Even though [Don’t Shoot the Messenger] is comical it’s an opportunity to change thoughts about who we are, and they can see us as normal people with disabilities. There should be no barriers between us. We find ways to communicate. We find ways to be together and collaborate. I was filled with hope. We can achieve great things when we work together. It also showed sign language wasn’t a detriment. Sign language is amazing! It’s a natural form of communication.
L to R: Christina Kotlar, Producer; Maleni Chaitoo, Guest Artist; Frances McGarry, Host; Stephanie Feyne, Interpreter
Maleni Chaitoois a passionate entrepreneur residing in New York City. Her professional endeavors in business, performing arts, and education contribute to her success as a multi-faceted businesswoman who embraces challenges and converts them into opportunities.
Consultant, Filmmaker, and Actor in New York Maleni wears many hats in tv and film production as a Deaf interpreter, Museum Docent, and perhaps, most unique of all, a rock climbing instructor. Maleni considers herself a Renaissance woman, and rightfully so.
The Why Collective is a group of artists and thinkers dedicated to a roundtable-style of artistic inception and creation. We seek to provide a place for artists of multiple disciplines to work together in a collaborative space without the traditional hierarchy of leadership roles. We invite artists to play and explore non-traditional performance practices in our creative laboratory setting, where both tradition and innovation are honored and honed. Through our own exploration of life’s deepest questions, we hope to encourage our audiences to join us in resisting and reshaping the status quo through interdisciplinary performance art. Maleni performed in Words of the Prophets as – ASL NARRATOR BODY/DIRECTOR OF ASL.
In addition to the field of education, Maleni also has extensive experience in the arts: acting, fashion, art galleries, and film. Recently, Maleni served as an Executive Producer and Actor of the new comedy web series, Don’t Shoot the Messenger alongside co-executive producers Craig Fogel and Jessica Wasserman. As the character Kayla on her self-produced series Don’t Shoot the Messenger, from 2016 – 2018,
Maleni is a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) and the Actor’s Equity Association (AEA). These prestigious memberships serve to illustrate her dedication to the arts and film.
There, Maleni speaks on the importance of disability recognition, the ASL cultural programming, and as a linguistic advocate for new media and voices, Maleni graciously advocates for Performers with Disabilities.
Her hobbies include: engaging with the NYC cultural scene, playing sports, conversing with people from all over the world as an avid traveler, and reading.
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