2026-2027 | Artist Cohort

A group of ten diverse people posing in a studio with a red backdrop and the words 'the FRAMLE' on it, surrounded by studio equipment and large windows.

ALEJANDRO SENIOR | MUSIC DIRECTOR

NIC CORY | DIRECTOR

ALEXA SPIEGEL | PRODUCER

JOSEPH FREDERICK ALLEN | CREATIVE DIRECTOR

DREW ELHAMALAWY | VISUAL ARTIST

SAMANTHA LITTLEFORD | CHOREOGRAPHER

ARI AFSAR | COMPOSER

EMMET SMITH | PERFORMER

BRENT THOMAS WHITESIDE | FILMMAKER

REHANA LEW MIRZA | BOOK WRITER

Photos by Drew Elhamalawy 

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  • Ari Afsar (she/her) is a Bangladeshi-American singer, songwriter, and storyteller who deeply believes in art changing culture and culture changing policy.

    She is best known for originating Eliza Schuyler in Hamilton (Chicago), where her featured Hamildrop performance of "First Burn" has garnered over 74 million streams worldwide. Afsar starred in Netflix's Top 10 original romantic comedy Wedding Season, top 36 American Idol, Miss California, top 10 at Miss America, and led the company of Bhangin' It in its world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse. Afsar has opened for Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, Gloria Steinem, and Hillary Clinton, and she recently made her sold-out solo debut at Joe's Pub featuring music across her discography. Her concept album We Won't Sleep was released by Sony Masterworks in 2020.

    Alongside Pasek & Paul, Afsar composed music for Sony's film Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, including the song "Carried Away," performed by Shawn Mendes, which has amassed over 5 million streams. The stage adaptation for young audiences made its world premiere at Pasadena Playhouse in 2025, with a production set at Alliance Theatre in 2027.

    Her latest musical, I & You, co-written with America's most produced playwright Lauren Gunderson, premiered at McCarter Theatre Center in 2025 with a co-production at Olney Theatre Center April 25, 2026. Praised for music that is "bright and vibrant" with "moments of soaring beauty" (BroadwayWorld), Afsar's music in I & You is "upbeat, often confessional tone" with "lyrics remaining refreshingly interesting whether they declaratively provide information or probe into the psyches and emotions of the protagonists" (Princeton Info).

    Afsar is the recipient of the 2025 ASCAP Foundation Harold Adamson Musical Theatre Award, Georgia Bogardus Holof Lyricist Award, the Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellowship, American Association of University Women Development Grant, and the Broadway Advocacy Coalition Fellowship.

    Ari Afsar holds a Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in Political Action & Advocacy from NYU and BA in Ethnomusicology with an emphasis in Jazz Studies at UCLA.

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  • Nic Cory most recently developed, directed and produced Cecilia Gentili’s Red Ink off-Broadway and in Edinburgh, receiving a GLAAD Media Award in 2025. Other projects include producing Triple Threat off-Broadway; serving as Associate Producer on Anything’s Possible, Billy Porter’s directorial debut for MGM,; The Lightning Thief (Associate Director, Broadway and 1st National Tour); The Purists; The Life; And Just Like That; and La Finta Giardiniera at his alma mater, CMU. At the start of the pandemic, he directed Michael Urie in a livestream of Buyer & Cellar, which raised over $300,000 for BC/EFA. He was VP of Creative Development at Traverse32 and maintains an active acting coaching business in New York. www.niccory.com

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  • Drew Elhamalawy is a Tony Award–nominated producer recognized for his work on The Lost Boys. His directing credits include serving as Associate Director to Sammi Cannold for The Prince of Egypt at Lincoln Center, Assistant to three-time Tony Award winner Michael Arden on The Lost Boys (2023–2024 workshops) and Ben Platt: Live at the Palace. As an actor, Drew has appeared in The Queen of Versailles on Broadway and We Live in Cairo at New York Theatre Workshop. In addition to his work in theatre, Drew is a published photographer whose portrait and editorial work have been featured in Vogue, People and other notable magazines. Drew’s career spans producing, directing, acting, and photography, reflecting a passion for storytelling across multiple artistic disciplines. Shenandoah University BFA, MS. @drewxphotography • @drewelhamalawy.

