Genesis:
EnActe was born one balmy evening in Paris when our founder Vinita Sud Belani serendipitously met the legendary, lifetime Oscar winning playwright and scriptwriter John Claude Carrière. A conversation about reviving his iconic Mahabharata resulted in Belani giving up her tech career to start EnActe, which for 2 years toured The Modern Vyaasa: A Re-Telling Of The Mahabharata with Carrière himself in the role of Vyaasa.
Evolution:
In 12 years, EnActe has grown to be America’s largest South Asian and it’s only national South Asian theater company, with over 40 productions, 80% of which are New Works. We are a proud member of CAATA (Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists), and an elected member of NNPN (National New Play Network). Over 400 artists call EnActe their home, including playwrights, directors, actors, designers, dancers, musicians, music composers, teaching artists, and arts administrators. We are an incubator and our talent has gone on to Broadway, Hollywood, and beyond. The EnActe School of Drama (ESOD) educates over 1000 students annually. Some of our ESOD studens are now employees of EnActe, running innovative creative programs for the next generation.
Our Four Pillars
EnActe has a two-fold mission:
– To embrace Eastern and Western traditions of storytelling by developing and presenting thought-provoking stories that put South Asian voices in a global context.
– To act as an inclusive platform for developing diverse talent in the performance arts.
OUR VALUES AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES
At EnActe, we value all identities, backgrounds, and abilities.
We strive to engage all people in creativity embracing people of varied race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, and socioeconomic status.
We are highly collaborative and understand the truly reciprocal nature of partnership.
Our work embodies our values of
Belonging | Works that explore identity and acceptance.
Challenging | Thought-provoking work that inspires conversation.
Empowering | Amplifying the stories, experiences, and voices of the underrepresented.
Collaborating | Harnessing the creative power of diversity.
Our stories touch diverse communities, with intention, to provoke thought and influence positive change.
In all that we do, we strive to stay true to these guiding principles –
We amplify South Asian and other minority voices through storytelling.
We commit to diversity of thought, action, and representation.
We foster inclusive, multi-disciplinary talent.
We strive for excellence in production, programming, and education.
We innovate.
We provoke dialogue.
We promote the benefits of theater to our society.
We celebrate the past, are mindful of the present, and give voice to the future.
CarriéreGenesis: 
EnActe was born one balmy evening in Paris when our founder Vinita Sud Belani serendipitously met the legendary, lifetime Oscar winning playwright and scriptwriter John Claude Carriére. A conversation about reviving his iconic Mahabharata resulted in Belani giving up her tech career to start EnActe, which for 2 years toured The Modern Vyaasa: A Re-Telling Of The Mahabharata with Carriére himself in the role of Vyaasa.
Evolution:
In 12 years, EnActe has grown to be America’s largest South Asian and it’s only national South Asian theater company, with over 40 productions, 80% of which are New Works. We are a proud member of CAATA (Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists), and an elected member of NNPN (National New Play Network). Over 400 artists of 17 different ethnicities call EnActe their home, including playwrights, directors, actors, designers, dancers, musicians, music composers, teaching artists, and arts administrators. We are an incubator and our talent has gone on to Broadway, Hollywood, and beyond. The EnActe School of Drama (ESOD) educates over 1000 students annually. Some of our ESOD studens are now employees of EnActe, running innovative creative programs for the next generation.