Founders
 

Deepa Purohit
Co-Founder/Artistic Director of the Rising Circle Theater Collective. See bio below.

Rod Bowen
Co-Founder of the Rising Circle Theater Collective. His life in theatre began in Providence RI, where he was the in-house lighting designer for Rites and Reason Theater. He studied acting with the Harlem Theatre Company (where he met Deepa) and has performed in such pieces as Ti- Jean and His Brothers, Sincerity Forever, Dishin' with Tish (which he also co-wrote and directed), The Odyssey, and The Death of Bessie Smith. His first one act Leavin' has appeared in a number of one act festivals and showcases. Rod is also a visual artist with a MFA in printmaking. Most recently, Rod's passion for education and the arts inspired him to collaborate with the non-for profit DreamYard to open the DreamYard Preparatory School, a small arts based public school in the Bronx where he is serving as the founding principal.

Artistic Director
 

Deepa Purohit
Co-Founder/Artistic Director of the Rising Circle Theater Collective. Writing: American Family Project (Rising Circle-NY), Exiled (NY), LotusMart, Ohio, Pulling the Lever (Rising Circle-NY); published in New York Theatre Experience's Plays and Playwrights 2006, winner of NY Innovative Theater Award for Best Ensemble. 2006 recipient of the New York Coalition of Professional Women in the Arts & Media's very first "Collaboration Award," to recognize the achievement of women working with women within the performing arts community. TV: The Sopranos, Law & Order: CI, Six Degrees, The Education of Max Bickford, One Life to Live. Stage: In the Heart of America, Barriers, Vagina Monologues, The End of the Apurnas, The Abortion, For Colored Girls.... Film: The War Within, Theen, Another Journey, The Lottery. She is a former middle school teacher and has a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University.

Associate Artistic Director
 

Sanjit De Silva
Associate Artistic Director of the Rising Circle Theater Collective. Stage credits include: Masked (DR2), Macbeth (NYSF/Public Theatre), Measure for Measure (NYSF/Public Theatre), Slipped Disc (HERE), In The Heart of America (Studio Tisch), Indian Ink (Quantum Theatre). Film/TV credits include: August, Arranged, American Desi, I'm Paige Wilson, Six Degrees, Law&Order:TBJ, Law&Order:SVU, Law&Order:CI, Jonny Zero. Writing credits include: American Family Project, Irish Eyes, and Pulling the Lever (published in NYTE's Plays & Playwrights 2006). He received his MFA from NYU's Graduate Acting Program and his BA from Washington University in St. Louis where he was a double major in Biology and Performing Arts.

Core Members
 

Catherine Jhung
Core Member since 2003, Catherine originated roles in Rising Circle plays American Family Project and Pulling the Lever (Outstanding Ensemble, Innovative Theatre Awards, 2005). Other New York theater: Opera Frankfurt's Macbeth, Lincoln Center Festival; The Shanghai Gesture, the Peccadillo Theatre Company; Desipina Productions' Barriers. First National Tour: The King and I. TV: One Life To Live; All My Children. Modern dance credits include: Bill Young and Dancers, New York City; Silesian Dance Theatre, Bitom, Polan; and the New Dance Ensemble, Minneapolis. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Catherine graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and the Conservatory at The Actors Center in New York City. Catherine teaches ballet and dance workshops to students of all ages in the New York City area, most recently for American Ballet Theatre, the Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre and City Center.

Nancy Kim
Core Member since 2004. Nancy Kim recently performed in Rising Circle's original production American Family Project. She was also a co-Associate Producer for Pulling the Lever (Rising Circle). She has worked with various theatre companies throughout New York City as well as assisted in producing numerous documentary and non-fiction programs for television. She enjoys studying and performing comedy improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade. She was invited to join NYTheatre.com's Review Squad in 2007. Nancy currently works at the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts, a non-profit organization promoting diversity and inclusio in theatre, film, and television and is developing her first solo performance piece slated for production in December 2008 (Rising Circle).

Amie Parikh
Core Member since 2004. Amie Parikh moved to New York City in 2003 and has dabbled in various mediums of art. She was the Program Director of Desh Pardesh, a non-profit arts organization in Toronto, Canada and an Associate Producer of the film Rewriting the Script: A Love Letter to Our Parents. She was an Associate Producer for both Rising Circle's productions, Pulling the Lever and American Family Project. While she worked with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Amie created and co-produced four short vignettes on health diversity titled, Asking Questions: A Cultural Assessment Tool. She currently works at MTI Residential Services, Inc., a supported housing organization for people with mental illness.