My one-act plays:
Roadblock
A mother's jealousy for her daughter, on several levels, and the possible ignominy of the partial rebelliousness of a married woman in a developing country, get in the way of her ambitions....and perhaps her liberation.
Their Rules of Friendship
Is an exploration of the depths of male friendship, in a world where talking about it is stigmatized by most straight men. Two Indian college students find each other on different pages about the level of commitment in their relationship as friends: always stressful to the one more committed.
Ode to Struggling Artists
For those early to rise and late to slumber,
For sake of art, thus weight encumber,
There's certain joy in resting less
Than quart'r-score hour for many a night,
To wake to such work as they profess.
Ask them who dread the morning's light,
Who grumble as they step abed
To begin a day with regret, instead,
And they shall vouchsafe that for you,
Count you 'mong the lucky few.
So though your brush may stroke amiss,
By want of sleep or restful bliss,
Push along and roar like thunder:
"Working longer in no blunder!"
-Ajinkya S. Desai
The Doctor (Ph.D.) in Spite of Himself, MFA Thesis
May 2017
Confronted with choosing between a potentially world-saving and financially rewarding job as an environmental engineer on one hand, and auditioning for his favorite Shakespeare clown character, on the other, a Muslim doctoral student in 2020 U.S. debates with himself, his graduate advisor and his parents, only to realize that his choices are very limited, despite the zeal to chase his dreams.
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Love's Labour's Lost,
Understudying the 3-Ds
August 2016
Understudying Don Armado, Dull and Dumaine, in this beautiful show directed by Kathleen Marshall, was one of the most challenging tasks I had the fortune of being entrusted with in the summer of 2016. It gave me the perfect opportunity to pick up a new accent and play with some of my favorite characters in the canon!
Richard II,
Understudying Patrick Kerr
June 2017
When the Duke of York's brother, John of Gaunt dies without seeing his banished son and the King confiscates his revenues, York's passionate outburst is executed beautifully by Patrick Kerr. I have been grateful to be given the opportunity to explore an emotional connection with York as his understudy.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Debut in a Shakespeare play
October 2014
As my debut as an actor in the U.S. and in the first Shakespeare production of my career, I am extremely excited to be playing two polar opposite characters. I play Egeus, the high-brow, conservative father of Hermia, and Snout, a rustic, rude mechanical excited to play... the Wall, in this on-site production of a brilliant comedy.