Azar Kazemi (she/her) is first generation Persian-American and the Founding Artistic Director at The Blind Owl, a socially-charged theatre where the political and personal collide. She most recently directed Layalina by Martin Yousif Zebari as part of Future Labs and The Wizards by Ricardo Gamboa as part of New Stages, both at the Goodman Theatre. Some of Azar's Chicago directing credits include: the U.S. premiere of debbie tucker green's dirty butterfly, the mid-west premiere of Jack's Precious Moment by Samuel D. Hunter, and Crave by Sarah Kane. Azar received her MFA from The Theatre School at DePaul University in 2011, where she has also been on faculty since 2015 and the Associate Diversity Advisor from 2020-2021. Along with the Goodman Theatre, Azar has worked at Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Jackalope Theatre, Silk Road Rising, American Theatre Company, Chicago Dramatists, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. In New York City Azar worked at The New Group where she assistant directed three Off-Broadway productions, two under the direction of her mentor Ethan Hawke. Azar received the 2020-21 Excellence in Teaching Award from The Theatre School at DePaul University.