Emma Y. Lai

 Emma Y. Lai is a new works director, playwright, and producer.

She is currently based in Minneapolis, MN. Recent directing projects include:

  • Assistant Directing A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie Theatre, dir. Addie Gorlin-Han and Joseph Haj

  • Associate Directing the world premiere of Hells Canyon by Keiko Green at Theatre Mu as their Directing Fellow, directed by Katie Bradley.

Upcoming projects include:

  • Directing the world premiere of The Garden by Hannah Bakke, a new folk musical based on the story of Adam and Eve at MN Childrens’ Theatre Company’s Training Program.

  • Directing the world premiere of devoured by Liqing Xu, an experimental play about codependency at the Southern Theatre/Playwrights’ Center (MN).

Other directing/associating credits include Somewhere Over the Pacific (Picnic Basket Theatre), Murdered to Death (Phipps Center), a workshop of Yellow Mirrors by Liqing Xu (Playwrights’ Center), and assisting on Vietgone (Guthrie Theatre, dir. Mina Morita) and An American Tail (Childrens’ Theatre Company, dir. Taibi Magar).

She is a frequent Associate of Annie Tippe (Cowboy Bob at Alley Theatre (TX), Your Own Personal Exegesis at LCT3 at Lincoln Center, The Hombres at Two River Theatre) and Joe Chvala (Heaven with Flying Foot Forum, Pippin at the University of Minnesota).

She is the Artistic Director/Co-Founder of Picnic Basket Theatre, which focuses on new work development and the support of emerging artists. Founded during the pandemic, their first season focused on development of radio plays that provided artists and audiences easy access to the work.

She was a Directing Intern with Childrens’ Theatre Company, Directing Fellow with Theatre Mu, Artistic Assistant at Two River Theatre, and one of four members of Theatre Mu’s Emerging Playwrights Cohort.