Squared Circle

Current projects:

• Cyanotype printing experiments based on azulejo tiles and other reflections of Andalusí/Hispano-Islamic culture throughout the Spanish speaking world.

Recent projects (resume/CV available upon request):

• Sound design for Magic Girl! … And Her Demons (original adaptation of Faust) at What If? Boston

• Internship with the Projection Design team of LUCHA TEOTL at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, IL (returning from projection design of the world premiere in Dallas)

• Projection design for Chaitali Rater Shapno (A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Bangla translation) and programming for other shows at the 18th Annual South Asian Theatre Festival in New Brunswick, NJ.

• Sound design/programming for the devised premiere of Blue Jelly and a new adaptation of Strindberg’s A Dream Play - both led by Thomas Riccio at UT Dallas.

His work blends art and technology, stretching across genres like classical theatre, chorale music and lucha libre wrestling, between conventional settings & experimental, immersive, and devised methodologies.

This process demands the use of diverse software resources, including QLab, MadMapper, Ableton Live, Pro Tools, After Effects, and Premiere Pro among others. It engages the full gamut of hardware relevant to video production & playback on projectors and LED screens, and audio production & playback in professional studios/venues and guerrilla set-ups. His work in gallery and public art installations combines this technology focus with traditional methods and unexpected, recycled, reclaimed, and found materials, with recent works focusing on laser engraving mirrors, sandwich bread, acrylic, and wood.

Safwan graduated in 2023 with a Bachelors of Arts in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communications, & a Minor in Theatre, from the University of Texas at Dallas. Aside from his foci in design and production, he developed a performance and media studies emphasis. Subjects included Indonesian and Turkish puppet theatre, the interactions between Sufi/Islamic mysticism and shamanism in Kazakhstan, & the maximalist nature of professional wrestling.

He also studied in the Summer 2022 Intensive Spanish Language and Culture program at the Centro de Lenguas Modernas at the Universidad de Granada, in Andaluçía, Spain. His focus within and without the classroom was Islamic culture in Spain, with emphasis on flamenco performance as a public practice descended from the oral histories and ritual practices of the marginalized, including Muslim, Jewish, and Romani people in Spain.