Claudia Orenstein is a scholar, dramaturg, director and actor, who has worked and studied in the US, France, India, and Japan. Her current research focuses on the use of mixed media in contemporary performing object theatre and puppetry forms in India and Japan. She has also written on political theatre and on interculturalism.. Her articles and reviews appear in Asian Theatre Journal, Theatre, TDR, Theatre Symposium, Animated Encounters, Puppetry International, Puck, and Mime Journal. She worked as dramaturg for Shank’s Mare (LaMaMa) and Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Edinburgh International Festival). She has trained in various physical performance traditions including kathakali, kabuki, kyogen, bharata natyam, Balinese dance, commedia, and puppetry. . She serves as Associate Editor of Asian Theatre Journal and has been a Board Member of both the Association for Asian Performance and UNIMA- USA. She runs a month-long Winter Education Abroad program for Hunter College in India, and she also holds an appointment at the CUNY Graduate Center.