Come find our Zeffy crowdfunding campaign at tinyurl.com/OnlineCow
kanishk pandey’s new play is coming to New York City at The Studio at the Chain Theatre, April 25-27, 2025.
Inquire at [email protected] regarding press and auditions.
kanishk pandey, playwright
is a writer, director, and exile. He believes that art must be in constant conflict with society to express the love that all beings deserve. He uses the label exile, inspired by the works of James Joyce as well as his own experience as a member of the South Asian diaspora, to describe a relationship with nationalism that is forever nomadic and critical. His work is unified by the belief that consciousness can only exist through dialogue and interaction, and that every living creature shares an unspoken connection. Therefore, he seeks to nurture a sense of community in his work. These are the core philosophies that guide his work, be it theater, film, fiction, or even scholarship. As long as he gets to connect with you.
kanishk is a graduate of NYU Tisch’s Dramatic Writing program and an alumni of Clubbed Thumb’s Early Career Writers Group. He is a 2024-2025 New Voices Van Lier Fellow at Rattlestick Theater. His work has been recognized by institutions such as Synecdoche Works, O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Austin Film Festival, and New York Stage and Film. He has had his playwriting supported by companies such as Rattlestick Theater, Ma-Yi Theater Company, Exponential Festival, Invulnerable Nothings, Clubbed Thumb, The Brick, SPACE on Ryder Farm, The Lark, Sanguine Theater, and Boomerang Theater, and his screenwriting developed by institutions such as The Layar Project. He co-founded the theater festival collective 3POP, the Submerged Writers Group, as well as the theater development company, GIFTSHOP.
Social Media:
Website: kanishk pandey – Writer | Director | Exile
Instagram: kanishk__pandey
Lauren Roberts, multimedia designer for COW
Lauren is a multidisciplinary designer based in Brooklyn, NY whose work spans advertising, branding, motion, web design and user experience, and immersive media in theater. She cares deeply about the transformation of art institutions as places of both visual experimentation and accessibility. She works as a designer for global advertising company Wellcom Worldwide, developing large scale advertising campaigns for clients such as Raising Canes, Meta, Louis Vuitton, and Kaiser Permanente. Her design work has also been featured at theaters such as LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, The Brick, Sanguine Theater, Columbia University, and she is currently developing shows for Exponential Festival 2025 and Synecdoche Works with playwright kanishk pandey. Lauren graduated Magna Cum Laude from Drexel University in 2022 and has been showcased in Design Philadelphia along with being awarded by GDUSA.
About THE FATE OF THE ONLINE COW
THE FATE OF THE ONLINE COW was a Finalist for the Frank Moffett Mosier Fellowship for Works in Heightened Language in 2021.
The Cow spends her life in front of a camera, playing Minecraft for an active chat, earning money for her owners, Mud and Hue. Up until this point, her life has been simple but fulfilled. However, when the game leads her to consider her own predicament, she must come to terms with the oppressive conditions she exists under and the act of earned revolution.
The title of this new work references the novel The Gift of a Cow (aka Godaan) by Munshi Premchand and collection of essays “The Myth of the Holy Cow”.
The play itself was heavily influenced by KASPAR by Peter Handke, DOCTOR FAUSTUS, LIGHTS THE LIGHTS by Gertrude Stein, and Native Son by Richard Wright.
OUR DONORS:
Nick Kavassalis
Jennifer Mosier
Roger Billerey
Jennifer Van Meter
& The Board of Directors at Synecdoche Works