News

Highlights of Creative Victories:

  • January 31, 2024 – IT’S TABLE READ TIME! I am THRILLED to have a group of professionals come together to help realize where “The Great Pyramid Scheme” can go as writers and voice actors assemble! Stay tuned for news from the fictional Nile!
  • September – December, 2023 – Another writers group sesh with an ORIGINAL PILOT + bible! “The Great Pyramid Scheme” takes a hot labor summer to a whole new world of animated comedic shenanigans!
  • March – May, 2023 – New writers group means new writing! I can honestly say getting to meet my heroine Mary has been a hysterical delight while writing my latest feature comedy script: “WIDOW PARTY.”
  • February 2023 – Enjoying a writer’s getaway as I open my inspiration notebook and crack down on a field I’ve been wanting to explore! Happy writing!
  • May 1st, 2022 – Today is the release of the Farah Rocks series by Susan Muaddi Darraj that I narrated! Can’t wait to keep diving into more audiobooks and voiceover! Check us out on Audible or using your library card through OverDrive!
  • April 1st, 2022 – Happy Arab American Heritage month! I am SO PLEASED to announce the FOUR chapter books I recorded are the award-winning Farah Rocks series by Susan Muaddi Darraj. Recording was a pleasure when Farah is such a kind, funny, relatable hero with the best catchphrase! #holyhummus
  • January 14th, 2022 – THAT’S A WRAP FROM THE SOUND BOOTH! I absolutely CANNOT WAIT to reveal which beloved kids’ book series I narrated for Orange Sky Audio. Release date May 2022. Stick around!
  • November 11, 2021 – Moving onto my feature The Chicken – a tribute to my teta reminiscent of The Farewell and a sunnier Little Miss Sunshine. Can I write a 100-page comedy-with-heart in 20 days? Stick around to find out.
  • November 10, 2021 – I am happy to report that not only did I bust out a first draft for my sitcom Crisis of Faith, but I also completed a treatment! Looking forward to table reading and polishing next month! And now, on to the big event!
  • November 1, 2021 – It’s that most wonderful time of the year again! My personal NaNoWriMo challenge to myself is to dust off two ideas and get them on the page! Part 1 – an original sitcom; Part 2 – an original feature film script. Game on!
Watch out. I’m legit.
  • October 23, 2021 – Drum roll, please! Tribe is selected as the Grand Prize Winner in Comedy! I am so honored! Tribe is Number One! Looking forward to more opportunities!
  • September 24, 2021 – Tribe (feature film screenplay version) is selected as a Final Draft’s Storyline Contest FINALIST! Cheers!
  • August 14, 2021 – Happy Opening, habibis! Thank you to Mijoe, Rana, and the entire cast for bringing this dream to life! Alf mabrouk! Check out reviews!
  • August 10, 2021 – Happy Preview to Tribe! Get tickets at the link!
  • July 10, 2021 – Brunch is ON! What a wonderful LA Female Playwrights Initiative (LAFPI) for the 2021 Fringe Femmes (Virtual) Brunch! It’s a pleasure to be surrounded extraordinary talent and get a sample of next month with the microreads. Fringe on, femmes!
  • July, 2021 – As a Hollywood Fringe Festival Diversity Scholarship recipient, I will be able to catch you and the rest of the Fringe community at this month’s events like office hours on Gather, panels, and the HFF Cabarets. Fringe on!
  • July, 2021 – We begin rehearsals for Tribe: The Story of the First Arab American Improv Team – a theater-improv hybrid. Our team is happy to Christopher Renfro as our improv coach join Mijoe Sahiouni in leading our scrappy underdogs to glory! To the Tribe!
  • June 26, 2021 – We’re casting Tribe: The Story of the First Arab American Improv Team! Can’t wait to unleash this theater-improv hybrid in August!
