Sanaz Afshin is a researcher in theatre and performance studies. Born in Iran, she holds a BA in Performing Arts and Performance, as well as an MA in Theatre Studies from La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. She is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, focusing on applied theatre practices with migrants. Her research explores the opportunities, challenges, and limitations of these practices in both their processes and productions. Positioned at the intersection of applied theatre, migration studies, and political theatre, her work reflects on how theatre can engage with issues related to migration. Her collaboration with Dashtaray and Van Holk began through her role as a researcher affiliated with Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in a participatory storytelling project with migrants in 2022. Through this experience, she developed a research interest in the dramaturgical structure, methodology, and creative processes of the two performances created during the project, Het Verhalenhuis and Find the Actor, which she later incorporated into her doctoral research. This led to her continued collaboration with the team on subsequent productions.