Ash (they/she)
Biography
Ash (they/she pronouns, fka Amir Shirazi) grew up in Portland, OR and currently resides in New York City. They have a background in both theatre and music, and they are an active composer, choral arranger, sound designer, music director for choir and theatre, and songwriter. They are queer, non-binary, Persian, hard of hearing, and a quintessential virgo.
They recently served as Artistic Director to Transpose PDX, which is a non-profit choral organization serving the transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming community of Portland. Lastly, they serve on the New Harmony Task Force for GALA Choruses.
Their theatrical credits for music direction and sound design include productions with Portland Center Stage (Dracula: a Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really; Choir Boy; tick, tick… BOOM!; Hedwig and the Angry Inch; Macbeth), Theatre for the New City (Texas Gothic), SpeakEasy Stage (English), Lower East Side Shakespeare Co. (The Words Will Come; BEE), Fuse Theatre Ensemble (Crumbs; Magnetic Electric), Oregon Children’s Theatre, Corrib Theatre, Jewish Theatre Collaborative, Milagro Theatre (Drammy Award in 2015 for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music for ¡O Romeo!), Post5 Theatre, and Portland Actors Ensemble (Outdoor Shakespeare Festival Award in 2012 for Best Sound Design for Twelfth Night).
Ash is currently working on an original musical Crumbs. A fantastical prequel to the Hansel and Gretel fairytale, Crumbs follows a family broken by loss and mourning. The musical examines what it means to be a family, how communities experience grief and resilience, and whether love alone is strong enough to defeat the darker forces at play. This reimagining tackles cis-heteronormative models of family, examines how queer and trans identities are affected by external fear, and explores racial/cultural privileges around status, image, and authenticity.
Professional Experience
- Regional
- Education
Regions
- NYC/Tri-State Area
- Seattle/Pacific NW
Interested in touring?
- No
Hireable as
- Theatrical Composer (Music and Lyrics)
- Theatrical Composer (Music only)
- Vocal Director and/or Choral Prep
- Music Assistant
- Songwriter
- Vocal Arranger
- Music Contractor/Coordinator
- Sound Designer/Composer
- Other
My Instruments
- Voice
Software
- Finale
- GarageBand
- Logic
- Sibelius
- QLab
- Other
Affiliations
- ASCAP
- THE DRAMATISTS GUILD
- MAESTRA
Pronouns
- They/Them