corporate sponsorship packet - hypokritnyc.org · at new york indian film festival ... bollywood is...
TRANSCRIPT
http://www.hypokritnyc.org
(347) 352-3428
ABOUT THE COMPANY
MISSION
Hypokrit (n.): Actor (Ancient Greek)
Hypokrit Theatre Company’s mission is to encourage artistic inquiry and break down the artifice in a work
to reach its emotional core. Interested in positing the question of what makes a story universal, we are
dedicated to adapting classics, both time-tested and brand new. Our mission is expressed through the choice
of setting and time period. Through the collision of different worlds and aesthetics, Hypokrit challenges
notions of universality in a multicultural world.
WHO WE ARE
Hypokrit Theatre Company strives to further its mission by providing artists from minority communities a
platform to showcase their talents while assisting them in marketing their work. We work towards shaping
and molding the artists of tomorrow by encouraging original and groundbreaking voices that bring an
innovative approach to the arts.
OUR AESTHETIC
Hypokrit Theatre Company’s mission is to embody in its work, the rich cultural complexity of the world we
live in. Whether it be redefining Western classics using a contemporary, multicultural sensibility or re-
imagining classics from around the world for the Western audience, Hypokrit Theatre Company’s work is
culturally specific, but ultimately about the universality of the human experience.
http://www.hypokritnyc.org
(347) 352-3428
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Arpita Mukherjee (Co-Founding Artistic Director)
Arpita is an writer, director, producer and choreographer with
over a decade of experience in professional theatre. After
working for Washington Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare
Theatre Company, Arpita Mukherjee founded her own theatre
company. She has written, produced, and directed several
productions, most notable of which are Love Times Seven: A
Bollywood Musical, My First Time (only directed), Moving
Forward, and I AM SAAM. Her work was featured in the South
Asian Theatre and Arts Festival at the Smithsonian. A classically
trained dancer, Arpita has also choreographed for musicals. She
studied Non-Fiction Writing at Columbia University.
Shubhra Prakash (Co-Founding Artistic Director)
Writer, Director and Performer has lived in Kolkata, New Delhi,
San Francisco Bay Area and now resides in New York City.
Shubhra recently wrote, directed and produced a play “For Our
Own” at the Planet Connections Theatre Festival 2014 for which
she received the Activist Award for getting a great deal of
involvement from the South Asian Marrow Association of
Recruiters. As an actor, Shubhra was last seen in The Tempest
Ladies, Taming of the Shrew. Her short film, Three Dates – a
short film, which she wrote, directed and produced, was screened
at New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) 13′ and WILLiFEST
13′.
http://www.hypokritnyc.org
(347) 352-3428
STAFF
Angie Hansen (Marketing and Fundraising Co-Manager)
Angie Hansen is thrilled to be part of Hypokrit Theatre
Company! Angie has been working in professional theatre for
over 20 years as an actor, director, producer, casting director,
development director, and designer. She has won awards for her
work in regional theatre with The Hampstead Theatre in Jeffrey
Hatcher’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Rajiv Joseph’s Animals
out of Paper for best actor. She received nominations for best
director, sound design, and lighting design and was a finalist for
best set design for Animals of out Paper. Her current projects
include: producing Los Angeles playwright, Michael Phillips’,
new play, Goodbye Marilyn, premiering in LA, Chicago, and
NYC, directing Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps at NCCA
Jean’s Playhouse, and playing Christmas Past in the national
tour of A Christmas Carol. She has traveled all over the U.S.
and Europe performing and now calls NYC home.
Clare Murphy (Marketing and Fundraising Co-Manager)
Clare is an actor, writer, producer and Seamless.com connoisseur
living out of Brooklyn, New York. A recent graduate from
NYU’s Atlantic Acting program, she is a proud founding
member of The Joust Theatre Company, and is currently their
Literary Manager alongside her work with Hypokrit. An avid
reader of great plays and Facebook posts alike, Clare loves
discovering new art and sitting on the sofa with her cat, Mishka.
Preferably at the same time.
http://www.hypokritnyc.org
(347) 352-3428
Mann Singh Tinna (Marketing and Producing Intern)
Maan Singh Tinna is an aspiring theatre producer, born and
raised in Queens, New York. Like most, his experience in theater
began in an academic setting. Between Stuyvesant High School
and Dartmouth College, he has been credited as an actor,
director, choreographer, producer and designer. At Dartmouth
College, he studied a multidisciplinary curriculum including
Theater, Economics, Computer Science and Chinese Language.