  • June 13, 2021 – Tribe: The Story of the First Arab American Improv Team welcomes phenomenal director Mijoe Sahiouni! Mijoe’s theater track record and passionate vision for this story means magic will be coming to you soon via this live + livestream show! #storytelling #femaledirectors
  • May 15 2021 – Tribe as a feature film screenplay is an awarded finalist in the Industry Next: Diversity in Film screenwriting competition! Woohoo!
  • April 15, 2021 – I am pleased to announce that I will be making my playwrighting debut at the Hollywood Fringe Festival with my beloved Tribe: The Story of the First Arab American Improv Team!
  • March, 2021 – As a big believer in community, I am grateful for my creative communities this month helping me achieve my dreams: Sukkar & Spice Comedy Collective, OuLuLi: Arabs in the Arts, and newly Connect the Writers! I am so thankful for my Connect the Writers family for introducing me to incredible creatives, passionate storytellers, and an INCREDIBLE mentor!
  • February 25th, 2021 – New material, who dis? My latest baby – Grief Bacon – gets big laughs over a Zoom table read!
  • February 10th, 2021 – Toronto Female Film Festival joins the growing list of Tribe fans! Feeling good!
  • February 9th, 2021 – Tribe officially selected by Script Summit. Woo!
  • February 8th, 2021 – Tribe announced as a Quarter Finalist in the Chicago Screenplay Awards. So grateful and ecstatic!
  • January 5th, 2021: I am honored to be mentioned and featured on the Open Screenplay “Debunking Arab Myths” contest! Looking forward to creating this joyful piece thanks to being OPTIONED by an acclaimed comedian.
  • December 19, 2020: It’s happening! The Virtual Table Read of my new screenplay “Tribe” will help catapult this script to the next level! “Tribe” is an underdog story of misfit Arabs finding community; I am so grateful for my community supporting me with this fun celebration!
  • November 21, 2020: I am a Top 10 Finalist for Ermantourage’s Industry Next Screenplay Competition withmy original sitcom “Speech Team.”
  • November, 2020: It may be National Novel Writing Month, but this NaNoWriMo, I have completed my screenplay “Tribe” – A Lebanese-American girl puts together the first all-Arab improv team in this shawarma spin on Pitch Perfect and Dodgeball ensemble competitions.
  • October 3, 2020: Your girl is filming a sketch with one of my favorite comedy buddies from my improv group Chaka Chaka. Find your tribe!
  • September 21, 2020: Being heard by submitting to Sony’s Rising Storyteller Search! Murphy’s law was not stronger than the love I have for this true passion project! This is what the work looks like and what a privilege it is!
  • September 2020: Grateful to speak my truth with comedy through the “Debunking Arab Myths” screenwriting contest. Y’all know it’s about my eyebrows.
  • August 21, 2020: Honored to write and direct sketches for the Impact Lebanon Comedy Benefit. We raised nearly $1,000 to help Beirut.
  • August 11, 2020: Hosted a virtual table reading of one of my original pilots! It is so refreshing and irresistible to hear your work out loud. Thanks to my actors and feedback team!
  • June 2020: While my award-winning “From A to Za’atar” was meant to debut at Hollywood Fringe Festival this month, with the help of director Melissa Ortiz, I am converting the theatrical version into a screenplay.
  • April 2020: Virtual pitch for an exciting digital platform!! Keep working towards your dreams and you will get there!
  • March 2020: We have been releasing some tasty morsels on the Free Pizza Productions YouTube page! More fun to come!
  • February 2020: Sketch writing for YALLA!’s big debut at the Inner Sanctum! Check us out March 23, March 29, and April 7!
  • February 2020: Improv LIFE!! Loving my coaches Hayley Huntley for my indie team Chaka Chaka and Chris Renfro for the FIRST All-Arab improv team YALLA! Performance dates coming at ya!
  • January 2020: Successfully completed Improv 301 at the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) with Sarah Claspell. Chakas forever!
  • December 2019 – January 2020: The Free Pizza Party (Web) Sketch Show keeps filming more and more laughs! I love writing these jokes!
