Plays in Progress Mentor

Judith Stevens-Ly

Judith Stevens-Ly has worked in the field of new play development with emerging playwrights for many years as a writer, theatre director, and dramaturg. For the Department of Dramatic Writing, NYU Tisch School, MFA program as a consultant director/dramaturg, for over 10 years, as well as Adjunct teacher for the Playwriting Lab. She has had on going working relationships with those graduates who have gone on to be prize-winning playwrights.

As a director of new plays in Manhattan at many Of and Off-Off Broadway Theatres, including Here Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, 39E30th St Theatre and Looking Glass Theatre, New York, as well as Centenary Theatre Company, NJ.  As Producer of new plays, Creative Artistic Director of Loose Change Productions, NY; Associate Artistic Director of First Look Theatre (Tisch School); Artistic Director of Hysterick Productions, Tokyo.

With the Kennedy Centre American College Theatre Festival, as Advisor to writers of new plays, respondent to productions and event judge, as well as an advisory role in the Dramaturgy Initiative and New Play-writing program.  For the New York Musical Festival, as Consultant Dramaturg for works in progress. She has had the privilege of being Invited Featured Artist for the Last Frontier Playwright’s Conference in Alaska, over several years, and Invited Guest Judge at Mississippi Theatre Association's Annual Festival, and at the Las Casas Scholarship in San Antonio. She has directed two world premiers, one in the US and one in New Zealand, both wonderful plays.  As consultant dramaturg for screenplays, she has worked on new works for Gary Nadeau (Jack) and Frederic Lebow (While You Were Sleeping), among others.