Ari Afsar (she/her)(featured artist, Shamelessly Gorgeous Summer Soirée) is a Bangladeshi-American singer, songwriter, and storyteller who believes in the power of art changing culture and culture changing policy. Current role with WAM: Composer, Silhouettes WAM Theatre: Debut Upcoming: the world premiere of I & You (book by Lauren Gunderson) at McCarter Theatre, in co-production with Olney Theatre, and That Girl (book by Rehana Lew Mirza) at the Eugene O’Neill NMTC. Education: She holds a BA in Ethnomusicology from UCLA and an MPA in Political Action & Advocacy from NYU. Selected Credits Elsewhere: Afsar’s most-recent album We Won’t Sleep was released by Sony Masterworks. She was a 2024 Artivism Fellow with the Tony Award-winning Broadway Advocacy Coalition, culminating in a community-developed abolition song cycle, and is currently a Dramatist Guild Foundation Fellow. She developed That Girl at Ground Floor (Berkeley Rep) last summer, and her work has been featured at La Jolla Playhouse (Allegory, WOW Festival), Pasadena Playhouse (Lyle Lyle Crocodile), and the University of Rochester (Silhouettes, a Repro Justice musical co-written with Jordan Ealey). At the O’Neill NMTC, she was awarded the 2019 Georgia Bogardus Holof Lyricist Award for her musical Jeannette. As a performer, Afsar has opened for Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, Gloria Steinem, and Hillary Clinton. She made her sold-out solo debut at Joe’s Pub two days after the 2024 election, performing music from across her discography as a call for hope and healing. On screen, she starred in Netflix’s Wedding Season, composed with Pasek & Paul for Shawn Mendes in Sony’s Lyle Lyle Crocodile, and was a top 36 finalist on American Idol. On stage, she originated Eliza in Hamilton (Chicago), starred in the world premiere of Bhangra Nation (Bhangin’ It) at La Jolla Playhouse, and was a top 10 finalist at Miss America as Miss California.