  • July – December 2019: I have ADORED my scene study class with Adrian LaTourelle at Berg Studios. What a joy it is to pick my dream roles and DO THEM.
  • November 20, 2019: Loved accepting the call to PITCH! #SELLIT
  • November 6, 2019: It’s night shoot time for Get in the Car – a comedic short where best friend and designated driver Anna saves Wendy in this horror spoof with Andrei Terbea acting as director of photography.
  • October 29, 2019: So grateful for the fun in putting up my Kim Kardashian character for Characters Welcome superstar Ruha Taslimi!
  • October 27, 2019: Back at UCB with a Characters Welcome Workshop with the one-and-only Rami Essa! Really loved getting feedback on my characters – Trader Joe’s Customer Rania & Ted the Combo Pizza Guy.
  • October 2019: Auditioning nonstop as I get back on that LA grind. Creative partner Ashley J. Woods and I are excited to unveil a YouTube sketch show coming to you in 2020! Here’s to hustling!
  • September 28, 2019: I successfully completed the first draft of a novella, wrote a screenplay, and am flooded with more screenwriting ideas for when I get home. Shukran, Lebanon!
  • September 2019: Au revoir, LA! I will be spending this ENTIRE MONTH in Lebanon. Looking forward to speaking Arabic everyday, visiting with family, recharging my artistic batteries, and ashta ice cream!! A bien tot wa salam alaikum!
  • August 30, 2019: Recorded my first podcast today! Be on the lookout for This Is Your Pilot Speaking while we dish on all things sitcom.
  • August 2019: I wrote and starred in two short films – Revenge Bodies and The Improv Show.
  • August 22, 2019: Catch me at the Sony Casting Director meetup! Let’s network!
  • July 2019: Happy to report the beginning of my journey at BERG STUDIOS! This prestigious LA acting studio is where I’m keeping my goody bag of acting tricks sharp thanks to scene study taught by Adrian LaTourelle. So grateful for a place to work on some of my favorites like Stephen Karam, Yussef El Guindi, and Theresa Rebeck!! Brown girl power!!
  • June 28, 2019: I’m on set, y’all! Can’t wait to share the exciting, groundbreaking medical tech commercial I’m shooting! Putting that biology degree to use, making mama proud, and helping make the world a safer, healthier place. Stay tuned!
  • June 23, 2019: Ahla wa sahla! I had the pleasure of attending the meet up for Arab improvisers in the UCB community. A variety show is in the works, among other collaborations cooking up. Yalla!
  • June 2019: School is in for summer! Happy to be in Billy Merritt’s improv class at UCB! GAME ON!
  • May 2019: In the writers room for an original web series, “I’m So Alone” for Free Pizza Productions. Not only do I get to be part of this creative/immersive/improv-inspired process of writing, I will also be our romantic leading lady: Kate! Coming soon to the YouTube near you.
  • March 2019: Another successful table read in the books for my original sitcom “When We Were Drunk” – a procedural sitcom where our heroines retrace their steps from the night before. Every. Time. #beenthere Cooking up how to get this baby onscreen! Let’s hear it for my girls as I’m getting one step closer to Mindy Kaling-ing (starring and showrunning my own sitcom) (copyright pending for the term “Mindy Kaling-ing”).
  • February 7th, 2019: Turn up, LA, for the UCB DIVERSITY SHOW!! I’m with Maude and so pumped to be making my debut on the Upright Citizens Brigade Sunset Mainstage Theater! So passionate and thrilled to be part of this sketch team. Support live art and come laugh with us! Spoiler alert: the ladies own the night tonight.
  • January 25, 2019: That’s a wrap on the proof-of-concept pilot for “Play Dates”! What a joy it is to be director of a sketch comedy!
  • January 2019: I am back on my improv journey, but taking a whole new ride: Upright Citizens Brigade with teacher Mano Agapion – let’s make laughs together!
  • November 2018: Okurrrrr! Check out the Free Pizza Productions Facebook Page for my soon-to-be legendary impression of Kim Kardashian in an original short sketch I wrote called, “Kim Speaks Out”.
