Meet the 'Friends With Amenities' Team
AHSAN ALI
Playwright/Ali
Ahsan (he/him) is a writer, actor, and filmmaker who grew up in Pakistan and immigrated to NYC where he currently resides. He is the co-founder of the indie production company, Zeal Films. He is the co-writer for the award-winning pilot Legit Married, which won Best Web Pilot at DWF: LA, Best Episodic Pilot at Katra Film Series, and was an ATX TV Festival Pitch Competition Finalist in 2022. Select theater credits: Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar (American Stage), Mushroom by Eisa Davis (People’s Light). Select tv credits: “The Blacklist” (NBC), “Nora from Queens” (Comedy Central). Awards: Best Short Film, Best Actor, & Best Director in the Golden Short Film Festival for his film Fahim (2020); Best Performance for his film Coffee in the Astoria Film Festival (2021); Best Actor in the New Wave Short Film Festival for his film Fahim (2020); Best Performance at Women’s Comedy Film Festival in Atlanta and Chicago for Legit Married (2022); The Hilton Worldwide Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (2014). BFA, CUNY Brooklyn College.
NLTP debut.
LISA JILL ANDERSON
Playwright/Natalie
Lisa (she/her) is an actor, writer, and producer based in NYC, originally from CA. Select theater credits include: Everything is Super Great by Stephen Brown (59E59), Hal & Bee by Max Baker (59E59), The Woods. by Jahna Ferron-Smith (Pendragon), In the Event of My Death by Lindsay Joy (IRT Theater), and Live From the Surface of the Moon by Max Baker (Wild Project). TV: “Inventing Anna” (Netflix) & “Growing Up” (Disney+). Lisa co-created, produced and starred in the award-winning pilot Legit Married. In 2022, Legit Married was an ATX TV Festival Pitch Competition Finalist and screened at 32 film festivals, with several wins and nominations for Best Pilot. Proud member of New Light Theater Project. BFA in acting, CUNY Brooklyn College. lisajillanderson.com
For NLTP: Everything Is Super Great, Hal & Bee
SARAH NORRIS
Director
Sarah (she/her) is the Founding Artistic Director of New Light Theater Project and the Summer Artistic Producer of Pendragon Theatre. As a director, select credits include: H*tler's Tasters (TimeOut NY Critics' Pick, Best of the Edinburgh Fringe; featured in the NY Times, Chicago Tribune, LA Times and the BBC), Everything is Super Great (TimeOut NY Critics' Pick), This Wrestling Place (w/ Executive Producer Ben Folds), Picture Ourselves in Latvia (Best of Theater, The L Magazine). Other highlights include: Guild Hall of East Hamptons, Pleasance Theatre (Edinburgh), Greenside Theatre (Edinburgh), Bottom Dog Theatre (Ireland), Adelaide Fringe Festival (Australia), 59E59 Theaters, LAByrinth Theatre, Working Theater, Electric Lodge (LA), Chicago Dramatists, North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, The Flea Theater, Zeiders American Dream Theater, Calliope Stage, Forestburgh Playhouse, and Pendragon Theatre. SarahNorris.org
NLTP (select): H*tler's Tasters, Everything is Super Great, The Great Novel, In the Soundless Awe, Hal & Bee, Two of Us, Picture Ourselves in Latvia, REX
JANET BENTLEY
Sound Designer
Janet (they/them) is a multidisciplinary theater artist with an MFA from the University of Iowa. Select: The Waiting Room (Ashtar Theatre, Ramallah), Experimenting With Katz (TheatreLab), The Art of Protest (Articulate Theatre), We Dissent: Voices for Reproductive Rights – film (Words of Choice), Detroit ‘67 (Kingsborough College), Circle Mirror Transformation (Pendragon Theatre), The Pillowman (Surfside Playhouse), Thanks For the Memories (University of Iowa), Macbeth (University of South Florida). rolypolyproductions.com
For NLTP: According to the Chorus, The End of Hester, Everything Is Super Great, Life x 3
NATALIE ESLAMI
Scenic Designer
Natalie (she/her) is an Iranian-American scenic designer from Memphis, now based in NYC. Selected design credits include Così Fan Tutte, A Hit Dog Will Holler (Carnegie Mellon), Little Women (Bristol Valley Theater), Our Town (Pendragon Theater). Natalie is a recent graduate of the BFA Drama program at Carnegie Mellon University. NEslamiDesign.com @natslami
NLTP debut.
HAYLEY GARCIA PARNELL
Lighting Designer
Hayley (she/they) is a Latina lighting designer from Colorado, currently based in NYC. They received their BA in Theatre with a concentration in Lighting Design and a Minor in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder. They are especially interested in applied theater, new works, and theater in nontraditional spaces, but there has yet to be a style of performance they have not fallen hopelessly in love with. They believe there is nothing more intimately human we can do than sit in the dark, telling each other stories.
NLTP debut.
KELLY MCCARTY
Asst Director/ASM
Kelly (she/they) is a NYC based yoga teacher, actor, director, and stage manager. Select theater: Connecticut Repertory Theatre under the direction of Terrence Mann and Peter Flynn (Sophie in Mamma Mia, Ensemble in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), Playhouse on the Square- Ostrander Award Nominated (Winnie in Tuck Everlasting, Phoebe in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Lulu in Cabaret), Pendragon Theatre (Emily in Our Town, Schwartzy in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee). She trains vocally with Bradley Dean (Broadway: Phantom of the Opera, Dear Evan Hansen). Western Carolina University. Coach for Run4FunUSA (nonprofit). Kelly-Mccarty.com
For NLTP: According to the Chorus, H*tler’s Tasters, This Wrestling Place
KLEO MITROKOSTAS
Producing Associate
Kleo (she/her) is an NYC-based actor and producer. Recent theater credits include Circle, Mirror, Transformation; The Muppet Cabaret; Our Town (Pendragon Theatre), The Wolves (NYU Tisch), and Sweet Charity (Cotuit Center for the Arts). NYU BFA Drama ‘24. KleoMitrokostas.com
For NLTP: According to the Chorus
MEREDITH WARREN
Production Stage Manager
Meredith (she/her) is a musical theatre performer and stage manager from Nashville, Tennessee. She most recently worked as the Production Stage Manager at Pendragon Theatre for their summer stock season (Rocky, Muppets, etc.). Other select stage management credits include: Amahl and the Night Visitors (Samford University), Blue Yonder (Samford Underground), and Escape to Margaritaville (Virginia Samford Theatre). IG: @merewarren
NLTP debut.