A Conversation with Ahmed Best
The director of the new play “Ascension” talks about the evolution of theatre.
Today I am joined by Ahmed Best, the Associate Artistic Director of the Echo Theater in Los Angeles, and director of their new show, Ascension written by D.G. Watson.
You might know him best as Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. He currently hosts both Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge and The Afrofuturist Podcast. He is also the creator, writer and director of two web series, including the comic sci-fi series The Nebula. As an actor, Best starred in the musical Stomp on Broadway. As CEO of BISN Media, he is executive producer of Dinner at LOLA and The DL Chronicles. As a martial artist and fight choreographer, he is the recipient of multiple Ovation, Stage Raw, TicketHolderLA and Scenie awards, including for Echo Theater Company’s productions of Backyard and Blueberry Toast. He is also an adjunct lecturer at the USC School Of Dramatic Arts, adjunct lecturer at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, and a senior fellow at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
