From Madurai to Manhattan: Vighnesh Dheenadhayalan’s Journey in Acting and Theatre
He studied drama at New York University’s Tisch School of Arts and finished his degree in 2024. At NYU, he learned how to act on stage and also how to manage technical work behind the scenes.
Vighnesh Dheenadhayalan is an actor and theatre artist who was born in Madurai, India and now lives in Manhattan, New York City. He is steadily building a career in both acting and technical production. He studied drama at New York University’s Tisch School of Arts and finished his degree in 2024. At NYU, he learned how to act on stage and also how to manage technical work behind the scenes.
During his time at NYU, Vighnesh acted in many plays. One of his main roles was Marco in A View From the Bridge, directed by Brandon Michael Nase. He also performed in plays like The Aliens, Our Lady of 121st Street, and The Seagull. After college, he worked with the famous Metropolitan Opera in a play called Moby Dick. There, he got to work with director Leonard Foglia and Rick Sordelet, who is a fight choreographer from Broadway.
Vighnesh also enjoys working in theatre. He works at Squid Game: The Experience NYC. He first joined as a host, but now he is the Technical Operations Manager. That means he takes care of the daily shows, checks safety, and makes sure all the technical things go well.
Besides theatre, Vighnesh is also acting in short films. He has acted in The Curve, The Dishwasher, and 2 A.M. He is also working on a short film called Mirrors, where he is both the actor and the director. It is planned to release in 2025. He has also done internships at studios like Stone Street Studios and Aoki Studios working on editing and filming small projects and ads.
He says his love for acting started when he watched movies like The Godfather, Taxi Driver, and Spider-Man. He chose NYU because it has very good training for actors. He continues to learn theatre and filming trying to master his craft.
