Amaia Arana is a bilingual [Spanish/English] actor, coach, writer, and artist citizen, living in Brooklyn with her husband and rescue pup, Roxie. Amaia is currently guest starring as ED Resident Roxana Zamaya on NBC's medical drama, NEW AMSTERDAM. 

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Amaia fell in love with storytelling as a child through reading and exploring her wild imagination playing make believe. She grew up, learned that playing make believe was a bonafide job, fell in love with Shakespeare and followed him across the pond to BADA. From there she landed back in Savannah, GA where she got her BFA in Acting from SCAD. A few years later she decided to continue her training at NYU Tisch's Graduate Acting Program where she obtained her MFA in Acting. She is a four time company member at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, has worked on Oscar Winning writer/director, Kemp Power's play Christa McAuliffe's Eyes Were Blue directed by Jennifer Chang at Center Theatre Group in LA and her screen work has ranged from working on THE BLACKLIST to being featured in the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner and Art Basel Miami. 

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While visiting family in Argentina, Amaia wrote her first short play, ECLIPSE de LUNA; a bilingual magic realism story inspired by her Basque/Argentine maternal grandfather, about a tailor and his love affair with 'la luna'. It's first staged reading was produced as part of NYU Grad Acting's Free Play Festival.

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Amaia is excited by the re-telling of familiar stories and histories from the point of view of those who have previously been overlooked. She believes actors are empathy machines who are called to tell whole hearted, nuanced, complicated stories that change the minds and hearts of those who hear and see them. 

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When not on stage or set you can find her perfecting the art of the charcuterie board, cuddling her pup, scheming her next home reno project or planning her next adventure.

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