Transforming MSU Playwriting Fellowship

Transforming Theatre Ensemble, or TTE, is partnering with the Department of Theatre to develop and present a series of student-written and student-performed short plays that will be presented in showcase performances for members of the MSU community as part of the Department of Theatre’s offerings.

These short plays will have a continued life as part of the Transforming Theatre Ensemble's repertoire and may be performed in the context of hybrid performance workshops offered by the Office for Inclusive Excellence and Impact for students, staff, faculty and administrators at MSU.

2026-27 Playwriting Fellows

Esther Bienek

Esther Bienek is an undergraduate student at Michigan State University studying filmmaking, media production, and creative writing. She loves being involved in large, complex film projects that require technical creativity and organized collaboration. As a writer, Esther is most drawn to writing screenplays, but she also enjoys writing fiction and poetry. She currently serves as the co-president of Michigan State University’s Poetry Club (formerly known as Slam Club) where she manages its social media presence and organizes meetings.

 

Charisma Holly

Charisma Holly is a spoken-word artist born and raised in Detroit. Charisma has had incredible opportunities to perform her original poems all around the state of Michigan. Her work explores themes of family, identity and hope. Charisma writes to share her voice and to be an inspiration to the world around her.

  

  

Alexis Mendez

Alexis Mendez is an artist from Coatepec, Mexico. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, where he trained within the heart of one of the world’s most vibrant arts communities. He is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Acting at Michigan State University. Inspired by the landscapes and folklore of his hometown, Alexis infuses his work with elements of magical realism and fantasy, weaving imaginative worlds grounded in emotional truth.

 

 

Sakhi Upadhyaya

Sakhi Upadhyaya is an applied theatre practitioner and educator. Her practice revolves around exploring how meaning emerges through performance and play to understand how we make sense of the world we inhabit and build. She has perennially found herself at the crossroads of theatre and education, working across schools and arts collectives in New Delhi for the past eight years. She is currently a doctoral student in the Curriculum, Instruction & Teacher Education Program at MSU.