Cast and Creative Team Announced for ABCD (AMERICAN BORN CONFUSED DESI) at Greenway Arts Alliance

Greenway Arts Alliance (Whitney Weston and Pierson Blaetz, Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors) will kick off its 2023-2024 Season at the multi-award-winning theatre company Greenway Court Theatrewith the first staging of ABCD (American Born Confused Desi), a co-production with Greenway Arts Alliance's company in residence KriyaShakti Performing Arts. Written by Lily Abha Cratsley and directed by J. Mehr Kaur, performances will run from November 11 to November 19, 2023 with the official press opening on Saturday, November 11 at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Tickets are now on sale at the link below.

ABCD offers an untold narrative in the canon of South Asian-American theater: What does it mean to be an "American Born Confused Desi"? In ABCD, three generations of Indian women reunite to attend Tara's Arangetram (the debut solo performance for students of the Indian classical dance style Bharatanatyam). While preparing a celebratory dinner in her absence, Tara's sister, mother, and grandmother clash and comfort one another. Willow, Tara's younger sister and bold academic, is eager to learn all that her Nani can teach her about her culture. Aditi, a freshly divorced mom, finds herself stuck between an overbearing mother and a critical daughter in her new home. Nani, the family's matriarch, must face Jersey City once again after having moved back to India. What will happen when loss, love, and longing are shared across the dinner table?

The cast for ABCD (American Born Confused Desi) includes Nikita Chaudhry as Willow, Sonal Shah as Aditi, and Suni M! as Nani.

In addition to playwright and executive producer Lily Abha Cratsley and director J. Mehr Kaur, the creative team for the co-production of ABCD (American Born Confused Desi) includes producer Shivani Thakkar, who is also the choreographer and the understudy for Aditi; dramaturgy by Arnab Banerji; scenic design and props by Jane Hamor; light design by Hayden Kirschbaum; sound design by Nick Diaz; stage management by Kai Morfín; assistant stage management by Simran Fulton; costume consulting by Jagdeep Raina; technicians Max Tel and Michael Jacob; and multimedia by Karan Balaji.

ABCD (American Born Confused Desi) will play at Greenway Court Theatre (544 N Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles). Performances for the two-weekend limited engagement run November 11 - 19, 2023, with the official press opening Saturday, November 11at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. ABCD (American Born Confused Desi) is a one-act play with no intermission. The performance schedule is as follows:

Saturday, November 11 at 3:00 p.m. - Opening Matinee

Saturday, November 11 at 7:00 p.m. - Opening Night with Post-Show discussion

Sunday, November 12 at 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 18 at 3:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m - with Post-Show discussion

Sunday, November 19 at 7:00 p.m. - Final Performance with Post-Show discussion

ABCD (American Born Confused Desi) features post-show discussions for the following performances: Saturday, November 11 hosted by Parvesh Cheena; Saturday, November 18 hosted by Arasha Lalani; and Sunday, November 19 hosted by Will Power.

On Saturday, November 11 there will be a free Diwali Mela block party, organized by event planner Melissa Lee, held at the Greenway Court Theatre from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. after the 3:00 p.m. performance.

Other events:

Rickshaw x ABCD Short Film Screening + Chai Stand will take place on Sunday, November 18. The event will begin with a curated hour-long screening of short films from South Asian filmmakers. Following the screening, guests will be invited to our chai stand where they can connect with fellow artists and enjoy a fresh cup of chai (on the house). An RSVP link for the film screening will be sent to those who book the matinee or evening performances on Sunday, November 18. Space is limited.

Tickets for Greenway Arts Alliance's 2023-2024 Season Premiere, ABCD (American Born Confused Desi), start at $25 and are available at the link below.

Biographies:

Greenway Arts Alliance (GAA) was Co-Founded in 1997 by artists-activists Whitney Weston and Pierson Blaetz, both of whom serve as Co-Artistic Directors for the organization. The organization is a community-based nonprofit, whose mission is to unite communities through its art (Greenway Court Theatre), education (Greenway Institute for the Arts) and enterprise (Melrose Trading Post) programs. GAA is based on the campus of Fairfax High School. Greenway Institute for the Arts (GIA) fosters education through creativity by offering both in-school and after-school multidisciplinary arts programs. Classes and workshops are offered at no cost to Fairfax High School students. Presented with opportunities to engage with professional artists, young people can discover their individual voices and passions. Through Greenway's unique partnership with Fairfax High, students are exposed to a myriad of opportunities for creative collaboration through Greenway Court Theatre and at the Melrose Trading Post.

