About
Lavina Jadhwani is a Chicago-based director. She is the Artistic Director of Rasaka Theatre Company and an Associate Artist at Silk Road Rising (formerly known as Silk Road Theatre Project) and Premiere Theatre & Performance; she also serves on the Steering Committee for the South Asian Theatre Arts Movement. Her work with Rasaka includes directing and curating the Chicago premiere of Yoni Ki Baat and the world premiere of culture/clash, the nation’s first fully produced South Asian short play festival. Lavina received LMDA awards for her work on Merchant on Venice at Silk Road and Urinetown and Arcadia at Carnegie Mellon University. She has been a finalist for the Michael Maggio Directing Fellowship, the 3Arts Artist Awards and the Luce Scholars Program.
Lavina’s work has been seen at Apple Tree (The Devil’s Arithmetic, Number the Stars, Where the Red Fern Grows), Bailiwick (Kissing), Chicago Dramatists (Gandhi Marg, Thirst), Hubris Productions (Steel Magnolias, The Underpants), Remy Bumppo (thinkTank 2007 and 2008), the side project (Cherry Smoke, Kiss, Yes to Everything), Stage Left (Foundations, Thirst) and Victory Gardens (Access Project 2007 and 2008). As an assistant director, she has worked with Jonathan Berry, Jeremy B. Cohen, Barbara Gaines, Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott and Chay Yew.
Lavina has taught classes in acting, directing, dramaturgy and production design at Northlight Theatre, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Reizenstein Academy, Carnegie Mellon University and the National High School Institute at Northwestern University (the “Cherub” program). She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University (BFA, Drama; Masters, Arts Management) and the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.
Current Projects
Directing
- Gold Boy, Emerald Girl, Silk Road Rising in association with the Chicago Public Library’s One Book, One Chicago, April 23
- Gruesome Playground Injuries, Rasaka Theatre Company at the Chopin Theatre, July 12-August 12
Assistant Directing
- Noises Off, Playmakers Repertory Company (dir: Michael Michetti), April 4-22
Opportunity provided through the SDCF Observership Program
Click here to download Lavina’s resume as a .pdf
References
“… speaking of directing, Lavina has the goods. First of all, she gets the fundamentals right by creating a cohesive world in which actors are encouraged to live truthfully. She also creates clearly articulated stage pictures and has a good sense of the rhythm and tempo of a play. Finally, she knows how to create an atmosphere of intelligent, focused play in the rehearsal room.”
-Stuart Carden, Associate Artistic Director, Writers’ Theatre
“Lavina is an exceptionally insightful and creative theatre artist … of her many attributes some that proved particularly valuable to me were her sensitivity and respect for everyone involved in the process, especially the performers and myself, her ability to balance critical analysis with good theatrical common sense, an eye for composition and a positive and engaging personality.”
–Henry Godinez, Resident Artistic Associate, Goodman Theatre
“Lavina’s greatest strength as a director is her unmatched analytical mind. She approaches a play both from the outside—analyzing the rules of each play’s world and understanding its structure—and from the inside, getting to know the people who populate that world. She is a writer’s director with impeccable dramaturgical understanding of how to shape a work in progress.”
-Kristin Idaszak, Literary Manager, Caffeine Theatre
“Lavina is a natural director: all her skills and personality traits combine fluidly to generate an artistic leader who is as nurturing as she is knowledgeable. I have found her work to be both powerful and thoughtful. In recent years, she has applied her knowledge, research acumen, and leadership into several successful directing projects in the Chicago area, marking her as a real up-and-comer. Her most notable accomplishment, of course, has been the Artistic Directorship of the Rasaka Theatre Company, which produces vibrant, culturally broadminded and politically meaningful work in the Chicago area.”
-Michael Chemers, Director of Dramaturgy Program, Carnegie Mellon University