Bi TV star pivots to theater in intense thriller ‘Data’
‘Data’Through Dec. 15Arena Stage1101 6th Street, S.W.$75 – $99Arenastage.org Whether it’s a remote location shoot or acting in a play at Arena Stage, former Disney star Karan Brar loves the idea of “sitting somewhere longer than a vacation but short of saying I live there.” For him, “it’s exciting to experience a new place no matter how stimulating or uninteresting it might be, of running away to a project and focusing everything you can on it, and then coming back to your life in New York and reconnecting and getting all the updates from friends.” Recently, during a phone conversation the morning after the opening night of“Data” at Arena, a very positive Brar reflected on the experience. “It was a real feat to get it where it was and both the audience and the cast felt good about it.
So, I’m happy.” He plays Maneesh, a queer entry-level programmer at Athena Technologies, a data-mining firm in Silicon Valley.
Content to work in the low-stress environment of User Experience, the brilliant though not particularly ambitious new employee undergoes a “crisis of conscience” when a promotion comes his way and he learns the extent to which Athena is willing to go to hide its secrets. “So much of my lived experience is similar to what Maneesh goes through,” says Brar, 25. “His identity, sexuality, his parents, and his experience with grief.” When Brar first read the script at home in his apartment, he yelled to his roommate “this play is about me.” Seeing the tremendous similarities, she replied that he had to do the part.
So, despite his utter lack of theatrical experience, he went for it. Playwright Matthew Libby’s “Data” was not only Brar’s first theater audition ever but it’s also his first leading role.
