Gulfshore Playhouse Presents THE WHO AND THE WHAT

Gulfshore Playhouse (www.GulfshorePlayhouse.org) - Southwest Florida's premier professional theatre - is pleased to announce its upcoming production of The Who and the What, a poignant and funny play about identity, religion, and the contradictions that make us who we are from Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Ayad Akhtar, scheduled for tonight, April 30, through May 15 at The Norris Center in Naples.

The Who and the What centers on brilliant Pakistani-American writer, Zarina, who is focused on finishing her novel about women and Islam when she meets Eli, a young convert who bridges the gulf between her modern life and her traditional heritage. But when her conservative father and sister discover her controversial manuscript, they are all forced to confront the beliefs that define them. This is a passionate and searing look at a family divided by faith, bonded by love, and searching for truth in contemporary America.

According to the New York Times, The Who and the What "explores intergenerational and interfaith conflicts with fluid eloquence and intelligence."

"No matter your religious background or ethnicity, this is a play about family which is universal"," said Kristen Coury, Gulfshore Playhouse's founder and artistic director.

Gulfshore Playhouse's cast of The Who and The What is as follows:

Eric Clem as Eli

Eric Clem's recent credits include The Elephant Man on Broadway and West End; All in the Timing with Primary Stages; Just Right Just Now with Lesser America; The Way We Get By with American Theater Group; Party In The USA with The Incubator and Edinburgh Fringe; and AliceGraceAnon with New George's. He has acted with Williamstown Theater Festival, Ars Nova, Blue Man Group, Naked Angels, New Georges, 52nd Street Project, The Lark, The Attic, and Woodshed Collective. Clem creates short films with Portal Party, and makes bows and arrows and other boyish things in his woodshop. He is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Rajesh Bose as Afzal

Rajesh Bose is thrilled to be making his Gulfshore Playhouse debut. Regional favorites include Lord Burleigh in Folger Theatre's production of Mary Stuart; Bartley in Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre's production of The Cripple of Inishmaan; Amir in multiple productions of Disgraced, as well as performances with Huntington Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, Playmakers Rep, San Jose Rep, Victory Gardens Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Pittsburgh City Theatre and Quantum Theatre. Off-Broadway favorites include the Daryl Roth Theatre, National Asian American Theatre Company, Theatre 167, and performing as Nirad Das in Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Indian Ink. Film and Television credits include Elementary, Damages, Nurse Jackie, Madame Secretary, The Good Wife, Law & Order: SVU, Criminal Minds, the series finale of The Sopranos, and the Academy Award nominated film Frozen River. Bose is a graduate of Emerson College.

Rasha Zamamiri as Zarina

Rasha Zamamiri is thrilled to be premiering on the Gulfshore Playhouse stage and working on such a powerful piece with an incredible cast. Previous credits include: We Live In Cairo and A New Musical with The O'Neill National Musical Theatre Conference; The Wife with BerkeleyRep Ground Floor Workshop; Transit with Chautauqua Theatre Company; Hour of Feeling with Actors Theatre of Louisville; Humana Festival; Aftermath with New York Theatre Workshop & World Tour; Living in Exile with LaMama; Coca-Cola commercial 'America Is Beautiful' as the Hijabi Woman; ESPN/History's The Vikings. Films include Amira & Sam; Sonnet For a Towncar; One Night; Cairo Stories; and Metro.Pal.Is. Miniseries include Good Medicine. Proud member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA.

Lipica Shah as Mahwish

Lipica Shah will also make her Gulfshore Playhouse debut in this incredible play! Her recent Off-Broadway work includes Bunty Berman Presents... with The New Group; Coping with SoHo Playhouse - Fringe Encores Series; I Like To Be Here with The New Ohio; Bumbug: The Musical with Clurman Theatre; New York: Coping with Teatro SEA - NY Fringe Festival; Rachel: The Musical with The Wild Project - Fruitie Award Winner, Outstanding Featured Performance; Better Homes and Homelands with Drama League; The Jackson Heights Trilogy with 777 Theatre; and Lonely Leela with HERE Arts. Regional credits include Passing Strange and the Displaced Hindu Gods Trilogy - title roles in The Chronicles of Kalki and Shiv with Mixed Blood Theatre; Samsara with Eugene O'Neill Theater Center; and Dov and Ali with Chester Theatre. Film work includes Admission, Arbitrage, Let's Be Out, and The Sun is Shining (Best Actress Nomination - 2012 NYIFF). Television work includes Limitless, HAPPYish, America Odyssey, The Following, Person of Interest,White Collar, and Pokémon. Shah is currently recording a lead voice in a new cartoon series. She will next be seen in the independent film, A Woman, A Part and running the Brooklyn Half Marathon (her sixth) in May.

