SO WHO IS ISHIKA MUCHHAL?
Ishika Muchhal is an NYC and LA-based, Indian American theater & film actor, singer, dancer, writer, comedian, model, producer, & activist.
She uses art and advocacy to address social issues, decolonize storytelling, increase representation, create new intersectional work, reclaim whimsy, and hopefully make people smile along the way!
Ishika's training includes a BFA in Acting from CalArts (Social Science minor), two decades of various contemporary and classical dance & singing styles, and classes in clowning, sketch-writing, directing, writing, & producing.
She is part of the movement faculty for Atlantic Acting School's Conservatory program. She has danced and taught with Ajna Dance Company, BollyPop, and Dancing Storytellers.
Ishika is a California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellow for her interview series A QISSAA with Ishika: Quintessential and Inspiring Stories of South Asian Artists. She is a Humanity in Action Senior Fellow, a Lillian Disney and Flora Hollingsworth Hurschler Scholar, and a Paul Harris Fellow.
Her work has been seen internationally, with highlights being performances at the Walt Disney Modular Theater, A Noise Within, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, London's Greenwich Theater, Hudson Theatre, Broadwater Mainstage. Her voiceover work spans dubbing, new media, animation, and video games. Ishika's commercials and films have screened across many countries, including at Oscar-qualifying film festivals, and received many awards. She recently premiered her first stand-up special at NYC's comedy club Caveat to great acclaim.
Ishika’s passion for social justice translates into her work in arts programming, community engagement, and political advocacy. Her roles range from arts administration, theater producing, political campaigns and caucuses, legislative advocacy, filmmaking, shared governance leadership, grassroots organizing, and fundraising.
She is an avid traveler, collager, photographer, binger of movies and TV, and punster - puns are not a choice, they are a lifestyle!