Greenway Court Theatre was initially built by Fairfax High School students in 1939 as a class project and used as a Social Hall by both students and faculty. It sat virtually unused for many years until it was finally renovated into a professional 99-seat theatre by Greenway Arts Alliance in 2000, to benefit both the school and the surrounding community. Greenway Court Theatre has a rich history of presenting and producing diverse bodies of work. Greenway has opened its door to many main-stage productions, weekly open mic poetry, festivals and world premieres that have moved to larger venues and toured across the country. Mohammed Ali Ojarigi serves as Producing Director of the Greenway Court Theatre.

KriyaShakti Performing Arts is dedicated to the creation and presentation of Theater and Dance work representing and reflecting the female South Asian perspective. Founded by Artistic Director Shivani Thakkar, KriyaShakti's drive is to amplify the South Asian female voice through supporting the creative expression of SA artists, selecting material that shares the stories of our diaspora, and presenting performances that employ traditional and contemporary SA artistic forms. Expansive in its range of artistic expression, KriyaShakti Performing Arts presents works of Theater, Dance, Dance-Theater, and multi-media. For more information on KriyaShakti please visit www.kriyashakti.org.

Lily Abha Cratsley (she/her) is a playwright and performer who dives into dissonance. Her creative work centers liminal spaces like the tumultuous water between America and India where she locates her identity. Her newest works include ABCD, a full-length play about intergenerational trauma in Desi-American communities, and The Fairy Who Cried Gems, her solo-show centering young Desi women. The former was a featured finalist in two competitive festivals: the Occidental College New Works Festival and the Garry Marshall Theatre New Works Festival. Lily attended Georgetown University and Occidental College, where she completed an Independent Pattern of Study in Performing Arts & Social Justice. In addition to her writing, she is an accomplished actor and vocalist, performing in countless stage plays, musicals, concerts, and choirs across the country.

J. Mehr Kaur (she/her) is a director & producer for theatre, film & new media. Mehr is drawn to tell stories that mythicize the lives of ordinary people and highlight the transformative nature of human beings. Her devised adaptation "Kultar's Mime" addresses the power of art in the wake of injustice during the 1984 Anti-Sikh pogrom and has been seen internationally including Mumbai's National Performing Arts Center, the British and Scottish Houses of Parliament, and the World's Parliament of Religions. In New York and LA she's worked at La Mama Experimental Theatre Club, Ars Nova, MTC, Juilliard, The O'Neill, Astoria Performing Arts Center, the Hudson Guild Theatre and in various Brooklyn basements. Recently, she directed the LA premiere of An Intervention by Mike Bartlett, which won the Hollywood Encore Producer's award at the 2022 Hollywood Fringe Festival and the short film I'm Dead Right? starring Sakina Jaffrey. Mehr is a past Colt Coeur Resident Artist, Williamstown Theatre Festival Directing Corps member, Manhattan Theatre Club Directing Fellow, and a recipient of a Fulbright-Nehru Directing Grant. She works in content at Netflix. MFA: Peter Stark Producing Program, USC School of Cinematic Arts; BA: Smith College.

Shivani Thakkar (she/her) is a multi-hyphenate artist with international credits as an Actor, Choreographer, Dancer, Producer, Director and Educator. The artistic director of KriyaShakti Performing Arts (www.kriyashakit.org) and MKM Bollystars Dance Company (www.mkmbollystars.com), Shivani Thakkar has produced, choreographed, and directed multiple stage length shows, touring productions, and film/TV projects. Credits include the Hollywood Bowl, Skirball Center, the Smithsonian, various dance festival (Canada, USA, India), Disney's Step Up 3D, Four Samosas (HBO/Tribeca Film Festival), Big Time Rush (Nickelodeon), She has served on various arts juries including Canada Council for the Arts, Los Angeles Arts Commission.

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