deviser. director. actor. producer. dancer. choreographer.

Sustaining the Oasis: Envisioning the Future of Water Security in the Gulf

co-facilitator, performer, and panelist

Directed a devised performance about water by a cohort of students from Georgetown’s DC and Doha campuses that was performed at the end of the 2-day conference.

Performed a story inspired by and containing excerpts from “Don’t You See the Water?” by Fidaa Ataya, where I weaved my own words with her’s.

Panelist on Accelerating Environmental Action (link to 1 hour panel).

Professor Derek Goldman (SFS, Performing Arts) and Ashanee Kottage, a Fellow with The Earth Commons and The Laboratory for Global Performance & Politics (which Prof. Goldman directs), will guide students through a fun, inclusive process of using storytelling and performance to explore the multi-faceted role water plays in our own lives.  No previous performance experience is expected or at all necessary, just a willingness to collaborate.. Our process will be based in The Lab’s work on environmental and climate storytelling as exemplified by  We Hear You–A Climate Archive and by the process called In Your Shoes that Goldman and The Lab have developed around the world over more than a decade. In Your Shoes is an approach developed to foster dialogue and empathy among diverse communities, to build community and mutual respect, and to amplify personal perspectives using methods of deep listening, call and response, and the sharing of stories.

We Hear You–A Climate Archive

storyteller, performer, facilitator, creative team

We Hear You—A Climate Archive is a global performance project exploring youth perspectives on the climate emergency. Inspired by Greta Thunberg’s urgent question “Can you hear me?,” We Hear You—A Climate Archive seeks to amplify—and to record for future generations—the ways that young people today are experiencing changes in the fundamental forces of the earth. Between March 2022 and June 2023, the project commissioned 77 young people from around the world to tell stories about what it’s like to be alive in this pivotal moment. Storytellers met digitally, in small groups, for a series of Story Sessions. Project storytellers are artists, students, activists, organizers, gardeners, water protectors, farmers, wisdom-keepers, fisherfolk, faith leaders, animal lovers, and peacemakers. Working in locations around the globe, we represent a diverse set of ecosystems (or biomes), with special emphasis on most affected people and areas (MAPA). In addition to a digital archive , We Hear You—A Climate Archive continues to amplify these stories digitally and through an international series of live performances, including a world-premiere production at Dramaten (Sweden’s Royal Dramatic Theatre) in April 2024. The project also features curricular engagement with students in Washington, DC, Stockholm, and beyond.

Ferry Tales

assistant director and writing team | April 2023

Ferry Tales is a series of site-specific performances celebrating the Potomac watershed. Storytellers will share short tales with passengers and passers-by. Woven from community interviews, science, local history and legend, these performances honor the depths of DC’s waters and the many forms of life that call them home. Stories include tales about the eastern lampmussel and the large mouth bass, the recovering shad population, and origin stories of the Potomac itself. Come listen to the river!

duty free as a way of coping

actor | April 2022

Donn B Murphy One Acts Festival produced by Mask & Bauble Dramatic Society. Duty Free written by Anjali Britto, is a 15-minute one woman show that centers around Shop Girl’s life over the last couple months as she has presumably been stuck at the airport, in a state of mystical limbo she begins to work at the Duty Free. Learn More

MELPOMENE by Another Name

director | February 2023

Melpomene, by Another Name…by Nick Giotis, follows Eleanor Wright, a woman suffering from chronic Rheumatoid Arthritis and a recent fall, as she attempts to maintain agency of her life despite it spiraling out of control. Struggling to reconcile her daughter’s concern with her own unrelenting desire for independence, Eleanor finds herself at Mayfair Gardens Senior Care, where she’s soon invited to a clandestine gambling ring in the facility’s cellar. The racket: poker, the stakes: a week’s supply of jello; the only people standing in Eleanor’s way: only a pantheon of the savviest, shrewdest, smartest, sagest, most strategic senior citizens Mayfair Gardens has to offer.

Dear Elizabeth

producer | April 2021

Dear Elizabeth by Sarah Ruhl is a thoughtful and moving play on long-distance friendship based on one of the greatest correspondences in literary history. From 1947 to 1977, Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop exchanged more than four hundred letters that reveal the motions of their friendship and narrate two raw and modest stories of personal growth. Ranging from anecdotes about travel, daily routines, and the pyrotechnics of their romantic relationships, these letters offer an intimate look into the curious lives of two prominent American literary figures and ultimately, warmly share the profound affection they had for one another. Program and Producer’s Note

Hello Again

dance and intimacy choreographer | April 2019

Hello Again by Michael John LaChiusa based on the 1897 play La Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler. It focuses on a series of love affairs among ten characters in daisy chain style during the ten different decades of the 20th century. Trained the cast with dance routines in the styles of Swing, Tango, Jive, Disco, Contemporary, and Strip Tease. Researched unique stylistic features of dance relevant to each decade and adapted routines accordingly for historical accuracy. Collaborated with the Director and cast to incorporate aspects of gender politics and intimacy into dance. Conducted workshops and curated a guideline on intimacy in performance to ensure actors’ comfort. Choreographed a range of intimate scenes including non-heterosexual scenes, oral sex, coerced interactions, etc

Rangila

dancer and choreographer

Georgetown’s South Asian philanthropical dance showcase 

Created the first ever Sri Lankan-themed dance, Lankan Lamai, for Rangila’s 25th anniversary 

Combined Hip Hop, Bharatanatyam, and Kandyan dancing to choreograph a cohesive routine for 40 dancers of a variety of dance experiences. Produced a song mix including English, Sinhalese, and Tamil songs to represent the diverse musical and dance styles of Sri Lanka subsequently marrying American and Sri Lankan performative cultures. Carried out cultural and philanthropical workshops to raise awareness about Anwesha an organization that provides a performative outlet for people with disabilities. Organized regular social and cultural events for dancers that were rooted in Sri Lankan culture and values of safe and dry bonding.

2019 Rangila 2022