The Motion

BARZIN AKHAVAN

Dr. Alan James

Barzin Akhavan (Dr. Alan James) Arena: Mary Zimmerman's The Arabian Nights. Other DC credits: Pericles (Folger); Inana and Lidless (CATF). Broadway: Network, The Kite Runner. Select NYC productions: Fuente Ovejuna (TFNA), Macbeth (CSC), Richard II (Public/WNYC), Hamlet (Waterwell), 2nd Stage (Meet the Cartozian's), Coriolanus (TFNA). International: Aftermath (Melbourne, Paris, Amsterdam), A Thousand Splendid Suns (Theater Calgary). Select regional theater companies: Seattle Rep, Guthrie, Berkeley Rep, ACT SF, Baltimore Centerstage, Huntington, Cincinnati Playhouse, Virginia Stage, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, 4 seasons with the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, 6 seasons with The Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Film: F.A.S.T. (Upcoming), Zugzwang (upcoming), Ezra, Funny Face. Select TV: The Blacklist, Chicago Med, Girls5Eva, SMASH, Law and Order: CI. MFA University of Washington.

PEREGRINE TENG HEARD

Professor Lily Chan

Peregrine Teng Heard (Professor Lily Chan) is a DC-born, Brooklyn-based actor and playwright. She last appeared at Arena Stage in POTUS (u/s Stephanie and Jean). Other regional credits include Tom Jones and Remix 38 at Actors Theatre of Louisville. New York credits include the world premiere of Chuck Mee’s soot and spit (The New Ohio), Call Out Culture: or, the unbearable whiteness of being (Ars Nova ANT Fest), Ski End (Piehole), and Sehnsucht (JACK). Peregrine is the artistic director of The Associates Theater Ensemble, with whom she has devised and performed The Cousinhood (The Center at West Park), Sheila (A.R.T./New York Theatres), Black Protagonist (124 Bank Street Theater), and Freesome (The Brick). Peregrine’s plays Redemption Story and On the Prowl with Ada Tsiao were O’Neill National Playwrights Conference Semifinalists in 2023 and 2024. www.peregrineheard.com

NEHAL JOSHI

Professor Neel Bharara

Nehal Joshi (Professor Neel Bharara) is astonished to mark his 9th show & 10th appearance here. He has appeared as Benny Van Buren in Damn Yankees, Ali Hakim in Oklahoma!, Amir in Disgraced, Catch Me If You Can (Helen Hayes nom), Mother Courage with Kathleen Turner, Unknown Soldier, The Music Man, & Señor Discretion Himself. DC credits include: Babbitt (Shakespeare Theater), Woolly Mammoth, Olney Theater Center, Kennedy Center, Theater J. Broadway: The Cottage, All My Sons, The Phantom of the Opera (closing cast), Flying Over Sunset, School of Rock, Gettin’ the Band Back Together, Les Misérables (1st revival), The Threepenny Opera. Off-Broadway: Cyrano, Working (2008 revision), Grand Hotel (Encores!). Regional include: Dallas Theater Center, The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Goodman, Huntington. Video games: World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Television/Film “The Wire,” “Search Party” (HBO), “Law & Order: SVU” (NBC), “Blackout,” “Under One Roof.” Honors: Special Drama Desk Award. IG: @nehaljoshi. He would like to thank you for being here today and supporting the American theatre.

NANCY ROBINETTE

Moderator

Nancy Robinette (Moderator) was most recently seen at Arena in Death on the Nile, The Heiress, Well, and Ah, Wilderness!. Other recent roles in DC include Nan in Jennifer Who Is Leaving (Round House), Carrie in The Trip to Bountiful (Ford's), Bubbe in The Chameleon (Theater J), and Aunt Barb in Problems Between Sisters (Studio). She was recently on Broadway in Prayer for the French Republic (Manhattan Theatre Club), and earlier in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. For Prayer, she received an Outer Critics Circle nomination; for her 40-plus years in DC theatre, she received a Helen Hayes Tribute.

NIKKOLE SALTER

Dr. Sarah Matthis

Nikkole Salter (Dr. Sarah Matthis) has recently appeared in Washington DC productions including As You Like It and Julius X at Folger Theatre, We Are Gathered at Arena Stage, The Confederates at Mosaic Theatre Company, Jumping Off Point at Round House Theatre, and as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth at Shakespeare Theatre Company. On Broadway she portrayed Coretta Scott King in The Great Society at Lincoln Center Theater, and Off-Broadway appeared in Gloria (DR2) and her co-authored play In the Continuum at Primary Stages among others. A playwright and director, she has also appeared on television in New Amsterdam and Godfather of Harlem. Her honors include recognition from Helen Hayes Awards, Outer Critics Circle, OBIE, Audelco, IRNE and Acclaim. Nikkole is professor of acting and playwriting and inaugural chair of the Department of Theatre Arts in Howard University's Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts.  www.nikkolesalter.com

ELI EL

u/s Dr. Alan James, Professor Neel Bharara

Eli El (u/s Dr. Alan James, Professor Neel Bharara) is returning to Arena Stage after performing in Fremont Ave. (2025), The Great Society (2018). Other theater performances include The Piano Lesson (1st Stage), Testosterone and Migraaaaants (ExPats Theatre), AJAX (Scena Theatre), Radio Golf (Roundhouse Theatre), FAT HAM (Studio Theatre), A Thirst for Freedom (Live Garra) and many more. He has completed and is currently involved with several independent film projects (Once Upon a Time in The District, Unarmed Man, Harriet, The Meek, Last Night, THICK, etc. Eli has directed (The Healing Floor) award winner DCBTF. He also directed a feature film and two shorts (The Cracked Mask and Lay Me Down). His motto is “you can learn from anyone, if only you allow yourself to.”

YESENIA IGLESIAS

u/s Dr. Sarah Matthis, Professor Lily Chan, Moderator

Yesenia Iglesias (u/s Dr. Sarah Matthis, Professor Lily Chan, Moderator) is a Washington, D.C.-based artist and educator from Bayamón, Puerto Rico. She is thrilled to be returning to Arena Stage after previously appearing in POTUS. Select local theater credits include: The Garbologists (Theater Alliance), Metamorphoses (Folger Shakespeare), At the Wedding (Studio Theater), Primary Trust (Signature Theater), Daphne's Dive (Signature Theater), and Kid Prince and Pablo (The Kennedy Center), among others. She has performed on stages across the DMV including Ford's Theater, Shakespeare Theater Company, Olney Theater Center, Imagination Stage, Round House Theater, and Constellation Theater Company. Regional credits include Don't Eat the Mangos (Huntington Theatre Company), and Off-Broadway in Public Charge (The Public Theater). Her work is also featured in various commercials, and audio books. Forever grateful to her family! MFA: University of Washington - PATP.

CHRISTOPHER CHEN

Playwright

HANA S. SHARIF

Director

TIM MACKABEE

Set Designer

MIKA EUBANKS

Costume Designer

JASON LYNCH

Lighting Designer

CHARLES COES AND NATHAN A. ROBERTS

Sound Design and Original Music

ALEXIS KULANI WOODARD

Associate Director

THE TESLEY OFFICE/DESTINY LILLY, CSA

Casting

RAIYON HUNTER, CSA

Casting

CHRISTI B. SPANN

Stage Manager

MARGARET V. WARNER

Assistant Stage Manager