Zoya Sardashti

Zoya Sardashti is currently pursuing a PhD in Media Communication at The European Graduate school. She received a M.A. in Performance & Creative Research from Roehampton University and at Hendrix College, a liberal arts university, she obtained a B.A. in Theatre Arts. As the recipient of the Hendrix-Lilly Foundation for vocational research abroad she spent the summer before her final year of undergraduate study conducting independent research in the UK to determine how theatre institutions of grassroots, fringe, or independent status sustain an institution interested in the intersection between social issues and theatre. To complement this research she completed a devised theatre course at East 15 Conservatory. Zoya worked as an assistant director, dramaturg, and casting associate at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. In 2008 she participated in the Lincoln Center’s International Director’s Lab as a guest director. While living in Seoul, South Korea, Zoya worked with Seoul Factory for the Performing Arts. Under the direction of Limb Hyoung-Taek, she served as an international collaboration liaison, director’s assistant, and community outreach associate. Since 2010 Zoya has operated as creative director of Home Soil, a contemporary performance collective interested in staging site-specific performance art in theatre, gallery, and club spaces, and mounting public interventions addressing cultural identity and ethics. Home Soil’s mission is to unify artistic experiences with civic participation by creating socially engaged international collaborations.