Youngblood/Ensemble Studio Theatre Finalist (2023)
Art House INKubator Program (2023)
Steppenwolf Theatre Literary Apprenticeship & Fellowship (2020)
Judith Barlow Prize Runner Up (2019)
Events/Spoken
LOOOM, a French arts and performance festival exploring intersectionality through collaboration. (2021)
Dismantling Cultural Structures of Oppression, The Unmistakable Creative (2021)
Press
“Finding ammonites” - The Michigan Daily
“Cathy Park Hong’s work changed the way I think about myself. Upasna Barath’s podcast and writing for Rookie speak to me like no one else can. Ocean Vuong’s poetry. Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s “World of Wonders.” Read the full article here.
“Spotify Next Wave Top Picks + Creator Advice” - Spotify for Podcasters Blog
In 2020, Spotify launched a casting call for student podcasts across Lifestyle & Comedy, Journalism, Entertainment/Sports & Gaming and Wild Card (everything else). Read more here.
“Why Videographer Upasna Barath is Rookie of the Year” - Study Breaks Magazine
“The North Central College student, author and serialized videographer for Tavi Gevinson’s renowned girl-power publication is writing to survive.” Read more here.
“Rookie Brought the Inclusive Spirit of Zines to the Internet Era” - The New Yorker
“On Friday, Tavi Gevinson, the editor-in-chief and founder of Rookie, wrote in her monthly editor’s letter that the beloved online publication would be folding. Gevinson began Rookie in 2011, at the age of fifteen, on the heels of her forward-thinking fashion blog Style Rookie.” Read more here.
“Rookie Mag Ends” - The 21st (Illinois Public Media/NPR)
“Well millennials grew up with a different kind of teen magazine, Rookie Mag. Back in 2011, Rookie was founded by a then 15 year-old and Oak Park, Illinois native Tavi Gevinson. She’s now a successful writer and actress, but at the time she was a new generation’s it girl. And Rookie was the it magazine.” Read more here.
“Steep Theatre MOSQUITOES Review” - Picture This Post
“Brilliant! – as the Brits like to say—is, in the American sense, the best word this writer can think of to describe Kirkwood’s off-beat engaging characters. In some ways hewing more closely to quasi-conventional characters – quasi, and certainly no less compelling-- are Alice’s genius son Luke (Alexander Stuart), his classmate Natalie (Upasna Barath).” Read more here.
“7 Essays to Read This Week” - BuzzFeed
“Having spent her childhood in both the United States and India, Upasna Barath never felt like she belonged in either of her homelands. In India, the other kids made fun of her Hindi pronunciation and American lunches. But things were still hard for Barath when she moved back to the States. This week, she wrote an essay about cultural assimilation, race, and fitting in.” Read more here.
“Rookie Magazine celebrates its senior ‘Yearbook’” - The DePaulia
“Rookie’s night at the Music Box Theatre, and Gevsinson’s brief homecoming, was a night of love, empowerment, and feminism, three of the most important aspects of Rookie. The fourth and final yearbook is full of wonderful pieces of writing, art, and interviews, with something for everyone to enjoy.” Read more here.