emily dzioba
dramaturg + artistic thinker

I am a new play dramaturg prioritizing
artist-first collaboration and accessible audience entry points. 

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I desire clarity of story and enriched context for any literary project I take on. I am an artist-first dramaturg, always questioning what is needed for the work to be deep, true, and resonant in line with the playwright's vision.

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I have a deep love for research that manifests itself in my passion for audience engagement tools. Research dramaturgy allows me to delve fully into the world of the play, creating a wealth of contextual knowledge for the team and the audience to take: program notes, rehearsal guides, research packets, lobby displays, participatory talks, and more. 

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I champion progressive theatre-making and collective collaboration models. I challenge baked-in industry markers of capitalism: profit-driven goals, top-down hierarchy, exploitive work requirements. As a queer, first-generation-educated artist, equity is inherent and necessary in my process.

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I aim to connect stories on the page or stage with urgency around current social, political, cultural, and personal issues. Through my dramaturgical craft, I want to challenge creative teams and audiences to connect the puzzle pieces that the play and production have brought for them to solve.

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I believe great art entertains and instructs. It should be innovative and thoughtful, asking questions instead of answering them. As a dramaturg, I always question: "Why this play now, at this moment, in this way?" and "How do we leave feeling differently?"

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I aim to empower communities and individuals to rethink how we can become better people and citizens of the world through urgently making and taking great art. I always ask: who is being kept from the room? How can we build and assist them into a welcome space? I strive to offer myself as an anti-racist, anti-capitalist advocate.