Meet the Project Manager

Phalguni Vittal Rao

Arts Manager, Performer, Producer (India)  

Phalguni Vittal Rao is a performer, writer, producer, arts manager and curator based in India. At Drama School Mumbai, she manages the Unrehearsed Futures project and was the editor of DSM’s monthly newsletter for over 2 years. She has also worked as a librarian and curator with Bhasha Centre at The Drama Library. Most recently, between 2024 and 2025, she has completed a 5-month pedagogic diploma in the pedagogy of Jacques Lecoq with Embodied Poetics’ Amy Russell and Norman Taylor in Slovenia and Italy. She is also the co-producer of a unique theatre festival Naatak Express that brings together 12 directors, 12 playwrights and 60 actors to create 12 plays in 3 languages in 24 hours. Phalguni has been performing and writing about theatre for a decade and her written work has appeared on Splainer, Firstpost, The Better India, The New Indian Express and the Drama School Mumbai blog.  

An alumna of DSM, she also holds a PG Diploma in Journalism (IIJNM) and a BA in Theatre Studies, Communication and Media, and English from Christ University, Bangalore. In 2022, she wrote and co-directed her first audio-based show ‘Inching Closer’. In 2025 and 2026, Phalguni also created and performed her butoh performances Fragments of Becoming and The Grandmother’s Dream. She has worked with Dur Se Brothers, QTP India, Ranga Shankara and Lourd Vijay Dance Studio. Apart from theatre, Phalguni loves Butoh and masks, is an avid reader, amateur pianist, basketball player and aspires to create an empathetic, loving world through her writing and performances.