Dina Zarif

Born and raised in Iran, Dina Zarif is an Iranian-American actress, singer, multidisciplinary performing artist, and designer. She started acting in Bahram Beyzai's theatre workshops (the critically acclaimed Iranian playwright, theatre and film director, and screenwriter) at Stanford Iranian Studies Department since 2014. In Beyzai's works, Zarif first appeared in "Ardaviraf's Report" (2015), then was featured in the role of "Dancer/Singer" in "Tarabnameh" a nine-hour Persian traditional musical (2015-2016) and as the "Nurse" in "Crossroads" (2018). She is proud to play the title role of Marjan in the current Bahram Beyzai production, "Dash Akol According to Marjan" (2020). As shadow actress, she played "Princess Roudabeh" in the Cinematic shadow play "Feathers of Fire, a Persian Epic". She also designed and built the costumes. This project received the 2019 UNIMA award for excellence in live performance and design. Created and directed by Hamid Rahmanian in collaboration with the shadow master Larry Reed, this production had more than 100 performances nationally in the US and internationally. (2015-2018). As a singer, she combines middle Eastern styles inspired by her Persian roots with Western classical singing to develop her unique sound. Started from Harp and vocal duo, now she performs with Jazz-steeped acoustic sextet "Dina Zarif Ensemble" in many festivals. She performed with Mohsen Namjoo's live concert and album "Alaki"(2011).