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  • Rehana Lew Mirza is thrilled to be collaborating with composer Ari Afsar on That Girl (developed at O’Neill and Berkeley Rep Ground Floor.) Other plays/musicals include: A Beat of Our Own (upcoming McCarter Fall 2026; previously Bhangin’ It and Bhangra Nation at La Jolla Playhouse and Birmingham Rep respectively; Rodgers Award winner), Hatef*ck (First Floor, Chicago; Women’s Project /Colt Coeur), Neighborhood Watch (Jackalope; NNPN/InterAct commission), Soldier X (Ma-Yi; Brooklyn College; Lark/NYSCA commission ), Particles of Pakistan (Sloan/EST commission), Tomorrow, Inshallah (Living Room Theater) and Barriers (Desipina; Asian American Theater Company). She shares a Kleban Award and a 2016-2022 Mellon Playwright residency (with Howlround) at Ma-Yi with husband Mike Lew. Additional awards/residencies include: Helen Merrill, HBO Access, Lilly, Tofte Lake, Colt Coeur, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat/3R, and Springboard, as well as a New Georges fellowship where she’s a 2026 Audrey Resident with composer Miranda Ferriss-Jones.

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  • Samantha (Sam) Littleford is a NYC-based performer and choreographer, originally from San Diego, CA. With a BFA in Musical Theatre from Penn State University, she has performed at renowned regional theaters such as The MUNY, The Goodspeed Opera House, The Old Globe, and The Indianapolis Symphony. Sam brings the same rigor and artistry to her choreographic work and has served as choreographer and associate on regional and national tour productions. She is deeply passionate about straddling both the performance and creative sides of production, finding that each informs and elevates the other. Sam is a founding member and dance teacher for BroadwayVox, a NYC-based company dedicated to reshaping musical theatre education and training—work that reflects her genuine love for building community within the industry. www.samanthalittleford.com @samanthalittleford

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  • Alejandro is a NYC-based musician who has gained experience performing on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in various regional productions. A proud graduate of the University of Miami’s prestigious Frost School of Music. Ale was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. 

    Ale made his broadway debut working on the music team for Some Like It Hot. Other projects include: Death Becomes Her (Bway), BIGFOOT (MTC; Off Bway), Little Shop of Horrors (Off Bway), Urinetown (City Center), Oliver (City Center) Queen of Versailles, Wanted, LIKE FATHER,. Recently, Ale music directed HUZZAH! at the Old Globe, a new Larry O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin musical. Alejandro is an educator at Marymount Manhattan College in the BFA musical theater program. Alejandro is also the president of the board at the Musical Theater Training Studio BROADWAYVOX. Upcoming: Alejandro will be the music director of the Gala Presentation at New York City Center where they will be producing the New York return of IN THE HEIGHTS.

    Ale emphasizes the importance of leading with kindness and pursuing excellence in all his musical endeavors.

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  • Alexa Spiegel is a theatre & comedy freelance producer who specializes in assisting up and coming artists. She also serves as the Assistant Programming Director of 54 Below, curating the 2020 and 2025 versions of The New Writers At 54! Series and Verses and Voices program, and producing the 10th Anniversary Concert of the Tony winning A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. She recently was the Assistant to the Conceiver on the Off-Broadway run of The Jonathan Larson Project. 

    Alexa has also worked in varying capacities with other theatre companies around New York, Co-Executive Producing SheNYC’s Summer Festival, Associate Producing Ars Nova Supra's Production Of The (Virtual) Wildness, and Line Producing SheNYC's Off-Broadway production of Chasing Grace. She most recently brought the play Rip Her to Shreds to Underbelly at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Alexa cannot wait to work with the FRAME!

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  • Emmet (he/him) is a born and raised New Yorker, currently starring on Broadway as Albus Potter in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Award-winning composer/lyricist (Write Out Loud, New Musicals Inc.) of works performed Off-Broadway, in films, at Carnegie Hall, and regionally. Director of a documentary about the survival of a composition from the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. Climate activist, Northwestern University graduate, member AEA / SAG-AFTRA. @emmetsmithnyc.

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  • Brent Thomas Whiteside’s (they/he) Midwest upbringing, combined with being born queer into three generations of pastors, profoundly shapes their artistic practice. Working across poetry, theatre, film, and visual media, they explore faith, morality, and the supernatural through dark, surreal landscapes. Tracing and reckoning with ancestry, Brent Thomas blends the sacred with the profane and transforms what is traditionally damned into something divine

    At the core of their practice is a commitment to enlarging how Black history is witnessed and carried forward. With an emphasis on preserving Black queer life—of family, place, belief, and the stories that persist. Whether writing plays, creating site-responsive performances, or documenting through photography or film, they approach projects as a way of transforming personal and collective memory into living archives.

    Brent Thomas has received support from fellowships, residencies, and artistic organizations across poetry, theatre, and film. Alongside their independent practice, they have worked extensively in documentary and media production, contributing to projects spanning broadcast, independent film, and commercial storytelling.