After completing internships with New York Theatre Workshop,
Red Rising Marketing, New York Stage and Film and Warner
Bros. Casting, Maan is excited to be a part of the Hypokrit team
to further his commitment to Theatre Decolonization and South
Asian Theatre.
Priya Iyer (Producing Consultant)
Priya is very excited to be a part of Hypokrit Theatre Company!
She currently works in producing, marketing and sales with
Dodger Properties, the producing company of Matilda The
Musical and Jersey Boys. She is also stage manager with
Essential Theatre Group and Mind The Art Entertainment, and
an instructor-in-training with Doonya, a Bollywood workout.
Priya has had experience in many other aspects of theatre
throughout the years, including musical theatre performance and
general/company management. She studied theatre and dance at
Ithaca College and has lived in New York City for two years.
Ragini Jain (Outreach Director)
Ragini Jain is a South Asian actress, dancer and model based in
NYC. She works at the Baruch Performing Arts Center as a
Client Services Assistant and is on the NetIP NY Board 2014 as
the Chair for Cultural Events. Ragini can recently be seen in
Biba Singh’s Punjabi music video, Akhian, coming soon to Saari
Saari Raath also with DJ Shadow and Stero Nation and the web
series Addicted – The Series by writer/director Kabir Chopra
along with American and Indian commercials, TV shows, films
and theatre productions.
After getting her two Associates in Acting – Performing Arts and
Liberal Arts and Sciences from SUNY Rockland where she
created, produced and directed a show. She then went to Baruch
College in NYC to continue her education and received her BA
in Arts Administration.
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(347) 352-3428
ROMEO & JULIET
Hypokrit Theatre Company’s inaugural production is Romeo & Juliet directed by Arpita Mukherjee,
scheduled to open in the spring of 2015 (February) at the Access Theatre. This timeless classic will be
brought to life with a Bollywood aesthetic.
THE BOLLYWOOD AESTHETIC
Bollywood is a term commonly used to refer to the Hindi film industry located in the city of Mumbai.
Reaching over two billion people around the world, Bollywood is one of the world’s largest film industries.
Characterized by high drama, a variety of intersecting themes, and song and dance sequences, Bollywood
films continue to generate interest and excitement around the world. Yet, very little is known about the
aesthetic that continues to shape the cultural language of the world’s largest democracy. With roots in
classical drama of the South Asian subcontinent, influences from folk song and dance, as well as
globalization, the Bollywood aesthetic conveys universal themes through an eclectic mix of styles.
ARTISTS
Romeo & Juliet brings together a group of diverse artists to explore the classic through a Bollywood lens.
Our artists, that come from a variety of backgrounds are engaged in a multicultural dialogue, working
together to create a unique re-telling of the world’s greatest love story.
CINEMATIC TRAILER
The cinematic trailer for Hypokrit’s Romeo & Juliet can be viewed here:
http://youtu.be/qpArfIrJvqc
http://www.hypokritnyc.org
(347) 352-3428
MAIN CAST
DeAndre’ Baker as Lord Capulet
DeAndre' M. Baker is ecstatic to be making his New York debut with
Hypokrit Theatre Company. Recent/favorite credits include Macbeth
(The Santa Clarita Shakespeare Festival), Much Ado About Nothing
(The American Musical and Dramatic Academy) and The People’s
Republic (The DC Black Theatre Festival). DeAndre' holds a Bachelor
of Fine Arts in Acting from The American Musical and Dramatic
Academy, Los Angeles and has also trained with The Shakespeare
Theatre Company, Washington D.C. and Studio Theatre Acting
Conservatory, Washington D.C. DeAndre' aspires to help other inner
city youth, like himself, find positive outlets and define their
individuality through the arts.
Kabir Chopra as Paris
Kabir Chopra is an actor and filmmaker based in New York. He has
appeared in numerous movies and TV shows such as The Reluctant
Fundamentalist, Royal Pains and Madam Secretary, and will be starring
in the upcoming feature film Mirage. He has also written and directed
several short romantic comedies that have screened at film festivals
across New York. He recently published his first book POKE ME!, a
no-nonsense Guide to Online Dating & Offline Loving which is now
available on Amazon. Kabir is inspired by dating culture and love
stories, and believes that exploring the never ending search for love is
the key to creating great art.
