Emma Bilderback

Emma Bilderback is currently based in New Jersey. She is a graduate of the University of Amsterdam in International Dramaturgy. She is the co-Vice President of Anti-Oppression for the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas. She is also a member of a digital dramaturgy collective that has partnered with SheLA Arts for their 2024 season. She completed her thesis in 2020 discussing the connections between staged war dramas of the 21st century and corresponding Greek tragedies. She produced and directed an original digital play series with The Tank NYC called "Long Pig Kitchen". Her essay “Aeschylus Says Black Lives Matter” was published by the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas in 2020. In 2019, she dramaturged a new production of Antigone in Cape Town, South Africa...

Emma Bilderback is currently based in New Jersey. She is a graduate of the University of Amsterdam in International Dramaturgy. She is the co-Vice President of Anti-Oppression for the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas. She is also a member of a digital dramaturgy collective that has partnered with SheLA Arts for their 2024 season. She completed her thesis in 2020 discussing the connections between staged war dramas of the 21st century and corresponding Greek tragedies. She produced and directed an original digital play series with The Tank NYC called "Long Pig Kitchen". Her essay “Aeschylus Says Black Lives Matter” was published by the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas in 2020. In 2019, she dramaturged a new production of Antigone in Cape Town, South Africa titled "Antigone (not quite/quiet)" which used the themes and characters of Antigone to reflect the strife of gendered and economic violence in South Africa.

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  • Stuck in Honolulu is a beautiful triad that explores family and identity. Tati and Daddy are stuck in a Godot-like situation where they are unable to leave. Daddy and Lihau are stuck in an emotional stalemate as Daddy recovers in the hospital. Tati and Lihau are stuck in their personal insecurities that they take out on each other. It explores what it means to be in a place but not of a place. Lee evokes the beauty of Hawaiian storytelling in the American theater space.

    Stuck in Honolulu is a beautiful triad that explores family and identity. Tati and Daddy are stuck in a Godot-like situation where they are unable to leave. Daddy and Lihau are stuck in an emotional stalemate as Daddy recovers in the hospital. Tati and Lihau are stuck in their personal insecurities that they take out on each other. It explores what it means to be in a place but not of a place. Lee evokes the beauty of Hawaiian storytelling in the American theater space.

  • If you want narratives about breaking cyclical trauma with a touch of Alex Garland's "Ex Machina" but with a happier ending--Lyra has crafted an incredible narrative for you.

    If you want narratives about breaking cyclical trauma with a touch of Alex Garland's "Ex Machina" but with a happier ending--Lyra has crafted an incredible narrative for you.

  • Urgent and Brechtian, Caridad has a magic touch of putting politics on stage while coupling it with joy. Chelsea & Ivanka had been on my list for quite a while--for the title alone. It's class, it's climate change, it's criticism of the most difficult problems and questions that face us in this moment. It's urgency cannot be overstated. Minimal stage and design directions make this an expansive playground for those brave enough to take it on.

    Urgent and Brechtian, Caridad has a magic touch of putting politics on stage while coupling it with joy. Chelsea & Ivanka had been on my list for quite a while--for the title alone. It's class, it's climate change, it's criticism of the most difficult problems and questions that face us in this moment. It's urgency cannot be overstated. Minimal stage and design directions make this an expansive playground for those brave enough to take it on.

  • Donna has created a world teeming with life (quite ironically). The relationships between the women are what makes the piece really sing--and none of it feels shoehorned or forced in any way. It stays true to its era while still being cognizant of modern sensibilities. It's also a fascinating look at historical parallels to our own contemporary collective traumas.

    Donna has created a world teeming with life (quite ironically). The relationships between the women are what makes the piece really sing--and none of it feels shoehorned or forced in any way. It stays true to its era while still being cognizant of modern sensibilities. It's also a fascinating look at historical parallels to our own contemporary collective traumas.

  • This piece is a heartfelt alternative canon to Sophocles and Aeschylus. It deals with modern themes of migration, xenophobia, and queerness in a way that feels organic within the world that has been created, while still being a recognizably ancient world.

    This piece is a heartfelt alternative canon to Sophocles and Aeschylus. It deals with modern themes of migration, xenophobia, and queerness in a way that feels organic within the world that has been created, while still being a recognizably ancient world.

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