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Patel is a British actor with Indian origins. I've been watching his work since his breakout role in Slumdog Millionaire. None of his roles since have portrayed the race we share in a negative way. This is big because stereotypical performances are especially common when concerning the Indian community, and as an Indian actor hoping to join the industry, it hurts to see people with power say yes to roles like that. That is why I respect Dev Patel not only as an actor, but also as a person.

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Mamet is a playwright, filmmaker, and author. He is well-known and credited in all three spheres.

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The energy surrounding our work has the ability to make or break it. Allowing our community to have open conversations will encourage positive connections.

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I've taken quite a few theatre classes, but one name that came up the most is Uta Hagen. Her theory of answering questions as your character has shaped my own methods of preparing for a performance. They have encouraged me to be truthful with myself, not only as a character but as an actor. After answering the questions, I feel entirely prepared to get on stage.

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In her 84 years of life, Hagen's career was one I can only dream of achieving. She was a fantastic actor and a skilled teacher.

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Macy has been working in the industry since 1975, and met Mamet while originating a role in several of his plays.

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Patel made his debut in 2007 at the age of 17.

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I learned of Adler through studying Constantin Stanislavski. Her words about choices have stuck with me since I first read them: "in your choices lies your talent." Adler consciously stepped away from method acting and believed that character is made real through one's imagination, and one doesn't have to rely on past memories to be authentic on stage.

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Adler studied with Stanislavski in Paris for five weeks in 1934; within that time, she learned that he had stepped away from memory-based characterization.

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I believe that one can only have good theatre if the company is open-minded. A lot of the times, shows are about something new, something thought-provoking, and sometimes about something controversial. Thus, these shows and talking about such issues must not be stigmatized. Open minds are essential for this. Productive, honest communication is a huge part of performance.

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Much like open-mindedness, professionalism can destigmatize situations. One example of this is intimacy direction; we see actors project onstage relationships into the real world so often that we even have a term for it: "showmances." Intimacy directions brings professionalism into the picture, encouraging those involved to separate personal and professional, elevating the performance.

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Intimacy direction creates reliable, repeatable choreography for intimate scenes, providing the involved actors with a sort of safety net.f

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A technique conceived by David Mamet and William H Macy, practical aesthetics encourages us to tell the story simply and truthfully. It utilizes the rigorous process of script analysis, allowing the actor to outline their given circumstances, do research, and really get to know and understand their character and the plot. This leads them to personalizing their performance.

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Together, these questions make up the process.

1. What is the character literally doing?

2. What does the character want their scene partner to do?

3. What is the actor doing onstage to achieve this goal?

4. The “as if,” which personalizes it. Or: What is this to me?

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This is a theatre started by Macy and Mamet along with 30 of their students in 1985. It's a Off-Broadway non-profit theatre that has produced over 200 plays since its conception. Its acting school is a private conservatory but also partners with NYU's undergraduate program in the Tisch School of the Arts.

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As a person of color,  POC in the industry are important to me. The way they use their space in the limelight to acknowledge their privilege and use their popularity is something I hold in very high regard. For this reason, I find it difficult to watch productions (theatre, film, and TV) in which actors of color perpetuate negative stereotypes.

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Zendaya is an inspiration because of the range of her career. She started as a Disney kid, and now simultaneously exists in film and TV effortlessly. 

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Teamwork, leadership, and collaboration are all simultaneously necessary for theatre, which is a unique art form in that it is inherently collaborative. Playwrights create a story, directors give it purpose, actors give it life, and technicians give it color. None of these pieces would work in the absence of any one of them.

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In this picture we see a very basic demonstration of collaboration: the cast of Pippin works together to spell the title in the opening number.

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I believe that working in a creative team forces you out of a self-inflicted comfort zone. It ensures that multiple ideas get heard and considered in ways they would not unless they were verbally articulated. Collaboration increases innovation, problem-solving, and communication. This, in turn, sparks creativity and improves the quality of the end result.

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Collaborating on a project and the final result feels rewarding in a way that other projects don't have the ability to be.