How do you identify as Asian, Pacific Island, South Asian? What is your culture or country of identification? For example: Korean American, Bi-racial: Guam and Dutch, adopted from Bangladesh, etc.

Comedian /improv. Please describe what kind of comedy or improv you do.

Magician. Please describe what kind of magic you make.

Performance artist. Please describe the kind of work you create.

Spoken word. Please describe the kind of spoken word that you create.

Disability Self-Identification

Photography, English, Magic

Personal & Modern: Close up, stage, walk-around, table to table

Magician, musician, photographer

Japanese/Japanese American

neurodivergent, mental health

Passionate about all forms of art, movement and justice, Maya uses pole dance and movement exploration as a means channel their creative energy and explore what it means to have control and autonomy over one’s body.

https://thejennawang.com/projects/performing-arts/

Chinese American, born and raised in Iowa

Jenna is a writer, singer, dancer, and actor currently studying as a student at Northwestern University. She is currently most known for her K-Pop covers, where she has over 200k+ YouTube subscribers

Tuli Bera (she/they) is a Bengali-American movement artist, choreographer, teaching artist, administrator and producer based in Chicago. Bera has collaborated and performed with various companies and individual artists: Aerial Dance Chicago, Ashwaty Chennat, Ayako Kato, Chris Knowlton, Cristal Sabbagh's Freedom From and Freedom To, IS/LAND Performance Collaborative, Ishti Collective, Laksha Dantran, Mandala Arts, Paul Gialorenzo, Peter Doorman and Scott Rubin. Beyond performance, they support independent artists as a producer through the J e l l o Performance Series housed by Elastic Arts. They teach Ballet and Aerial Dance for all ages through Aerial Dance Chicago and as an independent teaching artist at various studios and arts institutions. Their own work has been presented in Chicago at Links Hall, Elastic Arts, The Edge Theater (Pivot Arts Festival), Steppenwolf1700 Theater and the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Pop Up Productions/South Asia Institute

South Asian; Sikh-Punjabi-American

Born in New York and raised in San Diego, CA to a Sikh family, Hershey Suri is an Indian-American actress with over ten years of professional training in vocal and theatrical performance. She majored in Theatre with a concentration with Performance at Pomona College in Los Angeles County, CA. During her college career, she performed as principal roles in multiple department shows such as Fastrada in Pippin the Musical, Jo March in Little Women the Musical, and Narrator in Metamorphoses. Aside from her work onstage at Pomona, she also ran the Claremont Colleges Student Theatre Production Company, directed multiple plays, engaged in performance projects within the Los Angeles Area, and auditioned with Telsey & Co, Julie Schubert Casting, and other large casting agencies. She was selected as one of 16 students internationally to attend NYU Tisch's Shakespeare in Performance Program at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London for Spring 2020. Upon completion from the RADA program and graduation from Pomona College in 2021, Hershey currently resides in Chicago, Illinois, represented by Vilma Llaguno with Dream Team Talent. She recently performed a solo performance with Theatre Wit as a 2023 member of the Shattered Globe Theatre's Protégé Ensemble (a cohort of 15 emerging artists in the Chicago-land area selected from hundreds of applications/auditions). She is also going to be performing as Nameless/Ava Understudy in Babes With Blades' upcoming World Premiere production of S. Paradox. In addition, she is set to direct the world premiere of the South Asian production of Next to Normal May 16-26, 2024 with the South Asian Institute. When she is not auditioning or performing, Hershey works as a Paralegal at the leading Civil Rights Law Firm: Loevy & Loevy. She also enjoys whipping up delicious new recipes, exploring new places within the Greater Chicago area with her friends, or singing to herself or for an audience.

Mixed Race. Filipino, Irish, Mexican, or simply Filipino American.

Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Traditional Filipino inspired Contemporary fusion

Elijah Richardson is a Filipino-American dance artist based in Chicago. Originally from San Jose, California, he graduated with his BFA in Dance Performance from Chapman University in 2018. His professional company credits include DanceWorks Chicago, Collage Dance Collective, Zion Dance Project, and The Cambrians. Since 2021, Elijah has been a company member of South Chicago Dance Theatre where he has performed in major debuts at Jacob’s Pillow, Harris Theater, Auditorium Theatre; tours to Colombia, South Korea, and Vietnam; and in collaborations with Giordano Dance Chicago, and Chicago Opera Theater. His own choreography has been presented at Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival, Loyola University Chicago, Trifecta Dance Festival, South Chicago Dance Festival, Chapman University, Zion Dance Project, and four times at Mobile Dance Film Festival, among others. As a guest educator, he has taught at the University of Chicago, Western Michigan University, and Northern Illinois University, to name a few. Elijah was honored to be named “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine for 2023, as well as his recent inclusion in Chicago’s own NewCity Magazine’s “Players 50 List” for 2025. Elijah is proud of his Filipino heritage and continues to embrace and incorporate traditions and values through his choreography.

Storytelling performances on Chicago and national storytelling shows (Moth, Writers Theater, RISK! Podcast live show, Do Tell)

I lean into a style I call Empathetic Candor. In a world full of static, my work aims to be a grounded, authentic presence. I prioritize clarity and insight, but I always leave room for wit and the happy coincidence, those moments of discovery that only happen through active, curious engagement.

Whether I am speaking to a room or writing for a page, my core format remains the same: Start with a question, build with rhythm, and end with a resonance that lingers. I aim to create stories that feel like old friends, familiar in their warmth, but surprising in their depth.

Andy Wowor is a Chicago-based actor, vocalist, and performance artist with a diverse portfolio spanning stage and screen. His professional credits include the film Love Language, the Apple TV+ series Dark Matter, and numerous musical theatre productions. An accomplished cantor and organist, Andy seamlessly blends his professional-grade vocal training with a passion for storytelling, specializing in both oral traditions and picture book narratives. Whether performing in a liturgical setting or on a film set, he brings a unique rhythmic precision and authentic presence to every creative project.

pursuing PhD in performance studies at Nortwester University

孙也佳 Sun Yejia (she/her/hers) comes from Beijing, China, and is currently based in Chicago. She creates and dramaturges works that explore the contested production of knowledge and archives, the politics of socially engaged storytelling with communities, and feminist STS studies of digital death cultures. In the United States, her dramaturgical/independent multidisciplinary works are presented at National Sawdust, Exponential Festival(JACK), Cellunova New Play Festival(Theaterlab), Accent Sisters, etc. She is currently co-leading multidisciplinary work featured in Tongues Collective(multilingual documentary theatre making, supported by NYSCA, LMCC among others), and Tiandi Universal Market(A4 WCWD funding). In China, her dramaturgical works were presented at the Goethe Institute Shanghai, Rockbound Museum, Young Theatre, and Shekou Theatre Festival, among others. Her essays were published at Critical Stages, Howlround, and YingMing Theater. She is a recipient of the Davis Project for Peace fellowship, the A4 WCWD fellowship, the Lisa Lu Scholarship, and the SNF PHI funding. BFA. Communication University of China; MFA. Columbia University; Currently PhD. at Northwestern University, Performance Studies

Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Balinese, Khmer Apsara, Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop, House, Jazz, Kandyan, Mohiniyattam, Kathakali, Bollywood and Gharba.

The Chicago Korean Dance Company

Asian American Coalition of Chicago

Korean Cultural Center Of Chicago

https://www.facebook.com/SimmerBrownComedy