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On May 8th, 2021 our open call helped performers of MENASA (Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia) descent raise their acting profile and visibility to a powerhouse panel of film and television talent agents, directors, producers and casting professionals.
Over 200 MENASA actors submitted, 80 of whom were scheduled to perform a one-minute monologue in the three hour virtual initiative produced by our team at Studio For Performing Arts LA in collaboration with the MENA Arts Advocacy Coalition.
The following VIPs volunteered to join the panel:
Angela Mickey, Casting Director, Liz Lewis Casting Partners
April Webster, Casting Director, April Webster Casting
Rosalie Joseph, Casting Director, CBS
Ani Avetyan, Casting Director & Producer
Rachael Jimenez, Casting Director, Goodman Theatre
Barrie Adleberg, Writer/Producer & Founder, Split Ends Media
Mike Mosallam, Writer/Director, Brothers, Breaking Fast (President, Mike Mosallam Productions)
Janelle Bernard, Theatrical Talent Agent, Daniel Hoff Agency
Marilyn Atlas, Producer/Manager, Marilyn Atlas Mgmt. & Co-Author of "Dating Your Character"
As a recent study by the MENA Arts Advocacy Coalition showed, only 1 percent of all television actors are of MENASA descent.
This underrepresentation can make it difficult for upcoming MENASA performers to find work and struggle to be seen by casting directors and other industry professionals. We are working together to help performers from these areas get a foot in the door through their virtual open call.
Here are 3 ways you can support the MAAC, a not-for-profit organization:
1) Please click here and join their MENA Talent Database for related opportunities
2) Follow them on Instagram @menaadvocacy
3) Please click here to make a donation, every little bit helps!
This initiative was free for actors of ages nine and up who are of MENASA descent and able to legally work in the USA.
The open call was part of our studio’s scheduled series of events to assist performers from different backgrounds and regions around the world. These diversity initiatives help performers to improve their exposure and be considered for professional acting opportunities and are produced by our director, Walid Chaya.
The following actors were scheduled and performed for this diversity initiative:
Laila Abdo
Maher Aghnim
Sarah Alami
Phae Amara
Gabrielle Archambault
Najat Arkadan Washington
Vaneh Assadourian
Islam Balbaa
Sahil Bhutani
Nicky Boulos
Eden Butvinik
Nikita Chaudhry
Chelly Chelly
Vinay Chinni
David Coretti
Elor De Mayo
Tina El Gamal
Tamir Elbassir
Serena Elgharib
Rand Faris
Aizzah Fatima
Zehra Fazal
Matt Gottlieb
Vritika Gupta
Raveena Gupta
Sophia Gutchinov
Zameer Hassim
Sheila Houlahan
Montana Jacobowitz
Rayyaan Jameel
Tayeb Jasoor
Zarra Kaahn
Sarah Kamran
Carla Kechichian
Eliezer Kesse-Kye
Sofie Khan
Megan Khaziran
Zein Khleif
Sophia Konat
Vick Krishna
Freddie Kuguru
Vee Kumari
Robbie Latorre
Francis Lawrence
Rachanee Lumayno
Ruba Mansouri
Farah Merani
Afsheen Misaghi
Melissa Ngassa Abe
Machelle Noel
Uma Paranjpe
Zain Patel
Venk Potula
Karthik Raj
Utkarsh Rajawat
Salim Razawi
Sheela Sharma
Faizan Sheikh
Piyali Syam
Shenika Travis
Sophia Valinotti
Nick Vango
Satya Vanii
Trang Vo
Zhaleh Vossough
Laura Wei
Rokhsane Zadeh
Awesta Zarif
Sophie Zmorrod Laruelle
Tarek Zohdy
For information about our next diversity initiative, please subscribe with your email below for our studio updates and follow us on Instagram @studioforperformingarts
For the current studio schedule please visit studioforperformingarts.com.