The Beginning

2009. This year has been an interesting year for me. I shot my first NY based independent feature, I shot another Pakistani TV serial, I shot for Fringe on Fox. Busy start to the year, but as April approached, work dwindled away and in May I find myself in a place I haven’t visited in years. My creative playground. Beginning of May I started doing the Artist’s Way for the first time. I was taking Masterclass at LAByrinth Theatre company and the group I was working with inspired me to start Foreign Born Artists’ Collective. I am excited about it and it is like a new-born at this stage. We will have our first meeting in the first week of June. Most importantly, I have finally begun rehearsals for my Solo Show. I give the credit to Francesca Mantani Arkus, a wonderful director, teacher, and mentor. Without her enthusiasm & support I was just scared, lonely and terrified of this solo show.

So, I start this blog with a lot of Gratitude. Thanks to Larry, my husband, for being my rock and for always supporting my creative & sometimes crazy ideas. Thanks to my parents for giving me life and a wonderful childhood and education. Thanks to my sister who can always sense my deepest thoughts and fears, and call me on my shit. Thanks to my in-laws for their generosity and love towards us. I wish I could thank each & every person who has helped shape me in every way. In my heart I thank them.

I want to chart how I met Fran. First I met Larry in graduate school, who brought Gary Garrison to work on his thesis play & I met Gary. When I moved to NYC, we had lunch with Gary who told me about First Look Theatre Company at NYU. Through that I met Rebecca Nesvet, a playwright & Fran Arkus. Don’t remember exactly which scene Fran directed me on, but I had met her there. Then years later Rebecca asked me to be in a reading of her new play RPM that Fran was directing. After reading the wonderful play based on Anand Mahadevan’s novel The Strike, we all went for food & drinks and Fran asked me something (I don’t remember what exactly) & I remember telling her about my solo show that I want to do so much. I started crying. I was embarrassed because I didn’t want the other actors to think I was pulling some trick to get ahead or something. You now how actors can be. Anyways, right there and then Fran said to me- I will help you. Ah! Magic words. I couldn’t believe that she wanted to work with me and help me materialize my dream about the solo show.

I went home that night in December 2008 thinking- perhaps, perhaps it is possible that she will indeed work with me and that this will happen. She stayed in touch with me and we exchanged emails and met and finally had our first rehearsal last night on May 14, 2009.

So, thank you Larry, Gary, Rebecca, Anand, & Fran. Life works in mysterious ways.