Andrea Assaf is a performer, writer, director and cultural organizer. Andrea is the founding Artistic Director of Art2Action Inc., and the National Coordinator for the National Institute for Directing & Ensemble Creation (a partnership with Pangea World Theater). Andrea is also a Trainer with Equity Quotient (EQ), an Artist-in-Residence/guest lecturer at the University of South Florida (USF) School of Theatre and Dance, and served as a Master Teacher for YoungArts (Writing/Performance, 2018-2020). Her original work, "Eleven Reflections on September," has been featured at Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) as part of CAATA’s 2016 National Asian American Theatre Festival, La MaMa ETC, The Apollo Theatre, the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (2015), and internationally. This work has been re-created in 2021 as a digital film; and will be developed into a large-scale, multi-city, community-engaged devised series, "Eleven Reflections on the Nation," in partnership with The Carver Community Cultural Center and with support from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. Andrea’s other original works include "Outside the Circle" (co-created with Dora Arreola and Samuel Valdez, 2012), and "Fronteras Desviadas/Deviant Borders" co-created with Mujeres en Ritual Danza-Teatro (2005), and numerous devised works with veterans, refugees, and youth communities. Directing credits include "Speed Killed My Cousin" by Linda Parris-Bailey (The Carpetbag Theater, 2014-2019), "9 Parts of Desire" by Heather Raffo (University of South Florida, 2015), "breaking letter(s)" by Suhier Hammad (New WORLD Theater, 2008), and many more. Awards include: 2019 NEFA National Theatre Project, 2019 & 2011 NPN Creation Fund Commissions, 2017 Finalist for the Freedom Plow Award for Poetry & Activism (Split This Rock Poetry Festival), 2010 Princess Grace/Gant Gaither Theatre Award for Directing, and 2007 Hedgebrook Residency for "women authoring change." Andrea has a Master’s degree in Performance Studies and a BFA in Acting, both from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She is a former Artistic Director of New WORLD Theater (2004-09) and Program Associate for Animating Democracy (2001-04). She currently serves on the Board of the Consortium of Asian American Theatres & Artists (CAATA), Alternate ROOTS, and is a Steering Committee member of the Middle Eastern/North African Theatre-Makers Alliance (MENATMA). For more information, visit: https://www.art2action.org/artists/Andrea-Assaf