Executive Advisors

Archana Joglekar is a multifaceted artist whose career spans acting, modeling, classical dance, writing, and direction. With lead roles in Hindi, Marathi, Oriya, Bangla, and Tamil films, she has worked alongside cinematic legends such as Aamir Khan, Rajnikanth, and Rekha, leaving a lasting impact with her powerful performances. Archana is also a household name in Indian television, acclaimed for her roles in hit series like Kissa Shanti Ka and Fulwanti. A celebrated Kathak dancer, Archana has performed at prestigious festivals across India and internationally. Her talents extend behind the camera as a writer and director, with critically acclaimed projects like the Hindi TV serial Samrajya and Marathi series Awaghachi Sansar. As a successful model, Archana was the face of iconic brands like LUX, Nirma, and Sunsilk, earning a reputation as a "golden goose" for every product she endorsed. Today, she continues to contribute to the arts through her diverse creative pursuits, inspiring audiences worldwide.

Karen Greenspan is a New York City-based dance journalist and frequent contributor to Natural History, Fjord Review, Dance Tabs, Ballet Review, and Tricycle Magazine among other publications. She is also the author of Footfalls from the Land of Happiness: A Journey into the Dances of Bhutan published in 2019. You can check out her writing at: www.karengreenspan.com

Dancer, choreographer, Maya Kulkarni is a highly respected and well-known figure in the Indian dance world. Maya has performed extensively in the US, Europe and in the last three years choreographed “The Allegory of the Cave” (by Plato), “The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse”, “Medea’s Muse”, Adventures of a Naughty Bee” and "Impossible Romance” that stretch the boundaries of the classical dance forms. Her more traditional pieces include “Ardhanarinateswara’, ‘Sayankale’, ‘Yakshini’ and ‘Tridha’. These pieces were showcased at the ‘Drive East’ festival and the Erasing Border festival, in New York City. ‘Tridha’, premiered in March 2021; ‘Kundalini Rising’ and ‘Kavacham’ have been created especially for the 2021 Battery Dance Festival. As a performer, the New York Times hailed her as the ‘Dancer’s Dancer”.

Padmashree Satish Alekar is the author of Marathi plays like MAHANIRVAN, MICKY ANI MEMSAHIB, MAHAPOOR, DOOSRA SAMANA, BEGUM BARVE, SHANIWAR – RAVIWAR, PIDHIJAT” (DYNASTS), etc. is practicing theatre in Maharashtra since 1970. Satish Alekar was working as Professor and Head of the Centre for Performing Arts (Lalit Kala Kendra) at University of Pune from July 1996 till he retired in Jan. 2009. He developed the Centre for for Performing Arts at Pune University during his tenure as Professor and Head (1996-2009) from the scratch. It is regarded as the one of the best training centres in the field of Performing Arts in the country and in Asia. He is one of the founder members of India’s best-known theatre group THEATER ACADEMY, PUNE that he administered from 1973 to 92. Many of his plays have been translated and produced in several regional languages all over India. With his plays like MAHANIRVAN (1974) and BEGUM BARVE (1979) he created new idiom in Marathi theatre by his unique use of black humor, language and absurdity to convey the oblique sense of reality. He also authored several short plays that are extensively staged by the experimental theatre groups all over Maharashtra for past thirty years. He recently completed his new short play “Ek Divas Mathakade...” which is running in Hindi at Delhi and in Marathi at Pune. English translation of this play published in the issue of “Theatre India” in March 2012 by NSD, Delhi Satish Alekar conceived and successfully implemented programmes like Playwrights Development Scheme and Regional Theater Group Development, which were supported, by the Ford Foundation for Theatre Academy, Pune since 1985 to 1994. He has extensively traveled abroad. In January-May 2003 he was the Fulbright Professor at Department of Performance Studies, Tisch School of Arts, New York University. He also was at the Duke University, N.C., U.S.A. on adjunct teaching assignment during spring 1995 semester. He lectured on CONTEMPORARY INDIAN THEATRE at the several universities in U.S. Prof. Alekar is the recipient of “Padmashree” in 2012. He was honored with several National and State awards since 1973 for his contribution to the field of Theatre and Literature. He received Nandikar Sanman at Calcutta in 1992 and fellowships from the Asian Cultural Council, New York in 1983 to study Theatre in U. S. and from the Ford Foundation to study Theatre of South Asia in 1988. He received National Award for the playwriting in 1994-95 from Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi. He scripted the national award winning Marathi feature film Jait Re Jait in 1977 and directed a Hindi T.V. Serial in 13 parts Dekho Magar Pyarse for Doordarshan in 1985. He also scripted the dialogues for Marathi feature film Katha Don Ganpatravanchi produced by N.F.D.C. in 1995-96. He was invited to participate in ODIN THEATRE week by Eugenio Barba at Odin Teatret, Holstebro, Denmark in August 2002. He participated in the 12th ISTA’s International Theatre workshop conducted by Eugenio Barba in Germany in September 2001 and in Eugene O’Neill Theatre Centre’s Playwrights Conference in Connecticut (U.S.) in 1992. He participated in the World Theatre Congress of I.T.I. (UNESCO, Paris) held in Berlin (1983), Athens, Greece (2002) and Tampico, Mexico (2004) where he is nominated as the Vice President of the International Playwrights Forum. His published plays are available with Neelkanth Prakashan, Pune (in Marathi) and Seagull Book, Calcutta (in English). Many of his plays have been translated, produced and published in several Indian regional languages like: Hindi, Tamil, Dogri, Kannada, Gujarathi, Rajasthani, Punjabi, and Konkni. His plays also included in the National Anthologies published by the National School of Drama and Sahitya Akademi, Delhi published in 2000-1. Oxford University Press published his six plays in a volume “Collected Plays of Satish Alekar” in 2009 (ISBN: 978-0-19-806023-9). Satish Alekar has also collaborated in several international translation projects. He freely translated and directed short plays by German Playwright Tänkred Dörst (for Goethe Institute, Pune) in 1980; play “The Flood” by Günter Grass in 1980 (for Goethe Institute, Pune), Two short plays by Egyptian playwright Dr. Alfred Farag, Cairo (in association with American University in Cairo) in 2001. Prof. Alekar served many cultural organizations, institutes and universities like Bharat Bhavan, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi, National School of Drama, University Grants Commission, Delhi, S.N.D.T. University, and Shivaji University as advisor member of the committees. He was Govt. of India nominee on the society for the National School of Drama, Delhi and also nominated as the officiating Chairman, NSD, Delhi in 2005. He is currently a member of the academic council, NSD, Delhi. He was also a member of the Theatre Advisory committee of Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi 1999-2004. He received the Late Prin. V.K. Joag Award (2005) for outstanding performance in teaching from University of Pune. Prof. Alekar successfully completed in 2011 a grant project supported by Sir Ratan Tata Trust under the auspices of University of Pune under which nine text books in Marathi on the performing arts were published. Prof. Satish Alekar also worked as Research Officer at B.J. Medical College, Pune being a trained Biochemist.Satish Alekar M.Sc. (Biochemistry), Poona University (1972), lives in Pune