  • October 2018: Awarded the Upright Citizens Brigade Diversity Scholarship – watch out, improv, here I come!
  • Sister Act got awarded six Scenies! Awards include: Best Musical Theatre Ensemble, Outstanding Production, Best Breakout Performance (our Deloris, Elizabeth Adabale), Best Lead Actress (Mama Sup – Stephanie Lesh-Farrell), Best Director (Go, Fred!), and Best Musical Direction (Get it, Mazie!). Love to my Sisters and Misters as we slay LA. Thank you to Steven Stanley and StageSceneLA (www.stagescenela.com) for the recognition!
  • August 9th, 2018: Celebrating with the OG cast of The Understudies as we reveal what the magic of amazing collaborators can do (even on a micro-budget) at a special Thank You Screening Party for Free Pizza Productions. That’s right: a full 22-minute proof of concept pilot that we shot for love of the game is still funny months later and we adore it! We cannot thank everyone enough for their talent and support! Now, we pitch!
  • August 3rd, 2018: I can’t say anything officially, but a comedy executive made time in his schedule to speak with us one-on-one about sitcoms! This major opportunity took hustle to get here, but also huge generosity of spirit that we won’t forget. Thank you for your time and tips, Secret Comedy Angel. Hopefully, we’ll work together and make laughs in the future.
  • July 2018: Adam, a comedy short I got to film with the fierce female filmmakers at Miss Ash Productions, has completed post-production and making its debut! Check out our cringe-inducing girls’ night gone wrong.
  • July 2018: Coming off the glamor and glory of ECHOES, this month has been filled with the getting back on that grind. From auditions to networking to developing a pitch portfolio for The Understudies, including generating more original scripts, it has been a less Insta-worthy, super intense month. Can’t wait for what comes next!
  • June 30, 2018: We got an extension!! Catch us at the Best of the Broadwater showcase!! Tickets at http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5207.
  • June 2018: CONGRATULATIONS to ECHOES by Henry Naylor for our wins at the Hollywood Fringe Festival!! Awards include: Best of the Broadwater, Best International Show (nominee), Inkwell Theatre Playwright Promise (nominee), TVolution’s Honorary HFF Production, and Pick of the Fringe.
  • June 12, 2018: ECHOES has been selected as a Pick of the Fringe!! Come get a sample of our two-hander at the showcase!
  • June 8th, 2018: Happy opening and congratulations to our fabulous ECHOES team!! What a thrill! Contact me for info on my special performances and see this unforgettable, thought-provoking story throughout this month! Tickets at http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5207.
  • June 7th, 2018: Alright, y’all. It’s time for the ECHOES preview! This is not a drill! “Two young women, born 175 years apart – a jihadi schoolgirl in modern day London, and a colonial pioneer from Victorian England – who experience similar horrors when they travel to the East.” Tomorrow night, we open at the Broadwater Theatre! Tickets at http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5207.
  • May 15th, 2018: Rehearsals are in full swing for ECHOES by Henry Naylor, directed by Linda Slade, and produced by Michael Blaha. Along with my fellow actresses Catherine Lidstone and Bree Wernicke, I can’t tell you what a dream it has been to work on such moving text in such a positive, thoughtful rehearsal environment. Let’s get it, ladies! Tickets at http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5207.
  • April 25th, 2018: THRILLED to reveal I have been cast as Samira (u/s) and will be acting as a cultural consultant on an EXTRAORDINARY, AWARD-WINNING PLAY for the 2018 Hollywood Fringe Festival: ECHOES by Henry Naylor. Directed by Linda Slade, I am excited to work on this play that is relevant in 2018 for so many reasons: #MeToo, societal gender roles, racism, xenophobia, and identity politics to name a few. Not only that, but for the first time, I’ll be playing a role that honors my Syrian roots. Tickets at http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5207.
