HEADSHOTS
I am an Albanian director and actor in Chicago. I am often focused on the power of intimacy with an audience and am heavily influenced by my experiences as an immigrant, my experiences as a woman, and my father's poetry. Currently, I am most interested in further exploring stories of assimilation and societal pressure, post-communist society and migrant work, repressed female sexuality and eroticism, deceit and consent, and always hope.
Totally realistic plays don't go all the way for me, so I love finding places for magic, even when working with the bare necessities. Some of my most creative solutions came from working around people who loved saying "no" to me.
Feel free to reach out via email at the bottom of the page. Auditions, directing/assistant directing and casting opportunities are so welcome!
My parents
Playwrights – Lynn Nottage, Bathsheba Doran, Martin McDonagh, Caryl Churchill, Jennifer Haley, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Will Eno
The words of – Warsan Shire and my father's beautifully poignant poetry
** Upcoming
**Chicago Director's Lab 2018
Mistresses, Director – Unaffiliated
Miss Major Cushman, Director – Greenhouse Theatre Center, Solo Lab
King of the Yees, Assistant Director – Goodman Theatre, Joshua Kahan Brody
Faceless, Assistant Director – Northlight Theatre, BJ Jones
Support Group for Men, Assistant Director – Goodman Theatre, Kimberly Senior
Discord, Assistant Director – Northlight Theatre, Kimberly Senior
A Behanding in Spokane, Director – Underground Theatre
Pauline Cushman, Director – Solo Performance Lab, DirectorsLabChicago
The Canal, Director – Whiskey Radio Hour, Whiskey Rebellion Theatre
I Cry During Sports, Director – The Agency's 24-Hour Play Festival
Perspective, Director – BoxFest Detroit 2015
** Upcoming
The Scene, U/S Clea – Writers Theatre, Kimberly Senior
August Osage County, Jean & U/S Ivy – Hilberry Repertory Theatre, James Kuhl
Hamlet, Ophelia – Slipstream Theatre Initiative, Bailey Boudreau
A Doll's House, Nora – Slipstream Theatre Initiative, Bailey Boudreau
Three Sisters, Irina – Underground Theatre, Kate Skoretz
A Midsommer Night's Dreame, Titania/Hippolyta – Underground Theatre, Miles Boucher
Jake's Women, Older Molly – Two Muses Theatre, Bailey Boudreau
AliCe, Cheshire Cat – Nerve Immersive Theatre, Kathe Koja
SubUrbia, Sooze – Western Michigan York Arena, Michael Lopetrone
Meisner Technique – Andrew Gallant, Green Shirt Studio
Alexander Technique – Jeremy Cohn, Green Shirt Studio
Linklater Technique – Aram Monisoff, Green Shirt Studio
BA Sociology, Minors in Asian Studies and Theatre – Wayne State University
1 year BFA Acting – Western Michigan University
Native Albanian speaker, Intermediate Bachata, Intermediate Salsa, Intermediate Mambo, Basic Bellydance, Basic Hip Hop, Burlesque, Mezzo Soprano, Volleyball, Yoga, Throwing knives and hatchets, Whip cracking, Bartending
"Lest I leave out the company's Ophelia, let us just say that Egla Kishta's "Anna" may be the most disturbed character in the play. There is a haunting vacancy behind her eyes that can make the hair on the back of your neck tingle." Hamlet Encore Michigan
"Nora is such a complex, well-rounded role it is considered one of the most challenging in drama. Egla Kishta beautifully plays Nora's conflicting emotions; her interpretations are broad, but never slip into bombast." A Doll's House Encore Michigan
"Some of the production's most emotionally affecting moments come from the theatrical mother-daughter team of Meredith Deighton and Egla Kishta. The familial dynamic achieved between Deighton, Kishta, and Hotchkiss during the play's second act is remarkable--deeply felt with a comfort and ease rarely seen on any stage." Jake's Women Rarely Roy Reviews
"And undergraduate Egla Kishta is great as their in-a-hurry-to-grow-up daughter Jean, painting a truthful portrait of the thin and winding line between childhood and adulthood." August: Osage County MODO Review