The MENA Show at NYU Production Lab

Vaheed Ali Talebian (he/they) is a queer Persian-American composer and performer, and started writing for theatre at the University of Virginia from which he received his B.A. in Arts Administration and Economics. He then received his M.F.A. at the NYU Tisch Graduate Music Theatre Writing Program (Max Dreyfus Award). He has since written scores for films produced at the Virginia Film Festival and is officially now both an off-Broadway actor and writer. Broadway credits coming soon 🤞🧿 Vaheed’s current projects include his original full length comedy DINO NUGGETS ARE GAY (play; playwright; staged reading produced by Ice Berg Productions and Kitchen Sink Productions), MIDDLE EASTERN IN THE MIDWEST (musical; composer; workshopped at NYU and Goodspeed Opera House; 2024 NMTC Semi-Finalist; 2024 AMTP Semi-Finalist), ANOTHER COUSIN’S WEDDING (musical, composer, produced at the Tank’s 2024 International Human Rights Art Festival), ‘TIL NEXT TIME (play, playwright, produced by The Village Playwrights), BLOOD IS THICKER (musical; co-writer, produced at The University of Virginia; Makers Ensemble Intimate Artist Night); PLANT SAFFRON HERE (musical, librettist and composer, excerpts performed at Flushing Town Hall Fundraiser), , LA RESISTENZA (musical, composer, produced in South Korea in 2022), FRANK ‘N ME (musical, composer, produced at the New York Public Library), PLAYING THE GAME (film, composer, performed at the 2022 Virginia Film Festival). On the stage, Vaheed made his Off-Broadway acting debut in THE MONSTERS OF THE VILLA DIODATI as John Polidori with Emergent TheatreWorks and has three other off-Broadway actor credits as well.

Faiza Alex Manaa is a New York City-based librettist and composer-lyricist born in Alexandria, Egypt and raised in Lakewood, Ohio. Having grown up with little-to-no positive representation of her identities in the media, she became committed to representing people like her and other marginalized voices in spaces they were underrepresented. She is passionate about accessibility in the arts, and amplifying stories that aren’t traditionally told. She hopes to be able to shine a spotlight on Arab culture, stories empowering women, socioeconomic diversity, and intersectionality across the board. Her chamber opera, THE CURSE OF THE MAGI (commissioned by the Washington National Opera) is set to premiere in 2026. Other current projects include THE MENA SHOW (musical; book/lyrics/co-music; workshopped at NYU and Goodspeed Opera House; 2024 NMTC Semi-Finalist; 2024 AMTP Semi-Finalist), LAYLA & MAGNUN (musical; book/lyrics/co-music; workshopped at NYU and Goodspeed Opera House); WINDY (chamber opera; libretto; 2024 production with American Opera Project, NYU Opera Lab, and The Hudson Guild), ANOTHER COUSIN'S WEDDING (musical; book/lyrics; 2024 IHRAF Festival), and ILLEST DANCE (musical; book/lyrics/co-music; 2021 NAMT semi-finalist; 2022 AMTP workshop). Her works have been performed at 54 Below, Joe's Pub, Davenport's Piano Bar, and more. She received her B.A. in Theatre from Northwestern University (concentrations in Playwriting and Music Theatre Writing), and her M.F.A. in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU Tisch GMTWP.

GEORGE ABUD is an award-winning actor, director, and playwright. As playwright, his new politically-charged adaptation of 3Penny Opera premiered Off-Broadway this past winter starring Katrina Lenk, Barbara Walsh, and Mary Testa; and his first play The Ruins received its world premiere at the prestigious Guthrie Theater last fall. As director— Fanny: a Fantasy in G (Gural Theatre at ART/NY); 3Penny Opera (Theatre at St. Jean’s); Jake Landau’s The Coin Toss (TheatreNow Festival at Lincoln Center); Vaughan Williams’ Riders to the Sea (Off-Brand Opera, Brooklyn Art Haus); James Abud is Alive and Güd and Living in Detroit (El Barrio’s Artspace PS109). As actor— Film: Caught Stealing starring Austin Butler & Bad Bunny (dir. Darren Aronofsky). Broadway: Marinetti in Lempicka directed by Rachel Chavkin (OBC Recording); The Band’s Visit starring Katrina Lenk & Tony Shalhoub (Daytime Emmy Award, OBC Recording); The Visit starring Chita Rivera & Roger Rees (OBC Recording). Off-Broadway: Macheath in 3Penny Opera (Theatre at St. Jean’s); A Christmas Carol opposite Michael Cerveris (PAC NYC); The Beautiful Lady directed by Anne Bogart (La MaMa); Nerd Face in Emojiland (Drama Desk nom., Duke on 42nd); The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui opposite Raúl Esparza, Nathan The Wise opposite F. Murray Abraham, Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Allegro directed by John Doyle (Classic Stage Company); Cornelia Street opposite Norbert Leo Butz, The Band’s Visit directed by David Cromer (Atlantic Theater Company); Lolita, My Love opposite Robert Sella (York Theatre Company). Regional: The Ruins directed by Osh Ashruf (Guthrie Theater); Richard Nixon in The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical directed by Christopher Ashley (Signature DC, Helen Hayes nom./La Jolla Playhouse, Craig Noel Award for Outstanding Featured Performance); Frank Russell in Queen of the Mist opposite Mary Testa (PEAK Performances); Anything Goes directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge (The MUNY); Marinetti in Lempicka (La Jolla Playhouse, Craig Noel nom.); Lewis Chapman in August Rush directed by John Doyle (Paramount Theatre); Charlie Davenport in Annie Get Your Gun directed by Sarna Lapine (Bay Street Theater); Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Geva Theatre Center).

Kat Cartusciello is a queer NYC-based composer, sound-designer, and multi-instrumentalist. She is Jason Robert Brown’s music assistant, and has worked with him since 2023 on numerous projects, including "The Connector," "Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil," "Less," and "The Last Five Years." She is a member of the TheatreNOW writing lab, Maestra, and Ring of Keys, and has three musicals in development: Nima and the Jen (book & lyrics by Thalia Ranjbar,); Hard Tack (book & lyrics by Jessie Field); and Then She Ran (book & lyrics by Alex Becker). With Jessie Field, Kat also wrote a 30-minute opera for American Opera Project, Styx & Stones, which was inspired by Patricia Cronin's "Memorial to a Marriage."