  • Keep an eye out for a sweet sampling of an accidental date night gone wrong in Free Pizza Productions’ short film Exes. I LOVED being behind the camera directing on this one. Ladies, keep hustling! #femalefilmmakerfriday
  • Free Pizza Productions is at it again as we gear up to shoot April 2018 two separate projects! What could possibly go wrong with producing, directing, and acting in a comedy about pregnancy (that’s right! Bun in the Oven is a go!) and a loving sketch comedy about people who have fallen out of love? Stay tuned!
  • Nothing is better than getting together with female filmmakers and good friends! Spring sprang on April 3rd, 2018 thanks to Miss Ash Productions, that is the Ashleigh Coffelt and Courtney Birk, for having me over for a girls’ night sketch short! 
  • It’s mid-March, and while I can’t spoil anything yet, I have been cast as a recurring character in a pilot this spring! Please send vibes that we get picked up! All I can tell you is I’m going to need a clipboard, a headboard, and coffee.
  • Hitting the ground running in post, we are one step closer with each edit to a final product. Can’t wait to raise the curtain on “The Understudies” viewing party coming soon! (March 1st, 2018)
  • February 20th, 2018: I cannot put into words what an honor it was to stand up with phenomenal female filmmakers taking Hollywood by storm and being recognized for the Women in Film PSA #MeToo. Thank you, USA Today, for the photoshoot and interview! Can’t wait to share this empowering experience!
  • February 18th, 2018: CURTAIN CALL. After an extraordinary run, we have closed this toe-tappin’ showstopper at Simi Valley! We got rave reviews, including from broadwayworld.com, and I send my love and gratitude to each on of my Sisters & Misters from “Sister Act”.
  • Hey, Sisters & Misters! Sister Act got a shoutout on broadwayworld.com! Come down to “church” and see what the buzz is about!
    https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/regional/SISTER-ACT-233164
  • “Sister Act” the musical is soon to be in tech week before opening January 19th, 2018!! I hope to see you in church. To join us, grab your tickets http://www.simi-arts.org/events.aspx?event=386 or on Goldstar.
  • Closing December 31, 2017, I suited up, ninja-style, for Bonnie Gillespie’s Getting in Gear!! That’s right. Taking some time to recenter my bullseyes as an actor and man oh man do these facelifts feel good! Excited for all that is to come!!
  • THAT’S A WRAP! Check out my quick blurb on the front page celebrating “The Understudies” officially entering post-production!! We had the vision. We had the goal. We made it happen before hitting 2018! (So, we cut it close by wrapping in December 2017, but we’re adventurous at Free Pizza Productions.) Hard work pays off. Dreams come true. What a team!
  • November 10, 2017 leads me heading to The Underground Theater to take part in a playwrighters showcase. I’ve always loved performing new work, and this is no different! Catch me at 8 p.m. this weekend and next!
  • Check my “Music and Media” section, y’all! I have a more up-to-date reel. If only I could add theatre to it… Nah.
  • Wicked was one of the biggest influences on my high school self. In my rural area, I was most often cast as the witch because of my skin. I didn’t mind (too much) because witches have more fun and it laid down the foundation for my being a strong character actor and challenging myself to find the complexities in wicked characters. When Wicked came along, I thought thank goodness (see what I did there?)! Here’s a role I can play. Her skin doesn’t matter. On November 7, 2017, I had the pleasure to audition for the Broadway National Tour of Wicked before an amazing casting director who gave me such generous feedback.
  • It may be the end of the month, but on October 30, 2017, we got the news we’ve been waiting for: WE HAVE A LOCATION! Ladies and gents, check backstage.com for an audition posting for “The Understudies”. It’s happening!
  • October 2017 was filled with cleaning house: that means hustling on piano and seeking out some more musician gigs. I picked up some private students and (cross your fingers for me!) will hopefully land one of the amazing musical opportunities to accompany I enjoyed auditioning for.
