My Heart is in the East

Raji Ahsan* (Man’s Voice/Man/Ishamel) is a New York-based actor; Selected theatre: Vigneshwar Paduar or “VP” in The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida. He received his BFA from NYU/Tisch in 2013 where he studied with Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, SNL, et al.), Bryce Pinkham (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), and many others.  Raji hosts a talk show, Making Brews and Paying Dues, found on YouTube; guests include Stacy London, Nick Onken, and others.  During the quiet moments, Raji teaches voice and speech work to anyone looking to know his or her sound more intimately.  All the love to Mom & Gram; gratitude to Danny; for my mentor John.  Proud Equity Member! ig/twitter: @rajiahsan

Jessica Litwak* (Playwright, Actor), Ph.D., is a playwright, actor, educator and activist. She is a Registered Drama Therapist, a trained practitioner of Playback, Psychodrama, Sociodrama and Theatre of the Oppressed. She is the Artistic Director of The H.E.A.T. Collective (www.heatcollective.org) and the New Generation Theatre Ensemble, (www.ngte.org) Litwak’s written work has been published by Applause Books, Smith and Krause, No Passport Press and The New York Times. She has taught theatre and performed at Many theatres and universities in the U.S. as well as in Iraq, Lebanon, India, Palestine, Israel, Turkey, Hungary, Eqypt, the U.K. and at La MaMa Umbria. Litwak is a core member of Theatre Without Borders and is a Fulbright Scholar.

Jen Wineman (Director) is a director/choreographer based in Brooklyn. Her work has been seen at theaters in New York and across the country. Off Broadway: F#%king Up Everything. New York: Fable (NYMF), The King’s Whore (Walkerspace); Estrella Cruz [The Junkyard Queen] (Ars Nova). Touring Productions: Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Asolo Repertory Theatre). Regional: The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Asolo Rep) Sweeney Todd (Playmakers Rep); The 39 Steps, Shipwrecked (Triad Stage); The Hunchback of Seville (Washington Ensemble Theatre); Bubble Boy (American Theater Group); Aloha Say the Pretty Girls (Theatre Vertigo). Jen is a co-founder and the former co-artistic director of Studio 42, a New York City-based company that from 2001-2015, produced “unproducible” plays by emerging playwrights. She has taught at Vassar College, Ithaca College, SUNY Purchase, and is on the faculty at Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts in New York City. Up next is Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville for the Dorset Theatre Festival. Education/Training: B.A. Vassar College, M.F.A. Yale School of Drama.

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