Suzi Elnaggar, Guiding Collaborator
Suzi Elnaggar is an Egyptian American dramaturg, performance scholar, and artist. A 2021 Kennedy Center Dramaturgy Intensive Fellow, she is the founder of the Digital Development Project and Backstitch Story Arts. She has read scripts for PlayPenn, Playwright’s Center, Rattlestick’s Van Lier New Voices Fellowship, SHE-LA, and Sparkfest, among many others. Her performance scholarship has been published in Asian Theatre Journal, Arab Stages, Review: The Journal of Dramaturgy, and Theatre Times. She focuses on postcolonial theatre contexts, decoloniality in performance, the intersection of trauma and performance, transnational and migrant stories, recontextualizing Greek tragedy, myths, and folklore, and on work that centers on SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) experiences. Suzi’s scholarship and practice center community, collaboration, and context.
Selected Dramaturgy Credits (Production & Developmental Workshops): Avalanche Theatre’s Next Draft The Sex Talk I Never Had and Grape Leaves, Silk Road’s Shahadat and Full-On Cleopatra (upcoming); Backstitch Story Arts Off-White: The Arab House Party Play; Clamour Theatre’s Lived Experience; TACTICS Ottawa’s ANANSI V. GOD(S); Jubilee Theatre Waco’s Fairview (Texas Premiere); Wild Imaginings’ Jesus and Valium (World Premiere), The Way He Looks at You, Cardboard Castles Hung on Walls (World Premiere); Northwestern University Theatre’s The Great Sea Serpent (Workshop Premiere).
What kind of plays are you excited to read?
- Are about:
- SWANA/MENA (South West Asian/Middle Eastern and North African) experiences;
- BIPOC or Global Majority experiences;
- Decoloniality and Post-colonial stories;
- Mythology and folklore;
- Have:
- Oral storytelling or documentary aspects;
- Multi-media or multi-modal aspects;
- Solo performance/ storytelling;
- Experimental performances;
- Non-traditional or non-linear narratives.
- Are:
- An idea ready to bloom;
- A narrative you are ready to revisit;
- A new path to walk in your writing.
Other places to find me
- suzielnaggar.com (currently being redone, sorry folx)
- Suzi on NPX
- Suzi on LMDA
- @suzielnaggar on Instagram, Substack, and Bluesky (and some inactive profiles elsewhere); I am not really focused on keeping these updated, so I post whenever I feel moved.
How would you describe your process?
My practice is centered on care, community, and context. I am excited to work on layered, culturally specific embodied narratives. My approach is conversational and relational; my dramaturgical guiding stars are Lynde Rosario, Mark Bly, KJ Martinson, and Brian Quirt. I try to find the rhythm with each playwright; do you need to talk it out? Have me set goals or send you a worksheet (which I will always let you choose whether to share)? Or would you like to focus on a certain structural or narrative element you’d like to crack?
I do not do line edits or prescriptive notes, and while I may send questions, I usually don’t send my notes or responses via writing, as I think there is an aspect of dramaturgy that is intuitively driven and in the moment.
My approach is rooted in creative generosity, deep knowledge of narrative structure, and a relational approach tailored to each project.
Location/Time Zone
Chicago (CST)
The Match communication preference
Email for setting up meetings, and I like to meet over Zoom. I don’t tend to send notes, but I will send questions beforehand to prep for our meeting and zero in on what we are trying to cover each session. Sometimes, I may need to reschedule as I always like to take meetings fresh and ready. If you are ok with flexibility, I am also ok with rescheduling if you need more time to work before our meeting.