UPCOMING
- Intimacy direction for Hamlet 50/50 at Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival - August 15 - 27
- Intimacy direction for brother sister cyborg space at Raven Theater - playing Feb 8 - Mar 17, 2024
Khady in American Fast
CARTOGRAPHY at the Kennedy Center. Photo by elmanstudio
Jasmeen in 10,000 Balconies at TheatreSquared. Photo by Wesley Hitt
Brighella in Servant of Two Masters @ GRSF. Photo by Dan Norman
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8/17/23
Hamlet 50/50 opens tonight at Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival! It's a brilliant production and like no other Hamlet I've ever seen in the best way. So honored to have intimacy directed for this show. 7/6/23 Just shot 2 commercials in the last 3 weeks. You can see one of them here. So grateful for the folks at Gray Talent Group for all their hard work. 6/20/23 I've been awarded a 2023 Individual Artists Program Grant from the City of Chicago to pursue my intimacy direction certification through IDC. I'm grateful for the assistance to expand my education! 6/10/23 I won first place in the first ever SparkFest acting competition! Many thanks to our esteemed judges, Spencer Gualdoni of Tara Rubin casting, Kate Moore Heaney from Noor Theater and Long Wharf theater, Sharifa Yasmin, talented director, actor, playwright, and intimacy director, and Taylor Blackman, actor, writer, producer, director and professor extraordinaire. It sounds corny, but the biggest win was meeting so many warm, passionate fellow MENASA artists. 5/23/23 Rehearsals have begun for A Distinct Society at Writer's Theatre - I'm intimacy directing, and I'm thrilled. I've been a fan of this play for years, and it's the second Kareem Fahmy play I get to work on this year, after American Fast. 4/19/23 I've been chosen from a nationwide search to compete in the first ever MENA specific SparkFest Acting competition at Amphibian Stage in Fort Worth, TX. The 10 competitors will perform monologues, scenes, and “cold readings” for the public, for a chance to win cash prizes. 4/8/23 Closed American Fast by Kareem Fahmy at Constellation Stage and Screen. It was so exciting to play an ambitious, confident, aggressive young woman with such physical prowess. I'll miss this one a lot. 3/27/23 Same Sects! opened tonight and is playing through 4/12 - got to choreograph some real fun intimacy for this one as Intimacy Director. 3/14/23 The Next New Syrian Girl is released! Listen to it wherever you get your audiobooks - audible, spotify, etc. 1/8/23 Finished recording The Next New Syrian Girl. Look for it wherever you get your audiobooks! It was such a pleasure living with these characters in my home booth for a spell. 11/7/22 Secured representation in Chicago! You can find me on Gray Talent Group's roster. 9/14/22 Booked my first audiobook! I'll be narrating The Next New Syrian Girl for Hachette. This has been a dream of mine for awhile now, and I'm so proud to have made it happen. 7/8/22 Performed short plays written by students in the National High School Institute's playwrighting program. I was an acting student (a cherub) in this program when I was in high school, so it was a wonderful full circle moment. And the plays were great! 2/1/22 I moved to Chicago! Very excited to see what this new city has to offer. 6/29/21 The Tempest is officially open! Yes, there are bubbles. I'm also intimacy directing for the apprentice production of R&J here, and it's a lot of fun. Read an article on our season here. 4/21/21 Great River Shakespeare Festival's 2020 season was postponed to this summer - I'm thrilled to be (safely) returning to live, in-person theatre, performing outdoors as Miranda in The Tempest. Tickets and more info here. Feb-Apr '21 CARTOGRAPHY continued its virtual tour, streaming in destinations around the country, accompanied by talkbacks and workshops with students and adults on theatre-making, migration histories, and mapping. Looking forward to touring live again this fall. 2/21/21 Finished Level two on my training with IDC towards intimacy direction. Feeling grounded in the work of keeping theatre artists safe and offering tools for us to advocate for ourselves. COVID-19 Update: First, let me say: Black Lives Matter. I have been grateful for time and space to devote to learning and implementing anti-racist practices in my work and everyday life. Please see We See You WAT for more resources on anti racism in a theatre space. Nicole Brewer offers an immense resource in her Anti Racist Theatre training workshop. I have spent the pandemic sheltering in Austin, TX, learning new skills and honing old ones, including pole dancing, embroidery, guitar, beginner Spanish, and more. Additionally, I've continued to work on plays virtually, in development and production, with many talented artists. 2/16/20 Had an inspiring international run of CARTOGRAPHY at the Arts Center in Abu Dhabi. Luck to have had the opportunity to engage with the community in multiple ways around ideas of movement and migration. 