Hello! My name is Imani Russell. I am an actor, singer, songwriter, and playwright from Brooklyn, NY with an MA in Musical Theatre (Performance) from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and BA in Drama from Vassar College. I started as a classically trained singer, beginning my studies at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City and continuing throughout my time at Vassar. Upon entering college, I found a new passion in acting when I joined Woodshed Theater Ensemble, an on-campus theater collective. With Woodshed, I devised and adapted text and acted in numerous productions, including Three Sisters as Olga, Big Love as Nikos, and a particularly fun devised show that utilized the words of William Shakespeare and Shel Silverstein. I have also performed in New York's Corkscrew Theater Festival, as well as in film and webseries. As a playwright, I won the Marilyn Swartz Seven ‘69 Playwriting Award for my play Audra McDonald and Marsha P. Johnson Deliver A Message About the End of the World (2018). I just returned home from Scotland where I achieved my master's degree and performed in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2019.

Officially back in NY, I am ready to begin my career in theatre. It's a tough challenge to undertake while navigating a pandemic, but I am up for the challenge!