  • It’s September 2017 and we are close to locking down a location! Free Pizza Productions will be filming our development star soon! In the meantime, we’ve got some fun coming your way! Follow us on Instagram (@freepizzaproductions), Twitter (@freepizzaprod), and our Facebook page!
  • August 5th, 2017 – watch me go on in “Dark of the Moon” at Elysium Conservatory Theatre in San Pedro. Witches in Appalachia – who knew? Conjur Woman and Miss Metcalfe never had so much fun! #WitchesWillRise #BalladofBarbaraAllen
  • BIG NEWS: Ashley J. Woods and I are starting a production company! Free Pizza Productions is coming to give the people what they want: storytelling. Stay tuned!!
  • In July 2017, I played around as the Devil in a workshopping of Stravinsky’s “The Soldier’s Tale” – a Faustian epic bursting with music, dance, and love. Maybe you will catch us at a fringe festival? (Stay tuned.)
  • Caldwell Cabaret Series closes this season with a choral favorites recital! It has been a blast singing to Valentine’s and connecting to my gospel side for the Passions concert. Caldwell solo work includes: “So In Love” (Kiss Me Kate), “I’d Give it All For You” (Songs for a New World), “Turn Back, O Man” (Godspell), “Waitin’ for the Light to Shine” (Big River), “On the Willows” (Godspell)
  • He’s done it, everyone! Chris Allport and his production company have recorded us in the studio and now it’s time for shooting the video! Stay tuned for more merry murderess action in a stunning music video version of “All I Care About is Love” from Chicago.
  • Informal table read of original concept by Ashley J. Woods and me. Let’s make some magic with this! (Stay tuned.)
  • Come see me go on as an understudy for Tybalt and Paris (why play one tragic character when you can be two?) in Elysium Conservatory Theatre’s “Romeo & Juliet”. #LoveOn
  • April has come and gone in a whirlwind! Not only have I worked with extraordinary singers and dancers thanks to the benefit concert, but also am closing out on the heart-wrenching experience of playing Mira in “The Theory of Relativity” musical by Neil Bartram. Happy closing!
  • April 2017 – I had the privilege of singing and dancing in Broadway’s Art-in-Relation Benefit concert for Los Angeles youth. Thanks for the laughs, Allan!
  • In March 2017, I received a full scholarship to a six-month acting intensive program with San Pedro’s Elysium Conservatory Theatre under artistic direction of Aaron Ganz. Elective courses: Playwrighting with Julio Vera, Fitzmaurice Voice & Speech with Christina Gardner, Knight-Thompson Voice & Dialects with Chris Lang, Improv with Charlotte Spangler, the Ideal Artist with Justin Powell, Williamson Movement with Aaron Ganz, Stage Combat Basics with Kevin Moran.
  • It’s February and we are kicking off rehearsals for “The Theory of Relativity” musical at the Charles Steward Howard Playhouse! I will be starring as Mira, a girl who may not have the answers, but she has faith.
  • In February, I had fun shooting a commercial for the Greater Y of Los Angeles.
  • Don’t miss my guest starring appearance on the critically acclaimed web series “The Shalom Show”. You can see me as the hopelessly devoted Rishma in episode 18!
  • During January 2017, I had the honor and privilege to work with Broomstick Engine‘s team by starring in a PSA for the extraordinary group A21, a nonprofit fighting human trafficking.
  • December 2016 – Joined the Sanchez family in the USC graduate thesis film “One for Another (Uno Por Otro)” as Juanita, the youngest of three in a Latino American family desperately seeking a way to care for their dying patriarch.
  • November 2016 – Starred in Chapman University’s student film thriller “Seek” as Erica, a victim of sexual assault and murder, and in the symphonic work “Der Lindenbaum”, a UCLA graduate thesis film about the life of a conductor.
  • October 2016 – Starred in USC’s multicamera sitcom pilot “International House” as leading lady Sameera, an Indian girl impersonating a man a la “Twelfth Night” in order to join a male fraternity to have affordable housing.