1/27/20 Just finished an inspiring weekend in Dallas at a 3 day intimacy intensive with IDC. So fired up to continue this work! 1/12/20 The NY Times reviewed CARTOGRAPHY. Read it. 1/09/20 Read a fantastic article in the NY Times about CARTOGRAPHY here. 1/3/20 Gearing up for a run of CARTOGRAPHY at The New Victory Theater in NYC. Can't wait to bring this show to my home of almost 8 years. Buy tickets here. 11/16/19 Just finished a very rewarding run of CARTOGRAPHY at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. You can read an article about our work with refugee youth here. 10/02/19 Up next, see me in the launch of the Middle Eastern American Writers Lab at the Lark October 7th and 8th. I'll be performing in 4 of the 8 readings. 9/2/19 Heartbroken to say goodbye to the world of 10,000 Balconies. You can read a rave review here. "In Jasmeen, Victoria Nassif created one of the most powerful, beautiful “Juliets” I have ever seen in a lifetime of loving Shakespeare, her joy and love as palpable as her longing and loss". Looking forward to visiting this world again soon. 8/31/19 NPR wrote up a great piece on 10,000 Balconies that you can read or listen to here. "{Kholoud Sawarf, playwright] started by letting go of some of the Shakespearean influence and allowing in themes she once fought to keep out, such as war and displacement. Still, she insisted on addressing the pain on her own terms. Instead of violence, there's a graffiti battle. Instead of a forced displacement, a Syrian couple gets to decide whether they want to stay or go. And there are scenes that show how life endures on the margins of war — people still get married, gossip about their neighbors, dance to pop songs. "Pomegranates and jasmine and grapes and trees and balconies," Sawaf said. "The Damascus I carry is the one that I hid and brought with me. It's not what they see in the news."" 8/16/19 I feel so proud to be a part of the biggest cast of color yet at TheatreSquared in Arkansas, working on a workshop production of 10,000 Balconies, loosely inspired by Romeo and Juliet, and set in modern Syria. 10,000 Balconies is an intimate window into the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world, suffused with its poetry, music, dance, and movement, and centered on a story of love in contemporary Damascus. I play Jasmeen, the Juliet character, in this play formerly known as R&J: Damascus. 8/5/19 Very sad to say goodbye to a fantastic summer at Great River Shakespeare Festival. You can read reviews of Servant of Two Masters here ("charming as Brighella"), here ("As the innkeeper Brighella, Victoria Nassif makes a striking impression, being the most astute among the characters, while also bringing sass and sexiness to her portrayal.") and here ("the innkeeper, played exquisitely by Victoria Nassif"). Read a Macbeth review here ("No production of MACBETH is complete without a trio of Wyrd Sisters who immediately capture our imaginations. Anique Clements, Victoria Nassif, and Silas Sellnow are dressed as displaced people with eerie make-up and a sense of satisfying a single-minded purpose. Interestingly, they are present onstage throughout much of the play, taking the parts of various characters.") Up next: 10,000 Balconies, previously known as R&J: Damascus, at TheatreSquared. 7/8/19 Opened Servant of Two Masters last night as Brighella in under Beth Gardiner's brilliant direction. She also adapted the script, in which "she melds the character Smeraldina, a serving girl who becomes a love interest for Truffaldino in Goldoni's original, into the character of Brighella the innkeeper, so that ever-famished Truffaldino is comically smitten by Brighella's incredible artistry in the kitchen rather than the allure of a young coquettish maid." (review here) 6/29/19 Opening Macbeth tonight as an ever-present Witch, also playing a Murderer, the Doctor, and a servant. Love stirring the cauldron of evil in this eery production, directed by Paul Barnes. 5/14/19 Started a three month contract at the Great River Shakespeare Festival, performing in Servant of Two Masters, directed by Beth Gardiner and Macbeth, directed by Paul Barnes. Can't wait to be back at this festival, which was my first professional job 8 years ago. 4/14/19 Just finished a luminous week of workshop rehearsals for R&J: Damascus. Cannot wait to mount this piece, directed by Kholoud Sawaf, in August. 2/12/19 I'm currently in rehearsal as an associate producer on Triptych (Eyes of One on Another). The piece, about Robert Mapplethorpe and written by Bryce Dessner for Roomful of Teeth, will premiere at LA philharmonic and The Power Center in Ann Arbor, MI, then go on to tour major opera houses nationally and internationally. Look for it at BAM in June! 2/1/19 Just completed an exciting workshop of a new piece MAZE, commissioned by The Shed. This time, on the other side of the table, as an assistant. Looking forward to more as this piece develops. 