Meet the 2050 Fellows for the 2024/25 Season

Today, we’re excited to introduce 2050 Artistic Fellows Derick Edgren Otero, Nikki Massoud, Andres Santiago Piña, Danica Selem and Christie Zhao and 2050 Administrative Fellows Shania Benjamin, Marty Chandler, Salwa Meghjee and Tyra Mishell.

2050 ARTISTIC FELLOWS

Derick Edgren Otero is an Iowa Writers’ Room Visiting Fellow, former Lambda Literary Fellow, recent participant in the Fresh Ground Pepper BRB Retreat, and alleged playwright. His short play Diet Pride appeared at NYU Skirball Center in May as part of the inaugural Say Gay Plays, a fundraising event to benefit New Alternatives NYC. Development includes Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, Lambda Literary LGBTQ+ Emerging Writers Retreat with faculty Victor I. Cazares, La MaMa Umbria with guest artist Todd London, Voyage Theatre Company, November Theatre, Art Garage, Cherry Lane Theatre, Capital Repertory Theatre, and Rockford New Play Festival, curated by Nathan Alan Davis. BA, Sarah Lawrence. MFA, Iowa Playwrights Workshop.

Nikki Massoud is an Iranian-Canadian-American writer and performer based in New York City. Her work has been developed and produced through Bard at the Gate, Atlantic Theater, Less Than Rent Theater, The Lark, The Coop, CUNY, and a City Artist Corps Grant. She is currently under commission from Noor Theater, Atlantic Theater Company, and The Acting Company. Her television work as a performer includes roles on Succession (HBO), Love Life (HBO Max), and Mozart in the Jungle (Amazon). Her New York stage credits include multiple plays/musicals written by the intrepid kids of the 52nd Street Project, Sanaz Toossi’s Wish You Were Here at Playwrights Horizons, and Othello at New York Theatre Workshop, directed by Sam Gold. Nikki has also performed at regional theaters all over the country, including the Goodman Theater, The Old Globe, Berkeley Rep, South Coast Rep, and Huntington Theatre Company. Nikki was recently awarded an Odyssey Award by the American Library Association for her audiobook narration and has recorded over 60 audiobooks, currently available on Audible. She is a graduate of the Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA Program, Georgetown University and BADA. “Zan, Zendegi, Azadi.”

Andres Santiago Piña is a performer, writer, and filmmaker from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with roots in Washington Heights and Harlem. Some credits include The Sun Always Shines for the Cool, Comedy of Errors at The Shakespeare Theater of NJ, La Puta Vida at La Tea, The Seagull at Circle in the Square Theater, Anon’s Gone at National Black Theatre, The Road to Damascus at Strindberg Theatre, Tracks at Davenport Theater, and Othello and Danny and the Deep Blue Sea at St. Katherine Theater, Medea, Hamlet, In the Red and Brown Water, Ms. Julie, and Romeo and Juliet. Solo plays performed and written by Andres: On the Shoulders of Monsters (workshop presentation at NYTW), Perfect People, Ordinary, Fuck’ed, and By Chance. In film, he has featured in Crabs in a Barrel, SPIC, and Momento Mori. Andres is authored of short stories–146 Street and Amsterdam, authored collections such as Poems and Misdemeanors, Miss Me with You, and the play The Last Place to Eat Arroz con Pollo. Governors Island Artist Fellowship, memberships at the American Theatre Lab and The Actors Center, founding member of Dominican Artists Collective. Currently, Dominican Writers Association Teaching Artist in Residence. Andres holds an MFA in Acting from Columbia University.

Danica Selem is a Croatian-born, New York-based theater and film director, architect, and educator. Through every play she directs, she aims to create a truly adventurous and exciting theater that relates to the world today and expands our notion of it, while leaving the audiences feeling more connected and alive. She is the founder of Bodies Intersect Buildings, a working group exploring the intersection of architecture, performance art, and ecology. Danica spent three years as a Visiting Professor at Cornell University’s Department of Architecture. Her teaching and self-designed seminars, including Body, Space and the In Between and Spatial Choreography, focused on the social and political aspects of spatial design, and its relationship to performing arts. Her work has been supported by Cornell University, LMCC, Columbia University, and shared at venues including Pioneer Works, IPADÉ – A Prelude to the Shed, American Institute of the Architects, Dixon Place, and Theater at the 14Y. Most recently, she closed her thesis production of Sarah Kane’s Phaedra’s Love at the Lenfest Center for the Arts and her first narrative short film Mothers and Lovers, starring Esco Jouléy and Or Schraiber, is currently in post-production scheduled to be finished in June 2024. Danica holds a BA in Architecture and Urban design from the University of Zagreb, an MA in Architecture from Pratt Institute and she just received her MFA in Theater Directing from the Columbia University School of the Arts.