Morgan DeTogne as Juliet
Morgan DeTogne’s first production was at age 5 in Arlington Heights,
IL where she played an orphan in a production of Annie. She went on to
receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from Illinois
Wesleyan University and has since then studied in New York City with
The Barrow Group and with Anthony Abeson. Her favorite roles
include Julie Zeller in Liliom (Celebration of Whimsy Theatre), Audrey
in Little Shop of Horrors (Milburn Stone Theatre) and her most recent
role as Bernadette in a premiere production of Little Wars at Roy Arias
Theatre. Morgan is thankful every day that she gets to create and tell
stories with such inspiring friends and performers.
http://www.hypokritnyc.org
(347) 352-3428
Aizzah Fatima as Nurse
Aizzah Fatima’s solo play Dirty Paki Lingerie has been produced at
The Flea Theater (NYC), Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Scotland),
Harbourfront Centre (Toronto), Pakistan and Turkmenistan. Her play
Google, It’s Complicated! had a workshop at Pan Asian Rep. Her select
acting theatre credits include Half Hearted (Cherry Lane Theater),
Circumcaedere (LABrynth Ensemble), Play by Play: Rendezvous
(Stageworks Hudson), and The Vagina Monologues (Abingdon Theatre,
NYC). Her TV credits include The Good Wife (CBS), Patrice O’Neal’s
Guide to White People (Comedy Central), Food Detectives with Ted
Allen (Food Network), Mata-e-jaan (HUM TV) and Cinematherapy
with comedian Chuck Nice (WEtv). She is a graduate of The American
Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Deaon Griffin-Pressley as Tybalt
Deaon Griffin-Pressley is an actor and a playwright who has studied at
British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England (BADA). His
playwrighting credits include Valentines Night (Manhattan Repertory
Theatre), Satan VS God (Venus/Adonis Theater Festival 2014) and The
Tragedy At HOOD:14542 and Hoodsical (Fringe Festival NYC 2014)
in which he featured as Yellow Man. His other acting works include
Paul Henry in Painted Red (Sacred Ground Productions), Cab Calloway
in LENA (Josiah Theatre Works), Macbeth in Macbeth, Clarence in
Richard III and Roderigo in Othello (Oxford Shakespeare Company) as
well as Banquo in Macbeth (American Globe Theatre Tour) among
many others.
Anand Kumar as Friar
Anand made his comedy debut at Caroline's on Broadway in 2014
where he was part of a sketch comedy segment of International
Incident: Evolution of Dancing Girls. He has trained at Terry Schreiber
Studios, Bova's Actors Workshop and People’s Improv Theater. He
recently completed a series of short indie films directed by Anthony
Vincent Bova in which he played six different characters. Anand is
thrilled to make his first dramatic theater debut Romeo & Juliet. Anand
believes acting is one of those mediums where you can live many souls
in one lifetime and at the same time show the humanity of those souls to
the world like no other medium.
http://www.hypokritnyc.org
(347) 352-3428
Gerrard Lobo as Romeo
Gerrard Lobo is psyched to be a part of the amazingly talented Hypokrit
Theatre team, and is honored to be cast as Romeo in Hypokrit's
inaugural production of Romeo & Juliet. An NYC based film and
theater actor, Gerrard recently played Imran Koreshi in the Feature Film
Mirage (currently in post-production) and the title role of Liliom in
Beautiful Soup Theater's production of Liliom at the Celebration of
Whimsy Theatre in NYC.
Ashton Muniz as Benvolio
Ashton Muniz is thrilled to be joining Hypokrit's Romeo & Juliet in one
of his favorite roles. He has recently joined The Flea Theater resident
company of BAT actors. Ashton is a proud Ithaca College and NTI
(Moscow Arts School) Alumni.
Prakash Patil as Lord Montague
Awarded Mr. India Galaxy 2014 and "International Model of the year"
from New York Fashion Awards, Prakash Patil is an experienced model
who has walked in major fashion weeks like Mercedes Benz Fashion
Week, Couture Fashion Week, NYC Fashion, IIFA awards and Delhi
International Fashion Week. He has also been featured in magazines
like Vogue, Floss, Sain City, Stage N Style, Elucid, So Sexy and
Vicissitude. Prakash has acted as a Lead Actor in the film The Other
Side Of New York which won two Awards in Colorado and Toronto
International Film Festival.
http://www.hypokritnyc.org
(347) 352-3428
Shubhra Prakash as Mercutio
Shubhra Prakash is a writer, Director and Performer has lived in
Kolkata, New Delhi, San Francisco Bay Area and now resides in New
York City. As an actor, Shubhra was last seen in The Tempest Ladies’
Taming of the Shrew. Shubhra recently wrote, directed and produced a
play For Our Own at the Planet Connections Theatre Festival 2014 for
which she received the Activist Award for getting a great deal of
involvement from the South Asian Marrow Association of Recruiters.
Her short film, Three Dates – a short film, which she wrote, directed
and produced, was screened at New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF)
13′ and WILLiFEST 13′.