1/19/19 Next up: a workshop of a new play by Leila Buck, working title Engagement Party. Glad to have an exciting new piece to work on until we begin the tour for CARTOGRAPHY. More on that soon. 1/12/19 Opened CARTOGRAPHY last night at the Kennedy Center to an enthusiastic audience. People were so excited to see their stories of migration reflected on stage. You can read a rave review here, saying, of the five performers: "I, for one, did not want to miss one syllable of the powerful words each masterfully spoke. I wanted to mull over what they said then at the performance–and still do." 12/18/18 Just finished a fantastic tech residency at Wesleyan for CARTOGRAPHY. Next stop - DC! 11/25/18 Excited to spend the next two weeks at New Victory playing and workshopping CARTOGRAPHY further. 9/18/18 Check out this excellent video on the work we did on CARTOGRAPHY at NYU Abu Dhabi this past summer. 9/6/18 Booked it! Just shot a fun commercial for a candy bar this week. Wish I could say more...but keep your eyes peeled for a scout leader enjoying some chocolate! 7/16/18 Turns out the PSA I shot last fall against cyberbullying created by Monica Lewinsky and BBDO New York is one of five commercials up for an Emmy! Watch it by clicking here. 6/30/18 Finished another week of rehearsals with New Victory Lab for CARTOGRAPHY. So thankful for the opportunity to rehearse in the beautiful New 42nd Street studios, and for the tearful faces in the audience after our presentation! 6/13/18 We came away from NYUAD with a projected ocean that responds to our voices, an interactive map for the audience to use in charting their own journeys, and this fantastic article on the work we did. 5/28/18 I'm at NYU Abu Dhabi for two and a half weeks further developing CARTOGRAPHY. I can't wait to learn more about this important and timely piece exploring the refugee experience, and to do it in such an incredible location. 5/21/18 Got to perform in a New York Theatre Workshop developmental reading of Leila Buck's American Dreams and Arabian Nights, playing a character much like myself - a first generation American with parents from Lebanon! It was a lovely way to spend my birthday. 4/17/18 Thrilled to be understudying Ameera's Sister and Interpreter in Yale Rep's production of KISS by Guillermo Calderón, directed by Evan Yionoulis. Thankful to Tara Rubin casting for their support in getting me out here, in my first Arabic speaking role in my professional career! Come see us: April 27th - May 19th. 4/08/18 I loved workshopping CARTOGRAPHY at New 42nd Street Studios. Developed by artists Christopher Myers (author and illustrator) and Kaneza Schaal (director) through their creative work with refugee youth from around the world, CARTOGRAPHY asks what part we all have to play in these evolving experiences, where have we come from, how have we moved, and where are we all going. In part one of our New Victory Lab, we're exploring our own stories of movement and migration. I love being in a room surrounded by such diverse voices. 4/02/18 Performing in a MENASA (Middle East / North African /South Asian) cabaret tonight to increase visibility and representation in the industry! So excited to perform amidst these other amazing artists. 2/19/18 Doing a scary thing tonight - performing in Back Room Shakespeare Project's ROMEO AND JULIET as Tybalt. We have no director and have had one single rehearsal. Let's play! 1/14/18 Still reeling from closing of Emerson Loses Her "Miand", a new comedy set entirely on a beer-pedal-trolley-tavern for an interfaith bachelorette party in Nashville. We had such fun with this one! 12/17/18 Proud to be the voice and face of PrivacyCoach, an online video course that teaches you how to protect your privacy on your phone, tablet, and computer. Check it out here! 12/14/18 Shot a print ad today for Dignity Health, a hospital system on the West Coast. Very thankful to be freelancing and booking with Prestige Management! 11/04/18 Filmed another commercial today, this one for Eureka vacuums. Another man-on-the-street shoot! 10/02/18 Back from an exhilarating two weeks in Maine performing as Irina in a new adaptation of Chekhov's THREE SISTERS by Matt Minnicino. It was pure magic to play in our site specific production at the Barn Arts Collective's Chekhov festival. 9/20/18 Filming my first commercial today! A hidden-camera PSA against cyber bullying. See it here! 8/25/18 Just finished workshop number one of CARTOGRAPHY, thanks to the Public Theatre and Brooklyn College for hosting us. It was very meaningful delving into the stories and journeys of young refugees from around the world. |
7/13/17
We are gearing up for the world premiere of Bullet Catchers at Judson Memorial Church. Hard at work in rehearsals and looking forward to our first preview in a week! Get your tickets here.
