Alani Ilongwe

Once primarily a performer in musicals and traditional plays, Alani's creative passions led to a new artistic mission aimed at developing immersive, VR, and streamed theatrical productions to bring theater to audiences around the world. Along the way, he and composer Rowen Casey have been diligently developing At the River I Stand since 2017. That same year he directed and executive produced "Meat Puppet: The Filmed Experience", a streamed theatrical production aimed at raising money for the philanthropic group, Unusual Suspects, which "mentors, educates, and enriches under served youth through the creation of collaborative, original theatre". In 2018, he was a member of the inaugural class of NAMT's Festival Observership for Early Career Directors. In 2020, his immersive musical 'At the River I Stand' was invited to the Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed before receiving a workshop production at TheatreWorks Hartford. In 2021, the production was invited to the inaugural Theatre Accelerator XR: Edition where it won the culminating Sing Tank Live virtual competition, capturing the hearts and imaginations of the Broadway producers and VCs in attendance. As a performer, television credits include ABC's "Castle", TNT's "Major Crimes", CBS' "Blue Bloods", NBC's "Law & Order", Nickelodeon's "Cousins for Life", "Casagrandes", and a recurring role on "Loud House". Theater credits include Matthew Lopez's "The Legend of Georgia McBride" (Ensemble Theatre Company), August Wilson's "Two Trains Running" (Seattle Repertory Company/Arena Stage) and Dominique Morisseau's "Sunset Baby" (TheatreWorks). Alani can be seen in the upcoming Netflix feature film, Arthur the King, starring Mark Wahlberg, Juliet Rylance, and Simu Liu. Graduate of NYU's Tisch School for the Arts and Maggie Flanigan Studio. Ron Howard Fellowship recipient.