Miranda Rachel
Miranda Rachel (she/her) is an Indo-Guyanese writer, director, performance artist, and storyteller who combines art and activism to increase representation and visibility for the Indo-Caribbean and Indentured Indian Diasporas.She previously directed and starred in various South Asian/Indo-Caribbean-centric theatrical productions (“Yoni ki Raat”, 2017; “Jahajees Rising”, 2018; “YKR: Decoded”, 2019) and appeared in the documentary film “Double Diaspora: A Portrait of Indo-Caribbeans in New York”, directed by filmmaker Lissa Deonarain.She is a 2019 Honoree for Ignite Caribbean’s 30 Under 30 Changemakers Awards in recognition for her Cultural Leadership. In 2021, she was awarded a City Corps Arts Grant from The New York Foundation for the Arts.Additionally, Miranda is the founder and curator of Coolie Women — a personal educational project that centers and honours women of Indentured heritage throughout history.Miranda is a licensed mental health therapist with a Master’s of Science in Social Work degree from Columbia University. She hopes to specialize in ancestral, intergenerational and historical trauma to facilitate healing in her communities.
Featured Work
Theatre
Sounds from Home — Yoni ki Raat, 2017
Jahajees Rising — Jahajee Sisters, 2018
2 Bangles — YKR: Decoded, 2019
Film
Double Diaspora: A Portrait of Indo-Caribbeans in New York — directed by Lissa Deonarain, 2018
Invoking Our Ancestors, Honoring Our Voices — produced & presented by Jahajee Sisters, 2020
Stronger Together, Stronger Than Ever — produced & presented by Jahajee Sisters; directed by Miranda Rachel Deebrah, 2021
Writing
An Open Letter to the Star Trek Community — published 6/15/2020
Panels & Podcasts
Caribbean Crossroads: Colorism and Use of the Word “Coolie” — Panel Discussion moderated by Aliyah T. Paulsingh and Lenny Rampersaud, 6/20/2020
British Colonialism: An Indo-Guyanese Perspective — Video Podcast Interview with James Boston, 7/10/2020
Of Note
Contact
Writing
On Broadway: A Little Light , A Lot of Love — An Interview with Actress Judith Light — published 2/9/2011
Becoming ‘Bollywood Bev’ and Going Boldly in the Star Trek Universe — published 12/8/2016
An Open Letter to the Star Trek Community — published 6/15/2020
Artist CV
(click to enlarge)
Press
Miranda Deebrah: Fairfield, Oxford, Columbia – The World is her Stage! by Dr. Dhanpaul Narine — published February 2021
Queens Literary Festival 2019: A Celebration of the Imagination! by Dr. Dhanpaul Narine — published July 2019
Queens Book Fair: The Story of a Great Literary Festival by Dr. Dhanpaul Narine — published July 2018
Jahajee Sisters: When We Rise, You Rise For The Next 100 Years by Felicia Singh — published June 2018
Jahajees Rising: Weekend Summit to Empower Women, Gather Community and Reimagine Stacy Singh Tragedy by Suzanne Mahadeo — published April 2018
Professional Publications
Sankar, T., 2020. “A Creative Process”: Indo-Caribbean American Identity as Diasporic Consciousness. Middle Atlantic Review of Latin American Studies, 4(2), pp. 127–143. DOI: http://doi.org/10.23870/marlas.289
Szucs, A., Deebrah, M. R., & Hess, M., 2020. HOPE at PLAY: Mindfulness-Informed Group Practices in Action with People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Before and During COVID-19. International Journal of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Studies, 5(10), pp. 69-79.