6/28/17
Check out our fundraising video for Bullet Catchers and donate to our production costs! We're getting close to our goal of $20,000. Can't wait to share this empowering work.
6/12/17
Performed at the Cherry Lane tonight in Matt Minnicino's new adaptation of Antigone. A play about resistance against tyranny? Feels right for this moment.
5/7/17
Had a blast performing in the workshop of The Human Incubator, a fun and funny new sci-fi musical about reproductive rights. It was a joy to remember how much I love harmonizing and hamming it up.
4/15/17
Just finished a fantastic, intense week of ensemble and world building for R&J Damascus at La Mama. Work on this project with fellow Middle Eastern artists is incredibly fulfilling, exciting, and needed right now!
3/25/17
Just returned from Washington, DC, where the Women in Combat Theatre Project just performed an excerpt of Bullet Catchers, the new name for We Cry Havoc. We're starting to get some press and I'm excited as we gear up for our summer premiere!
1/15/17
Had a very productive performance of Bullet Catchers, our new title for We Cry Havoc, at Cloud City in Williamsburg. It was great to put some new stuff in front of an audience!
7/28/16
Still adjusting back to city life after an amazing residency at The Barn Arts Collective in Maine, working on We Cry Havoc with our incredible team. After a week of devising and writing, we performed twice - once, at the Barn on Mount Desert Island, and the next day, at Opera House Arts in Stonington. It was great to return to the place where we took our first baby steps on the play and to see how far we've come - we've written almost the whole play now! The above image is from a rehearsal we had dancing and singing in the water.
6/28/16
Still reeling from an especially beautiful two weeks working on R+J Damascus at TheatreSquared as part of the Arkansas New Play Festival. It was thrilling to be working on a project combining two of my greatest passions - classical theatre and telling Middle Eastern stories on stage. With a $250K building bridges grant from the Doris Duke Foundation, we began the 3 year process of adapting Romeo and Juliet to be set in Damascus, Syria. Here's a great article about our project.
5/16/14
Just returned from an intense weekend retreat in Hudson, New York to do more writing for our new play about women serving in active combat roles in the military, now titled We Cry Havoc. Check out our website for more information about our play!
3/14/16
So excited to have completed the first artistic residency for my latest project, a brand new play developed by The Women in Combat Theatre Project. After extensive of research and a series of interviews with active and retired military, we spent a very productive 12 days at Opera House Arts in Stonington, Maine, developing a new play examining all sides of what it means to have women officially serving in active combat roles.
8/31/15
I am officially a member of Actors' Equity! Excited for the new opportunities this will bring.
8/17/15
Measure for Measure closed yesterday. We had crowds of up to 650+ people per night, and they really enjoyed it! It felt pretty amazing to bring free Off-Broadway theatre to New York audiences 6 nights a week, and they were wonderfully appreciative. Here's a kind review from our final week in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
6/22/2015
Today was my first day of rehearsals for Measure for Measure with New York Classical Theatre! I'm very excited about playing Mariana outdoors in beautiful parks with this great cast. We perform July 14th - August 16th in Battery Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park, and it's free!
