing urgent global issues. Mikhaiel emphasized the responsibility of artistic leaders to utilize their platforms to effect culture change, stating, “We have such power to mobilize people…It’s exceptionally much a responsibility to decide where [the spotlight] gets shined.” She views artistic direction as a service position, reflecting the needs and desires of the community it serves.
Mikhaiel’s work extends to advocacy through her involvement with the MENA Theater Makers Alliance (MENATMA), an organization she connected with at the 2019 TCG Conference in Miami. She highlighted the importance of MENATMA’s work, including the development of a MENA Bill of Rights. Mikhaiel also underscored the need to dismantle elitism and rigid structures within arts institutions, advocating for a more flexible and responsive approach to artistic leadership.