Friends with Amenities
Written by & Starring Ahsan Ali & Lisa Jill Anderson
Directed by Sarah Norris
September 5 - 10
ABOUT THE SHOW
Ali is a Pakistani immigrant with big dreams of making it as an actor in New York. Natalie is a reality-tv obsessed American who is terrified of being alone. When these two unlikely friends spend an unexpected evening together, they're forced to confront their emotional baggage and their assumptions of one another.
85 minutes
Ahsan Ali
Co-Writer & Ali
Ahsan (he/him) is a writer, actor, and filmmaker who grew up in Pakistan and immigrated to NYC where he currently resides. He is the co-founder of the indie production company, Zeal Films. He is the co-writer for the award winning pilot Legit Married, which won Best Web Pilot at DWF: LA, Best Episodic Pilot at Katra Film Series, and was an ATX TV Festival Pitch Competition Finalist in 2022. Select theater credits: Disgraced (American Stage), Mushroom by Eisa Davis (People’s Light). Select tv credits: “The Blacklist” (NBC), “Nora from Queens” (Comedy Central). Awards: Best Short Film, Best Actor, & Best Director in the Golden Short Film Festival for his film Fahim (2020); Best Performance for his film Coffee in the Astoria Film Festival (2021); Best Actor in the New Wave Short Film Festival for his film Fahim (2020); Best Performance at Women’s Comedy Film Festival in Atlanta and Chicago for Legit Married (2022); The Hilton Worldwide Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (2014). BFA, CUNY Brooklyn College. @ahsanali.32
Lisa Jill Anderson
Co-Writer & Natalie
Lisa (she/her) is an actor, writer, and producer based in NYC, originally from CA. She loves nothing more than working on a new play and has appeared in over a dozen world premieres and workshop productions downtown, uptown, on NYC rooftops, regionally, and everywhere in between. Select theater credits include: everything is super great by Stephen Brown (NLTP @ 59E59), The Woods. by Jahna Ferrón-Smith (Pendragon), Hal & Bee by Max Baker (NLTP @ 59e59), In the Event of My Death by Lindsay Joy (IRT Theater), and Live From the Surface of the Moon by Max Baker (Wild Project). TV: “Inventing Anna” (Netflix) & “Growing Up” (Disney+). Lisa co-created, produced and starred in the award-winning web pilot Legit Married. In 2022, Legit Married was an ATX TV Festival Pitch Competition Finalist and screened at 32 film festivals, with several wins and nominations for Best Pilot. Proud member of New Light Theater Project. BFA in acting, Brooklyn College. @lisajillanderson