4/20/15
Artaud/Artaud closed last weekend in the blackbox at the Signature Theatre. The show came together beautifully, and the audiences loved it!
3/17/15
A new haircut means new headshots! Check out my new bangs on the Media page.
3/1/15
This month I'll start rehearsals for a new play by bourgeoning playwright Matt Minnicino called Artaud/Artaud, about the years Antonin Artaud (famous for his Theatre of Cruelty) spent in an insane asylum in France. I can't wait to start work on this wild play, and to perform off-broadway at the Signature Theatre in April! You can reserve free tickets here.
12/20/14
We closed the season at American Players Theatre in October, and after being back in NYC for just 3 weeks, I was off again, this time to the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey to play Ursula in Much Ado About Nothing. The New York Times had great things to say about our festive, fun production!
8/20/14
The second round of shows just opened last Friday here at American Players Theatre. That means we have 8 shows running in rep! I'm thankful to be loving the three I'm performing in. Here's a nice review of The Doctor's Dilemma- I'm so grateful to be a part of this "uniformly stellar cast", playing Minnie Tinwell.
5/5/14
After a long drive out from New York, I have safely arrived in Spring Green, Wisconsin, and am thrilled to begin working at the American Players Theatre here for 5 months. I'll be acting in Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Doctor's Dilemma, by Shaw.
1/27/14
I am a proud new member of the Bats at the Flea Theater! I attended my first seminar today as part of the company.
1/19/14
Well, it's been a very happy new year! Twelfth Night was a blast to perform, and it was very well received by full houses. In other news, last night I performed the part of Mimi, a boy-crazy 1940's teenager, in a reading of Art Brown's new screenplay Brownie and Fran. We hope to have another reading of it in February or March, after which it will be turned into a film!
11/16/13
Our Twelfth Night kickstarter is up and running! Check it out here, and please feel free to donate or share the link.
We also have a website! You can find more information about the production there, as well as a link to buy tickets in advance. A free beer is included in the ticket price - you know you want to come!
10/24/13
Coming off of an incredible summer playing Bianca in Taming of the Shrew at Shakespeare Santa Cruz, I jumped right in to rehearsals for an all-female Othello with Spicy Witch Productions. I play the honorable Lodovico, and we close this weekend! "The performances alone are worth the trek to The Kabayitos Theatre in the Lower East Side"...check out our review here: http://stagebuddy.com/reviews/review-othello/
In other news, Twelfth Night rehearsals are in full swing. We open December 4th at Teatro Circulo next to La Mama, and I'll be playing Olivia. Keep an eye out for our Kickstarter campaign, to be launched soon!
We are gearing up for the world premiere of Bullet Catchers at Judson Memorial Church. Hard at work in rehearsals and looking forward to our first preview in a week! Get your tickets here.
6/28/17
Check out our fundraising video for Bullet Catchers and donate to our production costs! We're getting close to our goal of $20,000. Can't wait to share this empowering work.
6/12/17
Performed at the Cherry Lane tonight in Matt Minnicino's new adaptation of Antigone. A play about resistance against tyranny? Feels right for this moment.
5/7/17
Had a blast performing in the workshop of The Human Incubator, a fun and funny new sci-fi musical about reproductive rights. It was a joy to remember how much I love harmonizing and hamming it up.
4/15/17
Just finished a fantastic, intense week of ensemble and world building for R&J Damascus at La Mama. Work on this project with fellow Middle Eastern artists is incredibly fulfilling, exciting, and needed right now!
3/25/17
Just returned from Washington, DC, where the Women in Combat Theatre Project just performed an excerpt of Bullet Catchers, the new name for We Cry Havoc. We're starting to get some press and I'm excited as we gear up for our summer premiere!
1/15/17
Had a very productive performance of Bullet Catchers, our new title for We Cry Havoc, at Cloud City in Williamsburg. It was great to put some new stuff in front of an audience!
7/28/16
Still adjusting back to city life after an amazing residency at The Barn Arts Collective in Maine, working on We Cry Havoc with our incredible team. After a week of devising and writing, we performed twice - once, at the Barn on Mount Desert Island, and the next day, at Opera House Arts in Stonington. It was great to return to the place where we took our first baby steps on the play and to see how far we've come - we've written almost the whole play now! The above image is from a rehearsal we had dancing and singing in the water.
