Lavina Jadhwani is a Chicago-based director and adaptor. She has received the O’Neill/NNPN National Directors Fellowship, Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Phil Killian Directing Fellowship, the Drama League’s Classical Directing Fellowship, an SDCF Observership, an Illinois Board of Higher Education Fellowship, and an LMDA Residency Award. She was named Time Out Chicago’s “Best Next Generation Stage Director” in 2013.
In Chicago, Lavina maintains relationships with Lifeline Theatre (Casting Director), Oak Park Festival Theatre (Artistic Associate), Rasaka Theatre Company (Artistic Director, 2007-2013), Silk Road Rising (Artistic Associate), Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Artistic Engagement Associate), and Victory Gardens Theater (Directors Inclusion Initiative). Her work has also been seen at Apple Tree Theatre, Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Raven Theatre, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, the side project, Stage Left Theatre, Timeline Theatre, Teatro Vista, and Victory Gardens Theater.
Lavina is a graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University (MFA, Directing), Carnegie Mellon University (BFA, Scenic Design; Masters, Arts Management) and the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.
Plays
The young princess Sita follows her new husband Ram to his kingdom in Ayodhya - only to learn that they have been banished! Refusing to abandon her partner, she joins him in exile, but finds her loyalty tested to surprising lengths. A solo piece based on The Ramayana, the Sitayana is part Hindu epic, part coming of age story, and part break-up play.
"An artful, winkingly shrewd modern transposition of a Hindu myth about love, marriage, betrayal and acceptance." --Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
Adapted from Chekhov; with the four acts occurring in reverse. The new, character-focused structure re-frames the questions, "What is comedy?" and "What is tragedy?"