Aman Soni is professionally based in New York City and Mumbai. Recent NYC theater credits at 'Theater for the New City' include -- “Queen” by Aditya Rawal, "Invasion" by Jonas Hassen Khemiri, and "Shape of Love" by Bina Sharif. Training: SUNY Purchase College, Conservatory of Theatre Arts, and MFA at Brown University / Trinity Repertory. Apprentice to Ariane Mnouchkine,  Théâtre du Soleil. 

Meet Aman Soni:

Where were you born and where do you consider home now?

 I was born in Delhi, India. New York and India are home for me now. I plan to work mostly in New York and Mumbai. 

 What made you made want to start acting?

What made me start acting was Bollywood Hindi Cinema. Indian culture is obsessed with Bollywood. It is very unique not just in aesthetic and style but it maintains a very peculiar main stream cultural consciousness. There is a saying, there are three kinds of gods in Indian culture -- Mythical Gods, Cricketers, and Bollywood Heroes. Bollywood actors are referred as Heroes, from a very young age as a child you start to model your own identity upon the heroes you watch in mainstream Bollywood films, you learn how to romance like Shah Rukh Khan, fight like Akshay Kumar and talk like Amitabh Bachan, Bollywood organically gets ingrained in the heart of Indian popular culture. Many Indians somewhere deep down their heart have a secret fantasy to live like their favorite Bollywood hero in their favorite Bollywood movie. When I was five or six years old I had already decided I would work in Bollywood films.

 What was the last good movie you saw or what's your favorite tv show?

Nayakan by Mani Ratnam (it’s a classic Tamil film which I discovered recently, one the greatest acting performances by Kamal Haasan) 

Who is your favorite actor/playwright/director (choose one)?

My favorite director is -- Anurag Kashyap.  Its my dream to work with him one day. 

 Why are you excited to come to Des Moines?

Can’t ever deny an opportunity to work with Ken Matt Martin. He is one of the most talented directors I know, and above all he is the most gracious human being and dear friend. I feel really honored to be invited to his artistic home Pyramid Theater,

What are you the most proud of in this production?

I am most proud of the process. We often talk about trust when we collaborate in such close emotional and physical proximity with other artists and only when you feel safe to fail you can make remarkable choices. This was a dream team, each member brought deep sense of love, respect and integrity to the rehearsal room. I feel really blessed to share this experience with the such talented and generous group of people.

What do you hope audiences walk away feeling after seeing Prowess?

There is something deeply heroic about all four characters; in Joseph Campbell’s words they all have “the hero’s journey”. That brings me to the next point, which is, Ike writing merges superhero genre with contemporary social realism. I hope audiences would walk away with a desire to search what an “Hero” means in their own present time and place.