Mr. Vijay Kenkre is a legendary theater personality from India. He is an award winning director who has directed over 100 plays in Marathi, Hindi and in English including one act plays, children's play, experimental theater plays, commercial plays, TV serials, TV plays etc. Mr. Vijay Kenkre is an accomplished actor in Bollywood and Marathi movies, theater, Teleplays and TV serials. He has received numerous overall excellence awards for acting as well as for directing various plays. He is currently serving as an Academic Council Member at National School of Drama -New Delhi as well as holding various faculty positions at many prestigious theater institute including Theater development Center , NCPA, Lalit Kala Kendra, Pune and University of Mumbai-Academy of Theater Arts.

Dr. Dipan Ray, a Pharmacist & Scientist by profession but theater is his passion. A Pharmacist & Scientist by profession but theater is his passion. Even after a successful research career with three patents and several publications, he opted to work in an educational institute rather than working for the much more lucrative corporate world of pharmaceutical research, so as to have equal time to devote to his first love, ‘theater’. Ray began his acting tour, in the seventies and eighties in Kolkata under the guidance of Debesh Chakroborty, a disciple of Utpal Dutta and formed his own group Epic Actors’ Workshop in 1988 after moving to United States. But his greatest contribution to the Indian Theatre in general and Bengali Theatre in particular has been his pioneering work in introducing concept of South Asian Theater Festival in North America in 2006 that has become an annual event in New Jersey. In 2008, he produced South Asian Theater Festival in collaboration with New Jersey Performing Arts Center, a sixth largest cultural center in North America that opened a new chapter in Indian Theater in USA. He also organized several theater workshops for Children and Youth with the help of Middlesex County Cultural & Heritage Commission. He introduced ancient Indian classics in contemporary form to main stream American audience. He made overseas tours with his team to present “Pagla Ghoda”, Directed by Amol Palekar in 2008 and Tagore’s “Sacrifice” in 2011 in many Cities of India. He has been recipient of several awards of recognition from organizations such as Bangladesh Theater of America and New York City Council in 2005, Indo Canada Overseas Broadcasting Corporation, Toronto in 2004 and Rittik of Berhampur, West Bengal in 2010, Good Citizen award from Indian Cultural Society in 2012. He is also being interviewed extensively by paper media such as Star ledger, Home News Tribune, News India, Mumbai Theater Guide and The Times of India and electronic media such as EBC Radio, TV Asia, ITV, Tara TV and Doordarshan On professional side, he has been involved in several missionary projects that include a trip to Haiti after the earthquake disaster in early 2010 and organized a health camp with his students in two slums in Delhi and Agra in 2012. He is also a volunteer for American Red Cross and had the opportunity to serve the families of victims during the 10th anniversary of 9/11 memorial. He is currently serving in the committee for Hepatitis B & C Coalition and Immunization Coalition with Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in New York City to determine policies to improve health outcome of New York City residents.

is Professor of the Department of Theatre and Film Studies, University of Georgia/Athens. Recent productions he has directed include, Silence! The Court is in Session, Romance in the Garden, and Tartuffe for the Indian Cultural Society of East Brunswick, The Little Clay Cart, Sacrifice, and Hayavadana for Epic Actors Workshop, as well as Romeo and Juliet,Hamlet, and A Christmas Carol for Circle Ensemble Theatre of Athens, Georgia. He continues to develop a website on kutiyattam (sanskrittheatre.com) perhaps the oldest genre of theatre that has survived from ancient India. His most recent publication is Kutiyattam and Kerala Temples: Patterns of Survival by Margi Madhu Chakyar. He edited the book and assisted in the translation from Malayalam to English with the late L.S. Rajagopalan. His “Indian Traditional Theatre” was published in the Routledge Handbook of Asian Theatre, London: Routledge, 2016