Xiomara Rolon as Lady Montague
Xiomara Rolon grew up in Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania and is a recent
graduate of the University of Scranton with a Bachelor’s degree in
Theatre. Along with Hypokrit’s Romeo & Juliet, she is also working on
her first industry showcase with TAPNYC. Using theatre as a powerful
medium for expressing deep thoughts and emotions is what attracted her
to the performing arts.
Hemang Sharma as Prince
Hemang is a Strasberg-trained, New York-actor. He moved to New
York City to study acting after majoring in Film and Communication at
the University of Minnesota. He's excited to be a part of Hypokrit as it
brings him his first Shakespearean role. He is thankful for his family
and friends for always supporting him.
http://www.hypokritnyc.org
(347) 352-3428
Elizabeth Wessa as Lady Capulet
Elizabeth Wessa, a native Wisconsinite, has been loving living and
performing in New York City for the last five years. She is excited to be
a part of such a dynamic and diverse cast of Hypokrit! Elizabeth is a
member of SAG-AFTRA and has a background in improv and historical
theatre. Acting is important to Elizabeth because it provides an outlet
for the energy and life that can't be contained in the day to day, and
allows her to explore people and worlds with whom she might never
come into contact.
SECOND CAST
Eusabio Martin Arenas as Prince
Eusebio Martin Arenas is an actor and has starred in several movies
such as Drama, Instrucciones Para Mi Funeral, La Comodidad En La
Distancia, Silencio, Juan In A Million and his most recent one The
Green Inferno. He has also starred in the popular soap opera Soltera
Otra Vez. He studied at Pontifial Catholic University of Chile,
continued his studies at Teatro La Memoria in Santiago and further at
the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. He is
currently participating in various theatrical projects including Verta And
Linus and Romeo & Juliet.
Nikita Chaudhry as Benvolio
Nikita Chaudhry is an actor, dancer, singer, choreographer and an
activist. She moved to New York City from her hometown Baltimore,
MD to study and train at New York University’s Tisch School of the
Arts graduating in 2012. Nikita has trained in acting, specifically the
Meisner technique, dance, and voice. Her dance training includes
contemporary, hip-hop, musical theater, jazz, ballet, modern and tap.
Her movement training includes Williamson, Suzuki and Alexander
techniques. She has also choreographed both solo and group pieces for
dance repertory and local musicals. She believes that by exploring the
boundaries of the human body, the arts can deepen and expand
universal communication.
http://www.hypokritnyc.org
(347) 352-3428
Nikki Chawla as Lady Capulet
An actor and a standup comedian, Nikki was a finalist at the Actors
Studio and holds a Master of Fine Arts from Actors Studio Drama
School. Her theatre credits include For Our Own (Planet Connections
Festival), The Graduate (ASDS), Where Children Play (Berkshire
Fringe Festival) and Vagina Monologues (V-day Union City). Her TV
& film credits include Redrum (Investigation Discovery ID), Blemished
Light, (Portland Film Festival), Here and Now, Daniel & His Tools,
Superhero Me, A Distance Between Us (Greater Washington
Immigration Film Festival) and Refugee (Big Apple Film Festival).
Brinda Dixit as Juliet
Brinda Dixit is a 2014 graduate of the Bachelor of Fine Arts Drama
program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. While at
Tisch, she was selected to study Shakespeare in Performance at RADA
in London and Commedia Dell'Arte in Florence, Italy. For the past 13
years, she has trained in Bharatanatyam, a classical dance of South
India - she performed a Devi-themed Arangetram dance in 2011. Brinda
comes from a family that includes almost four generation of
professional dancers and artists; her mother is a professional
Bharatanatyam dancer and an owner/teacher at Kalaikoil Dance and
Arts of India.
Dyalekt as Friar
Dyalekt is an MC, Hip Hop educator, actor and a playwright who has
performed from Summerstage to La Mama to warehouse parties, and is
on the theme song (Spectacular Failure) of MTV's Wait til Next Year.