  • During the fall of 2016, I became connected to the fantastic LA-based playwrighting group Playground-LA, run by artistic director Jim Kleinman. Catch me acting at monthly Monday night staged readings of exciting new work and shorts!
  • After moving to Los Angeles during the summer of 2016, I met Play Club West, a group of artists who get together to perform work they admire and are inspired by, and was featured in their informal productions of 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Marcy Park) and 1776 (Martha Jefferson).
  • Having remained connected to Stone Soup Shakespeare, including through staged readings of the bard’s works, I happily hit the road with the troupe for their Midwest tour of “Much Ado About Nothing” as Don Pedro/Verges. (Really, my euphonium was Verges and I was carrying the comedic mastermind.)
  • Upon moving to Chicago, IL  after graduating from SIU, I received my storefront premiere at Signal Ensemble Theatre’s “Devil’s Day Off”.
  • I made my professional debut in Stone Soup Shakespeare’s Midwest tour of “As You Like It” as Jacques/Silvius.
  • For SIU’s musical theatre workshop class, I created a Seven Deadly Sins program from Pop/Rock musicals for our quartet (SATB). I was the soloist of “Human Heart” (Erzulie, Once on this Island), Little Shop Medley (Seymour, Little Shop of Horrors), “Superboy and the Invisible Girl” (Diana, Next to Normal) and “The Dark I Know Well (Martha, Spring Awakening), as well as being the featured soloist Mary during the class medley of Jesus Christ Superstar.
  • Connected as an actor for directors’ classes and readings of new work from the SIU playwriting program, including Big Muddy New Plays Festival and Big Muddy Shorts (weekly scenes premiered and workshopped).
  • With Fierce (musical theatre club at SIU), I sang as a soloist in cabaret nights and at campus-led competitions.
  • I have sang in operas as a chorus member and interned with the Southern Illinois Music Festival, led by Ed Benyas.
  • After receiving the prestigious Presidential Scholarship (full tuition and board) from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, I obtained degrees in music and biology (participated in immunology research) in 2014.
  • While at SIU, I sang in the Outside the Box Music Festival – a School of Music sponsored event to bring composers to our campus for workshops and performance. SIU strongly supports 20th & 21st century music as a core of the repertoire.
  • In Spring 2013, I, along with members of the SIU Concert Choir/Wind Ensemble, had a month-long residency in Dublin, Ireland at the Gaiety School of Acting. Under Patrick Sutton’s direction and Martin Maguire’s guidance, we created a devised piece, experimenting with the concept of an “original music theatre work.” Creating sound effects, utilizing the gorgeous space for every acoustic possibility, and adding in tension through levels, we composed the music and Martin created the script for “The Faustian Flag” based on his observations of our speech patterns and acting improv exercises we performed.
  • In Spring 2012, the SIU Concert Choir and Wind Ensemble performed a Midwest tour, finishing with a performance at Chicago Symphony Orchestra Hall. We premiered work by faculty composition members Dr. Kathleen Ginther & Dr. Frank Stemper. Other premiers of the SIU Concert Choir while I was a member include Chen Yi’s “Distance Can’t Keep Us Two Apart” at the American Choral Directors’ Association (ACDA) conference.
  • During the fall of 2010, I attended the National Formosa University International Language Camp as an ambassador of SIU. While there, I utilized IPA skills in Mandarin and learned basic conversational Mandarin/Taiwanese and Vietnamese diction.
  • I am in the National Music Hall of Fame for Piano Excellence through the National Festival Competition.
  • At age 16, I won the Southern Illinois University Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition performing the second movement of Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54.
  • Upon graduation from Harrisburg High School as valedictorian, I was a two-time top 10 forensics speaker in the Egyptian Forensics League (IL) and had participated in 38 productions (primarily acting, although I musically directed 2 shows and played trombone in pit orchestras). This strong foundation of community theatre also gave me the opportunity to explore roles I hope to revisit, such as the Witch (Into the Woods), Jasmine (Aladdin), and Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz).