Listen, I’m still a little bit in shock, and I’ve been sitting on this news since January. After almost a year since submitting my little coffee shop romcom play to the lovely folks at Playwrights Foundation, I’m so happy I can finally share this news with you all. I am one of 45 Finalists for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival!

Being a finalist on my first submission with them is wild, and I feel both proud and honored to have made it this far. Playwrights like Sam Shepard and Lauren Gunderson are alumni of BAPF. As a Finalist, the team at Playwrights will keep Pyar in their roster of new works and recommend the show for productions, workshops, or readings at other theatre companies. I’m excited to continue working with them to bring Pyar aur Coffee to a stage someday soon.

Also, a momentous milestone for my baby playwright dreams: I am in an article on Broadway World! The full press release for BAPF46 can be found here.

A special thank you goes to my writer’s group, Cris, Syona, and Nick, for reading through the drafts of Pyar before the final submission, and to the first full cast for our reading back in 2021 with Imaginarium – Cris, Syona, Jodie, Shanawar, Noah, Siddhant, and Aman. And our amazing director Shringi. This play wouldn’t be what it is without you.

-RP