I was born and raised in New Orleans in a multi-racial Baha’i family. While I’m not at all religious myself, I credit my religious upbringing — as well as being half-black/half-Persian in a city that is itself a combination of countless cultures — with my current personal and professional approach to diversity and equity. I deeply believe that, in both society and theater, the more voices around the table, the better for all of us.
For college, I went to Carleton College in Northfield, MN, because it snowed there. Carleton is a small liberal arts college, and the theater department was very small. It meant I was able to do a little bit of everything. But, we were also close to Minneapolis, and so I was also able to meet and work with many talented professional artists from the Twin Cities.
After graduation, I moved to Minneapolis where I acted, directed, devised, assisted, did carpentry, tried to figure out what I wanted to do for grad school, and got up really early to bake bagels for Bruegger’s Bagels. After two years, I decided that the kind of theater I liked to make, and the way I liked to work, and the artists I liked to work with all were telling me that academia was the right place for me. Later, I realized that they were actually telling me that dramaturgy was the right place for me, but I wouldn’t trade the path I took to get here for the world.
I got my PhD in theater at UC San Diego, in a joint doctoral program with UC Irvine. My dissertation was on the adaptation of Shakespeare into visual art. While at UCSD, I was able to continue developing my practical work through directing and dramaturgy.
After graduation, I worked in the development department at La Jolla Playhouse. While I’m glad I rarely have to “speak donor” in my current role, I’m tremendously grateful that I know how. It was also a tremendous opportunity to be in the room for some of the best new work development in the country, and engage with top-notch community-based and site-specific theater.
In 2017, my wife (lighting designer Sherrice Mojgani) got a tenure-track job at George Mason University, so we moved cross-country to northern Virginia with our toddler. I spent a while stay-at-home-Dad’ing, bartending, teaching, and freelancing, before becoming the Literary Manager at Arena Stage, where I was able to further hone both my research and new work skills.
Like many other theatre artists, I was out of work during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Arena Stage furloughing most of the staff. I used that time to catch my breath, think about where I wanted to take my career, and take a close look at the theatre industry and the institutions around me. Eventually, this led to my joining the artistic team at Round House Theatre as Associate Artist for Literary & New Plays, leading our new work program.
I’m a father and husband. I’m an educator. I love hip-hop, comic books, and craft beer. I’m afraid of heights. I’m a passionate editor and collaborator, and I want nothing more than to help make sure good stories are told well.
