Aidaa Peerzada
(She/her) is a playwright and performer who grew up between Baltimore, Maryland, and Lahore, Pakistan. The descendant of two artists from different cultural traditions, her background as an African American and First Generation American Pakistani is at the heart of her artistic practice. Her plays have been developed with the Playwrights Foundation, Crowded Fire Theatre, Prop Thtr, Catalyst at UC Davis, Meet Cute LA, Northern Sky Theatre, and SFBATCO, where she is also part of the artistic staff. As an actor, Aidaa has performed with the Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre, Word 4 Word, SFBATCO, Oakland Theatre Project, Pittsburgh Public, Illinois Shakespeare, Utah Shakespeare, Steppenwolf, and American Players Theatre. She was a 2020 recipient of the Theatre Bay Area Leadership Residency. Aidaa studied at the Baltimore School for the Arts and went on to receive her BFA in Drama from Carnegie Mellon University.
Workshops of her original work include "Children of the Wise" (Playwrights Foundation, Prop Theatre) "Aliyah and The Princess Jasmine Barbie" ( Meet Cute LA,Catalyst: Theatre Think Tank, Playwrights Center SF ) "SHINING", (The New Roots Theater Festival; SFBATCO), "One Google and One" (SFBATCO). She co-wrote the book and story for the original musical "Sunflowered" which premiered at Northern Sky Theatre. In her writing, she explores the impact of cultural erasure and the possibilities of reclaiming lost history.
As an actor, Aidaa has performed with Marin Theatre Co., Word for Word, SFBATCO, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Illinois Shakespeare, Utah Shakespeare, Steppenwolf, American Players Theatre, and Quantum Theatre. One of her favorite roles was “The Social Distance Butterfly,” a character of her creation who floated around San Francisco as part of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Creative Core, an effort that brought artists into communities to spread Covid safety awareness in 2020.