Deepa is a playwright and has been a member of Ma-Yi Writers Lab since 2014 and is also a trained actor. Deepa co-founded and ran Rising Circle Theater Collective (www.risingcircle.org) for 12 years (2000-2012), overseeing the development of over 20 plays by writers of color. When she’s not writing, she is a voice and speech coach for leaders working for educational equity in our country. Education: Class of 2020: MFA, Playwriting at Brooklyn College. MPH, Columbia University. BA, Northwestern University. Baltimore 1992 Teach For America alumnus. Writing: Elyria: 2018 Recipient of National Endowment for the Arts, ArtWorks Grant & 2018 Jerome Foundation Grant for research and development through Ma-Yi Theatre Company, 2018 SPACE on Ryder Farm two-week residency. Crushed Earth: 2017 Recipient of New Play Frontiers Residency and Commission at People’s Light Theatre – co-written w/ Sanjit De Silva. M Ex-perience (in development) A Valentine: 2017 Kilroys Honorable Mention, Ma-Yi Writers Lab Fest 2017. Have Sari. Will Travel!: Rising Circle’s June 2017 Refinery Workshop, 2016 Lilly Awards Foundation Family Residency at SPACE on Ryder Farm, developed in part with Ma-Yi Writers Lab and assistance from SPACE on Ryder Farm - 2015 and 2016. Bones: 2017 Ma-Yi Writers Lab/Andrew W. Mellon Creative Fellowship Residency at the University of Washington, Ma-Yi Writers Lab Fest 2015. Flight: Developed in 2011 with Rising Circle Theater Collective’s 2011 InkTANK PlayLab. Short plays: LotusMart, Ohio (Desipina Productions 2003), Exiled (2001). Writing w/Sanjit De Silva and Rising Circle: Grace (2010), The American Family Project (2007), Pulling the Lever (2004, Published in Plays and Playwrights 2006, 2004 NYIT Award for Best Ensemble).