Esther is a Philadelphia-based director, dramaturg, and educator.
She makes plays — usually brand new, always unpretentious,
and entirely driven by the brains, limbs, and hearts of the
imperfect folks inside them.
She makes plays — usually brand new, always unpretentious,
and entirely driven by the brains, limbs, and hearts of the
imperfect folks inside them.
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artistic statement. I believe theatre is morally clarifying because it is inherently communal: each time we sit together in the dark to witness an imperfect, specific life unfold onstage, our perspective moves further from collective and dismissive and closer to individual and empathetic. As a director, dramaturg, and arts educator, I harness that perspective-shifting power by leading every ensemble with equal parts warmth and rigor. I strive to listen more than I speak and ask the hardest questions over giving the best answers. I’m an arbiter of many ideas, a facilitator rather than an enforcer, and I demand a radically generous, other-centered brain, body, and heart from every collaborator. I do all of this in hopes of pointing all of our moral compasses in the same, more humane direction, so that when we invite audiences into our work, they’ll be spurred to follow our lead. |
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bio.
Most recently, Esther directed SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS by Bess Wohl at the University of Pennsylvania. Other recent projects include the world premiere of STACY & MIA by SMJ at the Tank, JUST A PAP by Jenna Kraynak with Brunch Theatre Company, and surviving a global pandemic. Esther has assisted at The O’Neill Center, The Drama League, and Yale Rep and has worked off-Broadway at Signature and Second Stage. She is an inaugural member of the 19/20 Roundabout Directors Group, a member of the 2019 Williamstown Theatre Festival Directing Corps, and an alumna of the National Theater Institute and the University of Pennsylvania. |
odds & ends.
Esther loves drinking iced coffee year-round, wearing witty baseball caps, directing in the round, and binging feminist nonfiction at an alarming rate. When she's not making theatre, she works at Clove, an award-winning sneaker brand built for people on the frontlines of healthcare. She lives in Old City, Philadelphia with her dog, Babka. Click here for her resume. |