Creative Team

Emily N. Wells, Director

Emily N. Wells has been working professionally as a director, educator, and stage manager for nearly 20 years. As a director, her New York credits include Theatreworks/USA's Jason and the Argonauts and The Summer of The Swans, and as director/producer at American Theatre of Actors, Theatre Studio, The Simon Studio, and her own production company STEM Productions. At Playhouse on The Square in Memphis, her work includes Black Pearl Sings!; Hank Williams: Lost Highway; Third; and Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. These productions garnered over 20 Memphis Theatre Award nominations, with Third at Circuit Playhouse honored as best dramatic production. Beyond live theatre, Wells also directs events and training programs, including the 2014 fundraising gala for Portland Center Stage and its hit video short Santaland: Darius Speaks Out." She has been the guest artistic director of youth training programs at the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee and Yakota Air Force Base in Japan, and was named the 2010 KC/ACTF Region IV New Play Program Directing Fellow. She earned a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Memphis and is an SDC associate member.

Jennifer C. Bronsted, Costume Designer

Jennifer C. Bronsted is delighted to return to Gulfshore Playhouse for a fourth season. Favorite credits at Gulfshore Playhouse include The Butcher, The God Game, and All My Sons. Other design credits include Henry V with American Shakespeare Center and The 39 Steps with Florida Gulf Coast University. She has worked with Alabama Shakespeare Festival and Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Bronsted earned a Master of Fine Arts in costume design/production from the University of Alabama.

Michael Barnett, Lighting Designer

Michael Barnett is delighted to be working with Gulfshore Playhouse on this production of The Who & The What! His regional work includes national tours of Forever Plaid and Miracle on 34th Street; Grease and The Sound of Music with North Shore Music Theatre; Our Town and Titus Andronicus with Faction of Fools; The Wizard of Oz, Tarzan, Kiss Me Kate, and Beauty & the Beast with Barter Theatre; Always...Patsy Cline with Arkansas Repertory Theatre; Becoming Dr. Ruth with Florida Studio Theatre; Sweeney Todd, The Whipping Man, Red, Cabaret, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Big River, The 39 Steps, Superior Donuts, The Underpants, and A Christmas Story with Nashville Repertory Theatre. Barnett is a proud member of United Scenic Artists #829.

David L. Arsenault, Scenic Designer

An established scenic designer, David L. Arsenault has worked on past Gulfshore Playhouse productions including The Liar; The Butcher; Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike; The Mountaintop; All My Sons; and Venus in Fur. His New York City work includes H2O and Sense of an Ending with 59E59; and the NY Times Critic's Picks Handle With Care with Westside Theatre; The Awake with 59E59; and Long Story Short with Prospect. Outside of New York City, Arsenault has worked with the English Theatre Berlin, Germany; Bay Street Theatre; Kitchen Theatre Company; Geva Theatre; Hangar Theatre; Northern Stage; Merry Go Round Playhouse; Urban Arias; Bucks County Playhouse; Weston Playhouse; and Dorset Theatre Festival, among others. His Broadway work includes The Color Purple (current revival; King Charles III, Constellations, and Disaster!. Upcoming work includes Peer Gynt with Classic Stage Company. Arsenault is a member of the United Scenic Artists 829. He attended Ithaca College.

Evan Middlesworth, Sound Designer

Evan Middlesworth has spent the better part of his life involved with audio and music. After graduating from Purdue University in 2003, Middlesworth set his sights on Seattle, where he worked for several area theatres along with working for a major audio company and playing in local bands. In 2009, Middlesworth and his wife, Laura, relocated to Eau Claire, Wisconsin and setup a recording studio, Pine Hollow Audio. Pine Hollow Audio has become a mainstay in the Midwest music scene and serves as home base for Middlesworth's diverse, ever evolving career in music.

Gulfshore Playhouse's production of The Who and the What will run from April 30 through May 15 at The Norris Center, located at 755 8th Avenue South in Naples. Tickets start at $45 per person. Two special preview performances will take place on Thursday, April 28 and Friday, April 29, with tickets available for just $30 per person. To purchase tickets, please visit www.gulfshoreplayhouse.org or call 239.261.PLAY(7529).

Gulfshore Playhouse is passionately committed to enriching the cultural landscape of the region by producing professional theatre to the highest artistic standards and providing unique educational opportunities to diverse groups of people in a spirit of service, adventure, and excitement. Gulfshore Playhouse's work is inspired by a belief in the magic of theater to expand the imagination, challenge the senses, provoke discussion, and revitalize in the audience an understanding of common humanity. This belief drives the care with which Gulfshore Playhouse treats its artists, audiences, students, staff, and members of the greater community. For more information about Gulfshore Playhouse, please visit www.gulfshoreplayhouse.org.

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