Soheil was a co-founder of the Modern Times Stage Company formed in 1989. In 1994 his production of The Death of the King was nominated for five DORA Awards, which recognize outstanding theatre achievement in Toronto, and received the award for outstanding new play. As a director, set and stage designer, translator, adaptor, choreographer and actor, Soheil’s work is based on his experience in Iran and focuses on oppression and loss of freedom; especially loss speech. His art is innovative and original; created to empower those who are often marginalized and under-represented. He is a board member of The Theatre Centre, the Small Theatre Administrative Facility and a member of Theatre Ontario Cross Cultural Advisory Committee.
In the early 1980s, Soheil Parsa, an Iranian actor and director, was forced to leave Iran after being expelled from university and forbidden to work because he would not support the existing regime. After spending a year in the United Arab Emirates, and nine months in India, Soheil and his wife came to Canada. He attended York University’s Theatre Studies program in 1984 and worked his way through school delivering newspapers and pizza.
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