6/28/16
Still reeling from an especially beautiful two weeks working on R+J Damascus at TheatreSquared as part of the Arkansas New Play Festival. It was thrilling to be working on a project combining two of my greatest passions - classical theatre and telling Middle Eastern stories on stage. With a $250K building bridges grant from the Doris Duke Foundation, we began the 3 year process of adapting Romeo and Juliet to be set in Damascus, Syria. Here's a great article about our project.
5/16/14
Just returned from an intense weekend retreat in Hudson, New York to do more writing for our new play about women serving in active combat roles in the military, now titled We Cry Havoc. Check out our website for more information about our play!
3/14/16
So excited to have completed the first artistic residency for my latest project, a brand new play developed by The Women in Combat Theatre Project. After extensive of research and a series of interviews with active and retired military, we spent a very productive 12 days at Opera House Arts in Stonington, Maine, developing a new play examining all sides of what it means to have women officially serving in active combat roles.
8/31/15
I am officially a member of Actors' Equity! Excited for the new opportunities this will bring.
8/17/15
Measure for Measure closed yesterday. We had crowds of up to 650+ people per night, and they really enjoyed it! It felt pretty amazing to bring free Off-Broadway theatre to New York audiences 6 nights a week, and they were wonderfully appreciative. Here's a kind review from our final week in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
6/22/2015
Today was my first day of rehearsals for Measure for Measure with New York Classical Theatre! I'm very excited about playing Mariana outdoors in beautiful parks with this great cast. We perform July 14th - August 16th in Battery Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park, and it's free!
4/20/15
Artaud/Artaud closed last weekend in the blackbox at the Signature Theatre. The show came together beautifully, and the audiences loved it!
3/17/15
A new haircut means new headshots! Check out my new bangs on the Media page.
3/1/15
This month I'll start rehearsals for a new play by bourgeoning playwright Matt Minnicino called Artaud/Artaud, about the years Antonin Artaud (famous for his Theatre of Cruelty) spent in an insane asylum in France. I can't wait to start work on this wild play, and to perform off-broadway at the Signature Theatre in April! You can reserve free tickets here.
12/20/14
We closed the season at American Players Theatre in October, and after being back in NYC for just 3 weeks, I was off again, this time to the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey to play Ursula in Much Ado About Nothing. The New York Times had great things to say about our festive, fun production!
8/20/14
The second round of shows just opened last Friday here at American Players Theatre. That means we have 8 shows running in rep! I'm thankful to be loving the three I'm performing in. Here's a nice review of The Doctor's Dilemma- I'm so grateful to be a part of this "uniformly stellar cast", playing Minnie Tinwell.
5/5/14
After a long drive out from New York, I have safely arrived in Spring Green, Wisconsin, and am thrilled to begin working at the American Players Theatre here for 5 months. I'll be acting in Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Doctor's Dilemma, by Shaw.
1/27/14
I am a proud new member of the Bats at the Flea Theater! I attended my first seminar today as part of the company.
1/19/14
Well, it's been a very happy new year! Twelfth Night was a blast to perform, and it was very well received by full houses. In other news, last night I performed the part of Mimi, a boy-crazy 1940's teenager, in a reading of Art Brown's new screenplay Brownie and Fran. We hope to have another reading of it in February or March, after which it will be turned into a film!
11/16/13
Our Twelfth Night kickstarter is up and running! Check it out here, and please feel free to donate or share the link.
We also have a website! You can find more information about the production there, as well as a link to buy tickets in advance. A free beer is included in the ticket price - you know you want to come!
10/24/13
Coming off of an incredible summer playing Bianca in Taming of the Shrew at Shakespeare Santa Cruz, I jumped right in to rehearsals for an all-female Othello with Spicy Witch Productions. I play the honorable Lodovico, and we close this weekend! "The performances alone are worth the trek to The Kabayitos Theatre in the Lower East Side"...check out our review here: http://stagebuddy.com/reviews/review-othello/
In other news, Twelfth Night rehearsals are in full swing. We open December 4th at Teatro Circulo next to La Mama, and I'll be playing Olivia. Keep an eye out for our Kickstarter campaign, to be launched soon!
