I love introductions. And small talk. Describe myself in 150 words? No problem. Easiest task in the world. I could write a book about it. Maybe these are the opening lines of the book. I also like to digress.
​
About me. Indian woman, now in America. Just your typical software-engineer-turned-actor who loves heavy metal. I wrote a one-woman show about my journey from India to America. Fifteen-hour flight. That's the three-word flash fiction version. The whole thing's an hour-long, but you didn't really miss anything.
​
No one gave me a word limit so I'm gonna keep going! I'm Priyanka Shetty - an actor, director, and playwright based in Philadelphia, PA. The most (only) interesting thing about me is that I'm a solo performer. I write and perform original solo shows that have been produced and presented at several venues in the country such as The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Actors Theatre of Louisville, NYC's 59E59 Theaters, the Yale Schwarzman Center, PRAx at Oregon State University among many others. I've toured internationally with my original work including performances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and tours in Scotland and Canada.
I'm best known for my Triptych of Solos: The Elephant in the Room (a funny, yet tumultuous story of my transition from deeply-embedded roots in India to finding context and common ground in America), #Charlottesville (a play about the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville VA constructed verbatim from interviews with local residents) and lastly, The Wall (which explores the immigrant experience in America.) This Triptych is currently rolling out across multiple cities in the United States and internationally.
​
I graduated from the University of Virginia with a Master of Fine Arts in Acting, and I also served on the faculty at the University of Virginia's Department of Drama. I’m a certified teaching artist of Tectonic Theater Project’s Moment Work and a certified practitioner of Lessac Kinesensics BodyVoice Training. I love coaching and mentoring and work one-on-one with artists and creators through consultations focused on solo performance, touring strategy, self-marketing, and building sustainable artistic careers.
​
​
Proud member of
