Emily Dendinger

Emily’s first experience with TimeLine was seeing ALL MY SONS when she first came to Chicago as a student at the University of Chicago. She loved it. After that show, she desperately wanted to work with the company and joined TimeLine’s Playwrights Collective from 2013-2016.

Her plays include HIDEOUS PROGENY, which has been produced by LiveWire Chicago Theater, Holland Productions and North Park College. She is a two-time winner of Theater Masters National Play Competition, a 2013 City Theatre National Award finalist, a 2012 Heideman finalist and a 2015 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Award finalist. Her plays have been developed at The Lark, Sideshow Theatre, LiveWire Theatre, The Trip, Mudlark Theatre, and the Alliance Theatre. Currently, she is working on a commission for Filament Theatre. She is also a member of the Dramatist Guild and a recent graduate of the University of Iowa’s Playwright’s Workshop.

Emily grew up in Virginia, surrounded by history. As a writer, she is fascinated by how circular time is and how we find ourselves repeating a moment. The plays she writes are usually tying together an issue she is currently wrestling with that is similar to an event that occurred in the past.

For me, the best way to explore the world we currently exist in is by looking at where we have been. Our past is unavoidable and constantly informs our future. It’s our greatest teaching tool that we so often choose to ignore. TimeLine engages with its audience on a level that is both intellectual and emotional, and that is the kind of writing I aspire towards.

She earned her BA and MA degrees in English and Theatre at Boston College, an MA degree in Literature at University of Chicago and an MFA degree in Playwriting from University of Iowa.