Hi! My name is Emily Abrams! Thanks for stopping by my About Page. I normally like to start by asking people about themselves, but this is a website—and you’re here to know about me. So let’s get to it.

I am a director, administrator, and silly human. Currently, I am the Resident Director of Spiegelworld’s THE HOOK, Immersive Director of SUPERFRICO a New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellow, and an Artist in Residence in the Roundabout Directors Group.

I started directing shows when I was 8 years old. In 3rd grade, I gathered a troupe of other story-loving youngsters and directed a play written by one of our most articulate peers. It was a masterpiece. Staged during a warm spring recess, it was a site specific piece about the king of the playground. Some critics said it had a striking resemblance to Richard III. Plagiarism? I hadn’t even heard of William Shakespeare by that point.

I was a child actor, performing all across the tri-state area, but none of my projects made me feel as alive as I felt when I crafted a show on the playground. Worried that I had peaked at age 8, I decided to take a gap year after high school, and told my agent that I was ready to dedicate my time to acting. I took a gig as a performer on an internationally acclaimed cruise line (let’s call them “Norwegian Cruise Lines”) and I finally realized that I did not get fulfillment out of performing. I wanted to craft my own stories.

I jumped ship and began studying at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where I received my BFA in Directing, Playwriting & Production. I am an alum of the National Theatre Institute’s Advanced Directing Program. 

Since then, I have worked for a plethora of renowned arts organizations including: Ars Nova, Virgin Voyages, New York Theatre Workshop, Spiegelworld, Studio Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout, Asolo Rep, The New Group, Norwegian Cruise Lines, The Kimmel Center, People’s Light, LifeJacket Theatre Company, and more!

I have assisted remarkable directors, including Cal McCrystal, Andrew Neisler, Knud Adams, Josh Rhodes, Rory Pelsue, David Muse, Candis C. Jones, Sivan Battat and others.

I am a SDC Associate Member and represented by Michael Moore Agency.

In each project, I foster community by creating one-of-a-kind experiences. Whether I am making work on the stage, or pulling off elaborate pranks in the office, people are brought together by the absurdities I dream up, made through a process of radical acts of vulnerability™.

And More!

In addition to being a theatre artist I am also a person. The kind that has other interests (shocking, I know). Here’s a few interesting things about me:

• I am a Rubik’s cube speedsolver. My average solve is 17 seconds (World Cube Association Confirmed) . Here is a link to my personal record solve. 8.83 seconds.

• I only drink water (no soda, milk, juice, coffee, tea, alcohol, etc).

• I have a very cute, very fluffy dog named Emma, who I adopted from a member of the mob.

• I have seen Tommy Wiseau’s cinematic masterpiece The Room (2003) exactly 57 times. (You can read more about my love of Tommy Wiseau)