If you had asked Rajendra at the beginning of 2021 where he would be in December, he probably wouldn’t have said, “living in St. Pete, running the Tampa Bay area’s longest-running professional theatre,” but fate had different plans.
This year Rajendra made history twice. First, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York where he helped “shake the stage” as the Assistant Director for “Fire Shut up in my Bones,” the first BIPOC-written, -directed, -produced and -cast opera ever to be performed at the Met. It was a historic turning point for the performing arts in this country.
Rajendra took that momentum and next brought it with him to Florida. He achieved another milestone as the first BIPOC Producing Artistic Director to lead a multimillion-dollar theatre company.
Rajendra brings an impressive multi-disciplinary career and award-winning body of work to American Stage that bridges a wide range of exciting creative skills and notable experience as an artist and administrator. He recently served as the Associate Artistic Producer of Milwaukee Repertory Theater, a highly respected nationally known LORT regional theatre. Before that he was the Artistic Director of New Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia and Rebel Theatre in Brooklyn.
Rajendra is now taking all his experience and using it to help shape American Stage into a community center for all kinds of artists. His dream is for people of all walks of life to feel welcomed and honored at our theatre, and he’s not wasting any time in working towards that goal.
One of the new programs he’s already started at American Stage is Partners With A Cause. Each production this season American Stage is partnering with another local non-profit that is uplifting members of the community. Through the run of our shows we are not only hosting community conversations with representatives from these groups, but raising additional funds to support them.
Rajendra is a master of words and I could never claim to be as eloquent as he is. So I leave you his vision for the future of American Stage.
“As a leading cultural cornerstone, American Stage is uniquely positioned to create lasting positive change within Tampa Bay and beyond,” he says. “More than ever, our theatre is a spiritual and social mirror of its time, holding the power to create bridges between disparate communities, bring us together to examine varying worldviews, and address community needs in creative ways. American Stage will continue our necessary work as a civic and artistic multicultural institution in 2022, utilizing robust partnerships, the creativity of our artists, and pride in our city to help move St. Pete forward.”
To view the full list of Watermark’s Remarkable People of 2021, click here.
