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PLAYWRIGHT | BOOK CRITIC | THEATRE CRITIC

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Playwright Statement

Although I've written regularly in my personal journals for over a decade, I always considered my writing to be very private and personal, rarely (if ever) sharing it with others. After receiving great encouragement from my friends in the New York theatre community, I have begun to write plays and was overwhelmed with the positive response. I feel like theater is that rare medium where writers are encouraged to explore the spectrum of the human condition, something I try to do with each of my plays. To date, all of my plays have been produced by professional theatre companies, a few have even been turned into films! It's inspired me to share autobiographical work in other formats including public speeches and spoken word performances. 

Selected Works:

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Random Moments of Beauty

A Short Play Reading Produced by Vertigo Theater Company in June 2013

Directed by Padraic Lillis, starring Alexandra Renzo and Peter Collier

Lila finds herself in an unknown place, reunited with Tristan, a shy boy who once walked her home in high school. She's changed considerably in the decade since they've last seen each other, but Tristan's world has tragically remained the same. This play was written in reaction to the fatal attacks during the 2013 Boston Marathon and is also based off of another true story of senseless violence.

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Birthday

A Short Play and Film Produced by Devon Carraway and Cristina Lippolis in July 2015

Directed by Devon Carraway, starring Cristina Lippolis and James O'Brien

Every year on the same night, on the same subway platform, the universe allows time to stop and Will reunites with Anne. It's always bittersweet.

 

A Midsummer Night’s Swing

A Short Play Reading Produced by the Shelter Theatre Company in December 2015

Directed by Michael Kingsbaker, starring Pooya Mosheni and Michael Bernstein

Owen meets Vee, a beautiful woman he met on Tinder, at the 'Midsummer Night's Swing' masquerade ball in New York City. Unbeknownst to Owen, this is not the first time that they have met. In fact, Vee has been waiting to reveal herself to Owen for years. Based on The Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

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How to Survive a Flood

A Full Length Play Reading Produced by the Farm Theatre Company in August 2016

Directed by Padraic Lillis, starring Krys Seli, Claro Reyes, Leanne Cabrera, Joyce Lao , Jasper Newell, Eric Kuehnemann, Molly Collier, and Analisa Velez

A catastrophic hurricaine decimates the Filipino city of Tacloban. Mary, an ex-pat, gives up everything to travel back and find out if her family has survived. Meanwhile, a boy sits on a floating refrigerator in the sea, writing a survival guide and calling out to his sister. Based on true events.

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Sanctuary

A Short Play Produced by The Future is Female Theatre Festival in March 2017

Directed by Anna Strasser, starring Leanne Cabrera and Orissa Henderson-Amare

Malaya is excited to finalize her citizenship and eagerly recites the naturalization vow, until she gets to the line that states she must renounce everything that she loves.

 

Other Writings & Speeches:

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  • Stories are the Only True Human Currency

    • I had the honor of giving a speech about the importance of human stories and connectivity, in hopes to raise funds for international and domestic microloans for Kiva.org. This speech was given alongside President Bill Clinton in December 2015.

  • Operation Nemesis

    • I had the great privilege of assisting actor/writer Eric Bogosian ​as a bibliography assistant for his nonfiction book about a secret group of Armenian assassins following the Armenian Genocide

  • Finding the Firebird: Hosting Misty Copeland

    • I wrote a post about my work receiving the world famous ballerina and icon Misty Copeland into my school as a guest author

  • Sanctuary

    • Following the Anti-Semitic vandalism upon the doors of the 4th Universalist​ Society (Unitarian Universalist Church), I gave a sermonette about my experience as an immigrant in this community

  • In Honor of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

    • Inspired by the quote, "If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward," several artists and I performed at an event created by Kareem Lucas in celebration of Dr. King on the anniversary of his birthday.

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