May El Calamawy

Growing up with a last name that gets commonly mistaken for calamari and a first name that gets substituted with eleven other months (seriously guys, it's not funny anymore), May El Calamawy was born and raised in Bahrain to an Egyptian father and a Palestinian mother. She attributes her confused Arabic dialect to her parents and Bahraini soap operas, which should be banned.

Graduating from Emerson College with a BA in Acting, May was part of the sketch comedy troupe Chocolate Cake City, and was featured in several national commercials, award winning student films as well as the short film "Santa Claus in Baghdad."

Considering the state of the economy, she decided to be spontaneous and move in March '09 to NYC to spend more time and money on acting classes. She prides herself on this decision considering she is now participating in this year's NYAACF. Yay to the recession! She believes the entertainment industry provides us with the strongest vehicles for change and plans on representing the Middle East throughout her journey as an actress!