Priyanka Shetty is an award-winning actor, playwright, and director based in Philadelphia. As a creator of original works, Priyanka is focused on making art that is a reflection of our times. With humor, insight, and raw energy, her plays pose critical questions about contemporary issues, engender dialogue, and are a call for solidarity and collective action.
Her critically acclaimed one-woman show The Elephant in the Room has performed at numerous venues across the US and internationally, including The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington DC and the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe at the Assembly Festival which was followed by a Scotland Tour. She also made her Off-Broadway debut with this play at the Drama Desk award-winning 59E59 Theaters in NYC. Priyanka is premiering her much-anticipated solo show #CHARLOTTESVILLE in 2025 at the multiple Helen Hayes award-winning Keegan Theatre in Washington DC. She has been awarded a generous grant by the National Endowment of the Arts for the development of The Wall, the third and final play in her Triptych of Solos. Priyanka's Triptych of Solos will have a coordinated nationwide premiere across multiple cities in 2025/26.
Priyanka is an alumna of the prestigious Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive and was a semi-finalist for the Eugene O’Neill National Playwriting Conference. She has served on the jury of Open Screenplay's MFilm Lab in Canada and as a mentor for emerging screenwriters of South Asian descent, and most recently on the jury for the 2024 Atlanta Indian Film Festival. Priyanka earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Acting from the University of Virginia and has served on the faculty of the University of Virginia’s Department of Drama.
#CHARLOTTESVILLE
A tour-de-force solo performance about the power of witnessing, constructed from firsthand accounts, court transcripts, and news reports, #CHARLOTTESVILLE captures the aftermath of the deadly 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. This play is an urgent and personal exploration how the town—and the nation—grapple with white supremacy, racial tension, and identity, in modern day America while drawing parallels to the rise of nationalism and racial division in other parts of the world.
2025 Eugene O'Neill National Playwriting Conference Semi-Finalist
Upcoming World Premiere at multiple Helen Hayes Award-Winning Keegan Theatre in Washington DC
Directed by Yury Urnov, Helen Hayes and Tony Award recipient, Co-Artistic Director at Wilma Theater
Upcoming UK Premiere at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
“Among the titles that caught my eye is Priyanka Shetty’s docu-theater solo #Charlottesville... Borrowing from Anna Deavere Smith, Shetty built her text from interviews.” – Elizabeth Vincentelli, New York Times
“Should prove to be a durable mainstay of the theatrical canon.” – BroadwayWorld DC
“Her research is comprehensive. Her acting is poignant. Her stamina is stunning.”– DC Theater Arts
“A masterclass in acting... riveting, change-making theatre at its very best.”– Stagebuddy, NYC
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
"One-Woman Wonder" Priyanka Shetty's The Elephant in the Room is a witty, dark comedy about just your typical Indian metalhead and software-engineer-turned-actor who must navigate life as an immigrant arriving in Trump's America. When Priyanka makes the bold move to defy her family by quitting her IT job and moving to the US to pursue an acting career, things don't quite turn out how she imagined. Watch Priyanka's real life story unfold as she transitions from her deeply embedded roots in India to find context and common ground in America. Gear up for a funny, tumultuous ride through immiscible cultures, unforgettable love, irreparable loss, and the desperation of not belonging anywhere.
Standing room only at The Kennedy Center. Sold-out run at NYC’s 59E59 Theaters.
4 stars and Voted Most Popular by The Scotsman.
Winner of "Edgy as Fuck" Award at the 2023 Orlando Fringe!
“Colourful, rebellious, thoughtful.” – The Scotsman
“She’s a performer to watch!” – MD Theatre Guide
“It’s you who won’t forget The Elephant in the Room.” – Thinking Theater NYC
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