ABOUT ME
Photos: Jake Wasserman
EMILY M. DZIOBA (she/her) is a dramaturg, arts administrator, and producer based in New Jersey. As a dramaturg and (occasional) director, Emily connects most strongly with supporting new play development. Emily's goal in any project or position is to connect audiences with resonant stories that they will identify with and cherish. She feels a strong connection to breaking down the racial, economic, and gendered gatekeeping that prevents access to theatrical work. You can read her artistic statement here.
Currently, Emily is the Associate Dramaturg and founder of the Storyteller Studio at The New Jersey Play Lab, a new play development home for New Jersey-based writers. She assists Cheryl Katz and Kaitlin Stilwell with dramaturgical insight on plays of all levels; created, launched, and leads The Storyteller Studio; managed their Residency submissions and reading process; and leads her own sections of PlayGym playwriting forums. Emily is also the Literary Associate at Premiere Stages, and has worked on their Play Festival submissions process in various capacities since 2021.
Emily occasionally works with Theater Masters, providing dramaturgical support to Take Ten MFA playwrights and the Visionary Commission playwrights. Emily is an original member and former Managing Director of The Strides Collective, a new company that develops work by emerging playwrights that embraces the queer experience. Outside of her artistic career, she has worked in various arts administration role. When she needs a break from work, along with Talia Smith, Emily is a co-producer of Once Upon A Time: A Storytelling Podcast-- a project designed to embrace the storyteller in us all.
Emily has worked with Art House Productions;Tectonic Theater Project; George Street Playhouse; Keen Company; the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey; and the Writers Theatre of New Jersey. Emily is a script reader for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Premiere Stages, She NYC Arts, and the Campfire Theatre Festival. She is a proud member of LMDA (The Literary Managers and Darmaturgs of the Americas, and was honored to be a participant in the 2022 Kennedy Center Dramaturgy Intensive, under the mentorship of Mark Bly.
As an educator, Emily enjoys working with learners of all ages. Most recently, she has worked with the Union Catholic Performing Arts Company as their resident dramaturg and artistic mentor. She has also done educational work and training at George Street Playhouse.
A proud graduate of Drew University, Emily received her BA in Theatre Arts with Specialized Honors. Emily's most notable undergraduate project is serving as the dramaturg on an original devised piece, 4320p: IMMERSION, conceived under the mentorship of Tectonic Theater Project Master Teachers Barbara Pitts McAdams and Scott Barrow, and Dr. Lisa Brenner and Chris Ceraso of Drew. Emily presented her thesis research on 4320p at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education's annual conference as a 2019 Dramaturgy Debut Panelist.
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Emily loves her beagle, enjoys watching Jeopardy!, knitting, and baking.