A senior at Baruch College, Yash Shah played Matequilla Decima, the lead character of an off-Broadway show produced by the Baruch Performing Arts Center before 250 viewers. Yash was one of the two lead performers at Blade To the Heat, a production that ran daily shows from Nov 14 to Nov 18, at the Rose Nagelberg Theatre in New York City. The event, like other performing arts events, was an "effort to channel the interest of young aspiring actors who have the talent and drive to participate in prestigious productions such as this one, and who plan to move forward in a related field after college," said director Thom Garvey.

Having worked extensively with Spike Lee, Woody King, and most recently Will Smith, the fight choreographer of this production Micheal Olajide, Jr. closely trained Yash Shah and Stephen Chan for their characters in Blade To the Heat.

At the center of the play is Pedro Quinn (Stephen Chan), a sensitive young Mexican who wins the middleweight boxing title early on in the 50’s. He's gay but refuses to recognize it even as he's insistently seducing the male blues singer (Ben Cohen). The other major character is Mantequilla Decima (Yash Shah), the Cuban-born fighter who loses his title to Pedro. Though Mantequilla is typically “macho,” talks surrounding Pedro’s homosexuality drive him crazy, and the last scene ends with him losing and dying in the boxing ring.

As the show let out, many onlookers could not stop raving about the "realistic fight scenes with blood spurting everywhere." An audience member also mentioned that the best part about the event was how "real the entire production was, from the boxing ring-like auditorium to the background drums music to the actual set." Fortunately, I had a moment to speak with the leading man, Yash Shah. He claimed, "as an Indian college student who’s parents typically defined a reputable career by medicine, law, or engineering, I’m glad I got an opportunity to exhibit what I enjoy most. It’s an incredible privilege to be trained by Will Smith’s trainer…[I wonder] if other aspiring actors like me get such chances."

Recently, the upsurge of Asians in mainstream performing arts has been more than noticeable--no wonder talented young performers like Yash Shah and Stephen Chan are being scrutinized and recruited by leading actors' agencies.