He is a member of the Public Theater's Emerging Writers Group, and
his play Sound is Vibration was read at the Public Theater's EWG
Spotlight Series. Dyalekt performed at the Oregon Shakespeare
Festival's Green Show with his band Deathrow Tull, where they led
Lincoln-Douglas D'Bates using freestyle rap. His first album, Square
Peg Syndrome, is also a one-man (+1 DJ, whatup MINDSpray) play
that debuted in Prague, CZ at Divadlo Archa and a curriculum that was
piloted for over 400 students in St. Croix, USVI.
http://www.hypokritnyc.org
(347) 352-3428
Deaon Griffin-Pressley as Mercutio
Deaon Griffin-Pressley is an actor and a playwright who has studied at
British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England (BADA). His
playwrighting credits include Valentines Night (Manhattan Repertory
Theatre), Satan VS God (Venus/Adonis Theater Festival 2014) and The
Tragedy At HOOD:14542 and Hoodsical (Fringe Festival NYC 2014)
in which he featured as Yellow Man. His other acting works include
Paul Henry in Painted Red (Sacred Ground Productions), Cab Calloway
in LENA (Josiah Theatre Works), Macbeth in Macbeth, Clarence in
Richard III and Roderigo in Othello (Oxford Shakespeare Company) as
well as Banquo in Macbeth (American Globe Theatre Tour) among
many others.
Siraj Huda as Lord Capulet
Born in Orissa, India, Siraj Huda considers himself an accidental actor.
He took an unconventional path to his acting career, milking cows in
Nepal and teaching ice skating in Dubai on the way. After immigrating
to the United States to pursue an MBA, Siraj moved to New York City
where he has worked in publishing and as a software engineer. When
the recession hit in 2008, Siraj discovered acting and never looked back.
His varied life experiences contributed to his ability to get under the
skin of the characters he portrays.
Prakash Patil as Lord Montague
Awarded Mr. India Galaxy 2014 and "International Model of the year"
from New York Fashion Awards, Prakash Patil is an experienced model
who has walked in major fashion weeks like Mercedes Benz Fashion
Week, Couture Fashion Week, NYC Fashion, IIFA awards and Delhi
International Fashion Week. He has also been featured in magazines
like Vogue, Floss, Sain City, Stage N Style, Elucid, So Sexy and
Vicissitude. Prakash has acted as a Lead Actor in the film The Other
Side Of New York which won two Awards in Colorado and Toronto
International Film Festival.
http://www.hypokritnyc.org
(347) 352-3428
Rahul Rai as Romeo
Rahul Rai is a New York based actor who made his debut in the
romantic feature film, When Harry Tries to Marry. Having an eclectic
taste, Rahul ultimately chose acting as his life's ambition as that is
perhaps the one endeavor that he cannot stop obsessing about. He will
gladly lose sleep over a role. When he’s not acting, he is voraciously
eating and drinking the nights away with his dear friends and family to
whom he owes a great deal of love and gratitude. For if it was not for
them, his ambition to become an actor would be but a dream.
Elizabeth Roberts as Lady Montague
Elizabeth Roberts is a New York City native and a recent graduate of
Oberlin College. After leaving Oberlin, she worked with Shakespeare &
Company for six months, training in classical text, Linklater technique,
clown, stage fight, dance, and movement. While there, she developed a
passion for classical theater and a particular love for Shakespeare. She
also loves playing with long-form improv, clown, and screenwriting.
Monique Sanchez as Nurse
Monique Sanchez was recently seen in the experimental collage play,
29x/y, for which she was nominated for Best Lead Actress at the Planet
Connections Theatre Festivity Awards. Her favorite credits include
Proof (Catherine), Macbeth (Lady Macduff), Kennedy's Children
(Carla-Love Creek Award winner), Flea in Her Ear (Lucienne), Hamlet
(Gertrude), Romantic Laughter (Rita), and Uncommon Women and
Others (Rita). She can next be seen in the award winning web series,
Going Up? and the new TNT drama, Public Morals, starring Ed Burns
and executive produced by Stephen Spielberg. She believes that “talent
is a gift that brings with it an obligation to serve the world, and not
ourselves, for it is not of our making.” Cuban poet and revolutionary,
Jose Marti:
http://www.hypokritnyc.org
(347) 352-3428
Karthik Srinivas as Paris
Karthik Srinivas is an actor, model and a trained dancer. He was
educated in India and then attended the prestigious JNTU Affiliated
University (Hyderabad, India) where he graduated with a Bachelor of
Engineering. It was here where his passion for acting began as he was
part of the Cultural arts group at college called 'The Euphoria' but it
would seem life had other plans for him at this point. After completing
his education, Karthik appeared in a lead role for Chinna Cinema that
was released in April 2013. He was born in Hyderabad, India and now
resides in New York City.
David A. Wallace as Tybalt
David A. Wallace is a native talent to the streets of New York City. He
currently works internationally as a professional model, but is
transitioning deeper into his passion of acting and singing. He says, "life
is full of closed doors, but I always have a locksmith on speed dial. I
consider art to be life and all I am trying to do is live. When I am
performing, for that moment I feel seen, understood, and accepted for
my talents".