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Arya Shahi

@aryashahi

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1974

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some scenery for those who think they have to have scenery: @pigpentheatreco @milroyprojects @harpercollins @hawkemedia @w4emusical

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I am running out of dreams and low on stamina tbh. 36 was an awe factory. Here’s to a quiet curious 37. Thank you dear friends and family who held me close and helped me through! ♥️🤘🏽 by @aryashahi

AN IMPOSSIBLE THING TO SAY drops 9/26/23!

This one is for the lovers of language and legacy, the hip hop heads and theatre kids with couplets in their bones, for all the people looking for a place to call home, from Tehran to Tucson, the boys who fall hard and girls who don’t, the weavers of culture and the woefully curious, the beggars and the choosers, the friends who fight, this is for everyone who’s trying to get it right. This is from all of me to all of you.

The cover of my debut is graced with GORGEOUS artwork by Saks Afridi, design by Jenna Stempel-Lobell, and a quote from the GOAT, Daniel Nayeri! This is a dream and I refuse to wake up. Deepest gratitude to all those who have ever enjoyed or shared my writing. It’s meant the world. Link in bio. by @aryashahi

SEVEN TONY NOMINATIONS INCLUDING BEST MUSICAL. What is there to say? Deep gratitude. And joy. And shock. The feelings are overwhelming to the point of being surreal. Deep gratitude to the ones who taught me how to tell a story: Alex, Ben, Dan, Curtis, Matt, and Ryan AKA my PigPen Theatre Co. brothers. I love you. The seventeen years on the road, on this ride together, have been the formative experience of my artistic life. Deep gratitude to the producing and creative team of wonderful human beings bringing WATER FOR ELEPHANTS to life on Broadway. What a privilege to work alongside y’all.

That’s all I got right now. Still can’t believe this actually happened. And yes, I unintentionally hit the Hamilton pose when we got the best musical nomination. I am who I am. by @aryashahi

IMPOSSIBLE is BACK in PAPERBACK! Feb 9th, 2027.

Forever grateful for the readers, honors, and conversations this novel brought into my life. Listing them is tacky af so I won’t, but suffice it to say I’m glad Omid found his audience and we sold enough copies to warrant a new edition. Paperback means more young adult readers. More young adult readers means everything. I’m currently writing the second one and don’t take for granted that I somehow finished the first one and had the privilege of sharing it with the world.

Here’s what I wrote in 2023, I still mean every word:

“This one is for the lovers of language and legacy, the hip hop heads and theatre kids with couplets in their bones, for all the people looking for a place to call home, from Tehran to Tucson, the boys who fall hard and girls who don’t, the weavers of culture and the woefully curious, the beggars and the choosers, the friends who fight, this is for everyone who’s trying to get it right. This is from all of me to all of you.”

Pre-order in my bio or at your favorite bookseller. 🔥 by @aryashahi

FIVE TONY NOMINATIONS FOR ENGLISH. Joonam. Delam. Gratitude. Pride. Joy. Every artist who worked on this play was tireless in their pursuit of beauty and truth. That’s what made ENGLISH a miracle. This play changed my life and the world and I still can’t believe it’s real. I can’t believe what was accomplished. I can’t believe this is the American theatre I get to be a part of. Congrats to my #EnglishBway fam. What a stunner. by @aryashahi

I get chills listening to this amazing clip of @aryashahi talking about his realizations when it came to writing his own story, the culmination of which came out YESTERDAY in bookstores everywhere (RUN, DON’T DELAY, in getting your copy!! And then come back to read the rest of this caption and listen to our podcast interview).

Arya wrote me a while ago after I published a Twitter thread about how to say “I love you” in Persian )”(spoiler: it’s a lot more “impossible” than you’d think), and we became fast friends with a lot of commonalities. The themes we’ve been exploring in our book park the past couple decades is so complimentary, and it’s so nice being connected to a such a kindred spirit in the Iranian community.

An Impossible Thing To Say will resonate with so many of you- so many of the thoughts and feelings many of us felt alone with growing up are communicated so deeply and beautifully in this book. It’s set during 9/11, and without me even realizing it, Arya and I actually had our conversation ON 9/11.

I REALLY enjoyed our conversation and can’t wait for you all to hear it. Let us know what you think! Search “chai and conversation” on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts- and enjoy!! by @aryashahi

been tryna get up there

📷 nikon zf + summicron 35 by @aryashahi

Why make theatre? Mostly so I can sit next to geniuses like @r2thaedgy and @keikothegreen and laugh about marvel musicals, writing in isolation, and masculinity.

From a PPF talkback @southcoastrep. by @aryashahi

my most liked story ever. dm overflow. tbh was afraid to post this yesterday, because i know how hard it is to survive, because i love the people making theatre, because i love this business, with all my heart. but it’s broken. and we need to fix it. by @aryashahi

up north, michigan, on iphone by @aryashahi

Oded Gross wrote a play where the unbelievable happens. I am completely transfixed by the way humans try to process what we don’t immediately understand. Whether that thing be the death of a parent, the right way to have faith, the evolution of a marriage, or the holy shit is this really happening supernatural appearance of a historical figure in the living room. It fucks us up. It makes us laugh until our sides hurt. It changes us. And that changes the world.

I’m so grateful Oded asked me to direct this reading. @halebofosho plays ARI. @nataliegold_48 plays RONIA. @matildalawleractor plays ANNELIES, better known as Anne Frank.

DM me if you’d like an invite. ♥️🤘🏽 by @aryashahi

Very honored to serve as a Princess Grace Awards Panelist this year, alongside these thoughtful theater leaders supported by a generous foundation staff.

The 2026 award winners are: @anujbhutanimusic @kateeberstadt @mikyle91 @alysiavelez sapu.djano

The 2026 honoraria are: @officialmrchavez @lour_official_ @svetamoroz.design @ava_eliz

Reviewing and studying your craft was an infusion of inspiration and hope into an art form I hold dear. You have a fan in me always. I hope you remake our world in your image. by @aryashahi