Jasmine Sharma

Working on:

CANCELLED/CANCEL ME

2021 New Voices Emerging Playwright

Jasmine Sharma (she/her) is a South Asian-American actor/writer/activist and recent graduate of Northwestern University. Jasmine and her writing have been recognized nationally by the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center (NPC semifinalist); Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (Michael Kanin Playwriting Awards); The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards; New Jersey Governor’s Awards; UCROSS; American Blues Theater; and Athena Project.

Her work has been further supported by Lime Arts Productions, Permafrost Theatre Collective, NextStage Theatre Company, Mad Cow Theatre, Samuel-Lancaster Productions, Mayo Performing Arts Center, The Valdez Last Frontier Theatre Conference, The Blank Theater Company, AstonRep, AlterTheater Ensemble and Access Theater NYC.

She is currently a member of The Road Theatre’s Under Construction 2021-2022 Cohort and is also partnered in the inaugural AGE: Ignite the Arts Spring 2021 Cohort. Jasmine is represented by CHI Talent Management and KMR & Associates.

Currently residing: Los Angeles!

Grew up in: Dirty Jersey

Creative beginnings: I’ve always loved theatre—my first love was singing. And overacting both leads of Wicked. What has inspired me to write is to create the roles I would want to play. There are so few representations of South Asian women in media or onstage, let alone nuanced ones. Every opportunity I get to collaborate with another actor or writer from a historically excluded background is an opportunity to make the cannon a more accurate depiction of what the world is and looks like.

Playwriting inspiration: Finding spaces to grow outside of my predominantly white institutions 😉

Writing process: Get half a draft out in one sitting, ignore the play, then force out 10 pages a week until she’s done. Then scrap it all and rewrite it coherently. Then wine. Repeat.

The origin of your play CANCELLED/CANCEL ME: I wanted to write a pandemic play where the pandemic wasn’t the main character. I feel so many of us were—and still are—looking for accountability from the world, and so expect it from each other. That’s where the heart of this play lives for me.

Favorite moment or line: Mushroom the cat. Hope he stays in.

Hope for audience takeaways: I hope audiences can recognize the harm around them, and maybe question how they can care for each other.

Most looking forward to at ANPF: Having other writers my age hear it! The opportunity to work with other new voices is invaluable.