Dramaturg: a new play doula.
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Professional Summary
Shaun Leisher (he/him/his) is a Philadelphia-based dramaturg, producer and arts education advocate. As a dramaturg, Shaun has worked on productions of CLYBOURNE PARK by Bruce Norris and SMART PEOPLE by Lydia R. Diamond under the direction of nationally-recognized theatre artist and educator, Kashi Johnson at Lehigh University. He was also part of the dramaturgy team for the workshop production of RAW PASTA by Maya Macdonald as part of the 2019 Ice Factory Festival and provided dramaturgy for Braving The Bard’s audio production of MACBETH, directed by Emma Cordray and Pria Daihya. As a producer, Shaun has organized play readings and new work festivals throughout Eastern Pennsylvania. Shaun has produced many events that highlight the power art has to address social issues including the Lehigh Valley Chapter of The Future Is Female Festival and the Kutztown, PA Chapter of Climate Change Theatre Action. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shaun made the switch to producing work virtually with Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts’ 2020 New Play Festival which featured workshop readings of original work by student playwrights with stage and screen actors including Bernardo Cubria, Malika Samuel, Alyssa May Gold and Emma Ramos. Having gotten his start in theatre as a director of middle and high school musicals, Shaun is a passionate advocate for arts education and he recently became the literary manager for the theatre education consulting organization, RE: Theatre.
Skills
Notes Running workshops Staged readings Digital readings
Script coverage Talkbacks New Play Exchange reviews Event promotion
Dramaturgy & Producing
Credits
October 2020
Macbeth - Braving the Bard (podcast)
Directed by Emma Cordray and Pria Dah
August 2019
Raw Pasta - New Ohio Ice Factory Festival
October 2019
Smart People - Lehigh University
February 2017
Clybourne Park - Lehigh University
May 2020
New Play Festival - Lehigh Valley Charter School for the Arts (virtual)
Served as producer for the event
Education
Class of 2009
Penn Statue University
B.A. in Film/Video
More
Information
Who I am - My name is Shaun Leisher, I am a dramaturg, I am a Philadelphian, Penn State grad with a B.A.
What I love - new play development, having fun in rehearsal rooms, podcasts, deep conversations over coffee, meeting new people, the horror genre, folk music, deconstructing musicals, spoken word poetry, museums
Where I have been (what I can bring to the process) - I have been in rooms where I have led and have been led and I can switch between both roles with great ease, I bring a wealth of knowledge about the current theatre landscape and vastly different kinds of plays, I can bring a deep curiosity into the writing process, I can bring the perspective of an audience member who just wants to be enthralled with a piece of theatre
Where I am going - I am supporting a new canon of plays that looks nothing like our current one of old, white men, I am creating a theatre that goes to where people are, I am creating a theatre for people that never thought theatre was for them, I am creating theatre that doesn’t see New York as the gold standard, I am going to run a theatre in Maine that specializes in horror plays and musicals