A Letter From the Artistic Director
9 Parts of Desire is a theatrical snapshot of the women who make up an age-old war zone, all of them performed by a single actress.  I want to share it with you because it’s politically surprising, emotionally engaging, heartfelt and lyrical and brutal and beautiful all at once. You and your friends will be talking about Heather’s performance for seasons to come.

Iraq Through the Eyes of its Women
Actor-playwright Heather Raffo introduces you to the family you didn't know you had
Pamela Renner's article and interview, from American Theatre Magazine, 2005

Heather Raffo's Journey into Iraq
History and politics played an important role in the creation of 9 Parts of Desire
"I think that young people are especially influenced by their first war," Raffo reflects. "If you came of age during Vietnam, that event helped shape you. My coming of age was the first Gulf War—although it wasn't very long in time frame and didn't seem to affect Americans that much, it affected me hugely."

Raffo featured in on-air interview for WBEZ's Hello Beautiful!
Listen to an in-depth discussion about Heather's journey on stage, trips to Iraq and the meaning behind her sensual title.


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Heather Raffo (writer and performer) is the recipient of numerous awards for 9 Parts of Desire including a Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Special Commendation and the 2005 Lucille Lortel award for Best Solo show. Begun in Edinburgh, 9 Parts of Desire was hailed London’s West End and developed with New York’s Public Theatre. It premiered at the Manhattan Ensemble Theatre where the show ran for nine sold out months. The tour was seen in LA, Berkeley, Seattle, D.C. and in international productions. An accomplished actress, Raffo has been seen in numerous national tours and off-Broadway productions.

Heather received her BA from the University of Michigan, her MFA from the University of San Diego and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London.  Originally from Michigan, Heather divides her time between New York and Los Angeles.  Her father is from Iraq and her mother is American.


Joanna Settle (Director)  Ms. Settle is the original director of Heather Raffo’s 9 Parts of Desire and joins us in May for the play’s Chicago premiere. Most recently, Settle was in residency at the NY Public Theater to develop Shakespeare's Coriolanus with her company, Division 13 Productions. Other work with D13 in the last year includes the adapting/directing of Ionesco's final work Journeys Among The Dead in development at HERE Arts Center, and production of the Beckett shorts Act Without Words I, Rockaby, Breath and That Time (produced as BeckettSHORTS[4]) as a site-specific event in locations throughout Brooklyn' s Old American Can Factory. Past productions with D13 (in Chicago 1997-2001) include Macbett by Ionesco, The Balcony by Genet, "NIGHT, NIGHT" a short film by Will Eno, BLOOD LINE: The Oedipus/Antigone Story (two plays by Sophocles), and Bombs in the Ladies Room by Megan Rodgers.

New York credits include Penthesilea by Von Kleist, Cascando and Waiting for Godot by Beckett and The Dumb Waiter by Pinter at Classic Stage Company, The Trojan Women at Juilliard, and D13's workshop of The Genet Project (working title), an original work based on the early life and writings of Jean Genet. Settle completed her graduate study at The Juilliard School in the inaugural Andrew W. Mellon Directing Program, is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and is currently a third year resident artist at HERE Arts Center. In 2000-2002, she received the NEA/TCG Career Development Grant for Directors.

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Heather Raffo’s 9 Parts of Desire is performed at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E Chicago Ave, Chicago IL 60611. Learn more about directions and parking at the MCA.