Pia Shah(I)

Most recently played Neha in the world premiere of Neha & Neel at LATC / Artists at Play. Pia won an Ovation Award for her work in The Father (best ensemble, opposite Alfred Molina) at Pasadena Playhouse (Tony Award winner, Best Regional Theater) as well as an Ovation nomination for best season. She was selected for the CTG LA Writer’s Workshop in which she wrote her first play, TEAR! (2023 O’Neill Semifinalist).Film/TV acting credits include: Room 104 (Duplass Brothers, HBO), Grey’s Anatomy and the fully improvised, arthouse stoner comedy Grass directed by Tanuj Chopra (Delhi Crime) which won the Audience Award, Best Narrative Feature at the Austin Asian American Film Festival.Pia wrote, produced and starred in the short film The Shower (Jury Selection Best Short Film, South Asian Film Festival of America) centered on two best friends at a crossroads as one of them decides to have a baby and the other remains childfree.Her writing tends to explore small, private moments and daunting turning points that mark domestic life. In her screenplays, she focuses on neurotic relationships, family, modern anxieties and comedy.Pia originated the role of Leela, a young woman on the spectrum, in ORANGE in the world premiere at South Coast Repertory. Her love of language and ensemble is the driving force in her theatrical work. She has workshopped over 100 new plays at labs such as the Ojai Playwrights Conference, the Geffen and Pacific Playwrights Festival. She earned an MFA in theater at USC and also attended the William Esper Studio in NYC. She began her media career funding independent filmmakers at the Center for Asian American Media, where she oversaw a grants program with CPB/PBS funds championing untold stories that went on to premier at POV, Independent Lens and Sundance Film Festival..