Christie Zhao 赵元媛 (she/her) is a Chinese-born immigrant, theatre director, producer, and interdisciplinary artist based in Seattle. As the founder and artistic director of Yun Theatre, Christie has channeled her bold, socially conscious, and thought-provoking style into a platform that elevates complex social issues, cultural identity, and challenges to conventional narratives. Her approach is deeply passionate, particularly in fostering community through theatre and developing works that resonate with contemporary relevance. She advocates strongly for multilingualism in theatre, exploring its impact on both narrative and space. Christie’s directorial portfolio includes June is the First Fall by Yilong Liu, Passage and Caught by Christopher Chen, On the Train by Lisa Price, Young People Social Death Archive by Siming Lu, In Between: A Collection of Short Plays, Two Goldfish (Who Become Heroes), Monologues of n Women, and The Good Person of Szechwan by Bertolt Brecht. Her collaborative spirit shines through her work with groups such as 14/48 Projects, Strawberry Theatre Workshop, SIS Productions, Seattle Public Theatre, and Shattered Glass Project. Christie’s technical expertise spans production management, stage management, lighting design, and collaborating with organizations like Dacha Theatre, Dunya Productions, eSe Teatro, Sound Theatre Company, Swim Pony, the School of Drama at the University of Washington, Dum-Canny Alley, and the Fertile Ground Festival.

The 2050 Artistic Fellows program is supported in part by The New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellowship program.

2050 ADMINISTRATIVE FELLOWS

Shania Benjamin (she/her) is a Black-Femme New York-based arts administrator, special events coordinator and producer. She previously worked at Vineyard Theatre and MCC Theater. She’s in her second year as a Miranda Family Fund Fellow and recently was the community engagement producer on Plague Play by playwright Erin Proctor. She’s dedicated to working with upcoming BIPOC artists and theater professionals by uplifting new work and to continue efforts in making theater affordable and accessible for young people and students. She is also an organizer for the Children’s Defense Fund’s Youth N Power collective that works to research and uplift the desires of young people (18-25) that are transitioning out of foster care as young adults in NYC.

Marty Chandler (they/he) is a Filipino-American improviser, writer, and collaborative theatermaker who is passionate about arts education. They have a B.A. in Theater & Performance Studies and Psychology from Yale University, where they attended as a QuestBridge Scholar and promoted access to education by working for three years in Undergraduate Admissions. As an artist, they have performed their one-person improv style at the Providence Fringe Festival, worked with The Orchard Project in the Core Company ensemble and as an Artistic & Development Liaison, and has received the Yale Marina Keegan Prize for Excellence in Playwriting.

Salwa Meghjee (she/her) is a playwright and arts administrator interested in plays that illuminate the big feelings we all experience and struggle to explain. She holds a BA from UC Berkeley, an MFA from Northwestern University, and will be pursuing an Artist Diploma in Playwriting at Juilliard this Fall. At Berkeley she co-founded and served as the Artistic Director of the feminist theatre company The Golden. Previously, Salwa has worked at Page 73, The Playwrights Realm, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and has also worked with organizations such as Cal Performances and Playwrights Foundation. She’s thrilled to join NYTW!

Tyra Mishell (she/her), originally from Florida, is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Arts Administration at Baruch College. She is dedicated to honing her skills to become a leader in the performing arts industry. Tyra embraces the city’s vibrant energy and diversity and thrives in its hustle and bustle. Her ultimate goal is to promote inclusivity in the theater by building bridges and cultivating community. She aims to inspire others to embrace new theater and witness the profound impact of live performances for themselves!

The 2050 Administrative Fellows Program is partially supported with funds from the Axe-Houghton Foundation.

ABOUT THE 2050 FELLOWSHIP

The 2050 Fellowship is named in celebration of the U.S. Census Bureau’s projection that by the year 2050, there will be no single racial or ethnic majority in the United States. This projection provokes thoughts at New York Theatre Workshop about the transformations that will take place in the American landscape—demographically, technologically, environmentally and artistically—now and in the future. They’re a catalyst for broader questions about our ever-transforming field. How can theatre challenge our conceptions of storytelling? How can we push aesthetic boundaries in the 21st century? What’s the power of theater today?

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Categories: 2024/25 Season. Tags: 2050 Administrative Fellows and 2050 Artistic Fellows.