Nikita Chaudhry

Artist I Activist I Human Being

An Unexpected Thing Happens @ Fresh Grind Festival

January 19, 2017  /  Nikita Chaudhry

This weekend, I will be starring as Jazz in the first staged reading of An Unexpected Thing Happens, a new play by Michael Perrie Jr, directed by Lacy Reily. The reading is one of ten chosen to be a part of Fresh Grind Festival, a festival of public staged readings at THEATERLAB (357 West 36th St, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10018).

Performances are Saturday, January 21 @ 2pm and Sunday, January 22 @ 5pm. 

For tickets, please purchase online in advance. For industry, please email blackcoffeeprod@gmail.com for comps.

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Tamasha NYC

October 07, 2016  /  Nikita Chaudhry

Tamasha NYC, a festival of South Asian performing arts, opened its doors the week of September 26th to October 2nd, 2016 in New York City. The festival found home in Paradise Factory, Pianos, and New York Comedy Club. I was happy to serve on the leadership team this year, co-founding the festival alongside previous South Asian International Performing Arts Festival chairs Arpita Mukherjee & Shubhra Prakash. I also performed a developing original dance piece, "Unsteady," in Dance Night. Looking forward to continuing to organize the South Asian American community, as we create art and move toward making change in this world. 

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NYU Portraits 2016: Show Up

September 15, 2016  /  Nikita Chaudhry

"Where social justice meets the stage." 

NYU Portraits is an annual production for new and incoming NYU students to understand the importance of diversity and activism on their college campus. I was honored to perform in this year's performance at the Skirball Center for Performing Arts as an NYU alumna, alongside other alum, students, and fellow brilliant artist-activists Diane Neal (Law & Order: SVU), Laura Gomez (Orange is the New Black), and Staceyann Chin (Motherstruck, Writer, Actor, Activist). Portraits collaborates with Voices of a People to present historical pieces of activism, with contemporary original pieces of the performers. I read the speech of admirable DRUM (Desis Rising Up & Moving) founder Monami Maulik, as she reflected on post-September 11th organizing in 2001, followed by debuting my original piece "Little Brown Girl," a poetic tale of my experience as consistently the only South Asian American woman during my educational and artistic experience at NYU Tisch. Stay tuned for future performances of this original piece and further collaborations!

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RIBS @ Planet Connections 2016

July 05, 2016  /  Nikita Chaudhry

While RIBS just closed at Planet Connections Theatre Festivity 2016, stay tuned for updates on where it might be headed! I was honored to be a part of the project and bring young women from Girls Inc to come see the show. See the trailer to catch a peek! I also highly encourage everyone to check out the other shows at the festival while you can! More coming soon.

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Untameable

November 10, 2015  /  Nikita Chaudhry  /  Source

Theater companies, Highly Impractical Theatre & The Unsoft War have collaborated to produce Daria Miyeko Marinelli's Untameable, an immersive theater piece about love, diamonds, and the on-going war between the two. I am thrilled to be playing the role of "Boy Prince," gender-bending and dancing my way through the various stories and relationships in this play. Untameable premiered on Friday Nov 6 and is running now through Sunday Nov 22nd at St. Paul's Hall in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Visit http://untameable.bpt.me/ for tickets! Prices range, and if you're unable to pay the costs listed, please contact me as this show is specifically trying to make theater accessible to any and every body. 

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Julius Caesar

September 23, 2015  /  Nikita Chaudhry

I am currently performing in The Fools & King's Project's production of Julius Caesar, running Sept. 19-Oct 11, every Saturday & Sunday at 4:30. Come see me put on multiple hats from Artemidorus to Calpurnia to Servant to Soldier to Lepidus - the gang's all here! Performances take place at Athens Sq in Queens and Summit Rock in Central Park. For specific locations by weekend, check out the Facebook event. Hope to see you there and stay tuned for other exciting projects I am thrilled to be in this fall!

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Commencement, Italy, Comedy, SAIPAF, Oh My!

July 24, 2015  /  Nikita Chaudhry

So happy and proud to announce that after walking at Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden in May 2015, and upon attending NYU's Commedia dell'Arte program and performing at Villa La Pietra in Florence, Italy, I have officially graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a B.F.A in Acting, Minor in Performance Studies, and Honors Certificate in Theatre Studies! My thesis title was "Brownness & Belonging: Navigating South Asian American Women's Identity on the U.S. Stage."

I am very grateful for the opportunity to have performed in Firenze, Italia under the direction of Jim Calder. While at Villa La Pietra, I also worked with Nolufefe Mtshabe, Jacob Olesen, Zoey Martinson, and Kathleen Turner. The Commedia dell'Arte training was invaluable - as was the time to travel throughout Italy. From Cinque Terre to Milano to Venezia to Roma to Pompeii, my first 42 days of post-graduate adventures could not have been more inspiring!  

Upon returning to my lovably crazy home of New York City, I performed a sketch at Caroline's on Broadway in Anish Shah's International Incident, representing Hypokrit Theatre Company. It was fun to work with a diverse group of comedians at such a famous venue! 

Finally, I am thrilled to announce that I will be both dancing and singing at the first ever South Asian International Performing Arts Festival (SAIPAF) this August in New York City! Go to saipaf.org for more info and tickets - and make sure to come to Hypokrit nights (Tuesday 8/4, Sunday 8/9) and Dance Nights (Friday 8/7, Saturday 8/8). Hope to see you there!

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Hypokrit Theatre Company's Romeo & Juliet!

February 01, 2015  /  Nikita Chaudhry

This February (2015), I will be performing in Hypokrit Theatre Company's Romeo & Juliet at Access Theatre. This production of Romeo & Juliet will bridge my love for Shakespeare and my upbringing of Bollywood movies, by approaching the love story with a Bollywood interpretation. Come see me play as Benvolio in Cast 2 and dance my little brown heart out in Cast 1! I am happy to have been working on this production since July 2014 as one of the inaugural members of Hypokrit Theatre Company, and I hope you will come out to support us! 

Tickets: Eventcombo.com/RJ

Discount Promo Code: RJNIKIT

hypokritnyc.org