What is TE'A ?

TE’A (Theatre Engagement & Action) produces high quality performance pieces by engaging talented young artists in a community-oriented creative process that infuses interactive, documentary style theatre with the insight approach to conflict analysis. The theatrical performance pieces help build and strengthen communities on the key issues that threaten to divide or polarize them. TE’A employs the magic of theatre to foster the kind of curiosity, insight, and self-reflection that enables audiences to transcend the barriers of experience, identity, and culture that disconnect them from each other, or that lock them into conflict.

TE'A is in partnership with Intersections International, a multi-faith, not-for-profit organization with a 501c3 designation committed to developing effective, creative programming to forage a common ground for global social justice.

Read more about The TE'A Process.

Radha Kramer, Founding Director of TE'A

Radha Kramer is the founder and director of TE’A. In 2008, she founded Radha Productions with the mission of engaging interactive theatre and the performing arts in the service of peace building and conflict transformation.

Radha began her career in the arts with the NiteStar Program in NYC—a theatre-based HIV education and prevention program for urban youth—and served as NiteStar’s Assistant Artistic Director. She then joined the Peace Corps, where she continued her commitment to interactive theatre and HIV prevention as a Youth Development Volunteer in the Republic of Vanuatu. Upon returning to the U.S., Radha was awarded the Sargent Shriver Peaceworker Fellowship for graduate studies in public service.

Radha received her MS in Public Policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and elected to continue her studies at George Mason University, where she earned a second MS degree in the field of Conflict Analysis and Resolution.

Before launching Radha Productions and TE’A, Radha worked with Search for Common Ground in Washington DC as the Program Assistant for the US/Iran and the US/Syria programs.

Chukwuma Obasi, Director of TE'A NYC

A New York native, Chuk began to pursue the performing arts as a freshman at St. Raymond High School for Boys in Bronx, NY. After graduating from SUNY Geneseo in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree in communication (double minor in musical theatre and dance), he began his professional performing arts career with the Rochester Children's Theatre. Since then, he has performed in various regional, Off-off Broadway, touring, and film/television productions in Rochester, Syracuse, Washington DC, and New York City among other regions. At this point his resume includes work in acting, dance, choreography, slam poetry, music writing/performance, and so on.

Chuk joined the TE’A NY Company as it began in 2009 and has since become the Director of TE'A NYC.

Chuk also currently serves as the company choreographer for The NiteStar Program, and as the Director of the Dance Division for Mind the Art Entertainment.

Intersections International, Founding Partner

Intersections International is a New York-based global initiative dedicated to promoting justice, reconciliation and peace across lines of faith, culture, ideology, race, class, national borders and other boundaries that divide humanity. Founded in 2007, Intersections is a permanent multi-faith, multi-cultural effort of the Collegiate Churches of New York, the oldest corporation in North America, dating back to 1628.

Using arts immersion, social marketing, intentional dialogue and other innovative methods, Intersections' work includes projects that promote pluralism in emerging democracies, eradicate ignorance regarding Islam, nurture global peacemakers, dismantle systemic discrimination against the LGBT community and initiate conversation among disparate groups to develop new ways of problem solving for some of society's most intractable issues. Intersections' work lies in three programmatic areas: amplifying marginalized voices, interfaith dialogue and cooperation and addressing the consequences of conflict.

Intersections is dedicated to building respectful relationships among diverse individuals and communities to forge common ground and develop strategies that promote justice, reconciliation, and peace. We are a multi-cultural, multi-faith, global initiative of the Collegiate Church of New York, the oldest corporation in North America dating back to 1628.