Storyteller. Advocate. Theatre Maker.
About Emily M. Shaffer
Who is Emily M. Shaffer?
Emily M. Shaffer is a Theatre Maker based in Sunbury, PA who frequently engages with playwriting, directing, dramaturgy, and acting. They hold a BA in Theatre Arts from Commonwealth University- Bloomsburg and are a current student in the MFA Screenwriting & Playwriting program at Point Park University. Shaffer is a member of the Dramatists Guild and LMDA and frequently posts their playwriting work to their New Play Exchange.
Shaffer serves on the Executive Board of Reclaimed Performing Arts Company as the Historian and Social Media chair.
Emily is a New Play Development enthusiast through and through, having participated in 9 processes as a dramaturg, director, playwright, and performer. They enjoy putting the playwright and their play at the center of any new play development work, making sure to nurture the play in the way the playwright needs. The exploratory environment that is cultivated provides playwrights with a safety net, allowing them to try anything, and it’s a particular factor of New Play Development that Shaffer loves.
Shaffer strives to highlight the values of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging through their playwriting, creating characters that can be played by anyone. The gender binary is often obsolete in the worlds they create. Theatre is an inviting and accepting community, and Emily is working to continue that through their storytelling, specifically with their writing.
Emily often writes about things paranormal, with the most recent being Zarp, an alien from the planet Vline who crashes their ship on Earth. Growing up watching Dr. Who and seeing every Marvel movie known to man, they’ve grown a love for all things science fiction.