So you want my arts job: Playwright

Emily Sheehan shares the realities of her work as a playwright, her advice for others starting out and crucial skills in the profession.
Emily Sheehan. Photo: Supplied. A young white woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and smiling at the camera. She is wearing a black tshirt and standing in front of a vibrant wall mural.

Emily Sheehan is a writer, dramaturg and podcaster, who hosts the Playwright’s Process Podcast, a monthly series about the crafting and creative process of the profession. She teaches playwriting at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne.

Sheehan’s career began after attending the Australian Theatre for Young People’s National Studio program in 2013 and, from there, her plays have been developed through Melbourne Theatre Company Cybec, Red Stitch INK, Playwriting Australia National Script Workshops and the Playwriting Australia National Play Festival.

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Celina Lei is the Diversity and Inclusion Editor at ArtsHub. She acquired her M.A in Art, Law and Business in New York with a B.A. in Art History and Philosophy from the University of Melbourne. She has previously worked across global art hubs in Beijing, Hong Kong and New York in both the commercial art sector and art criticism. She took part in drafting NAVA’s revised Code of Practice - Art Fairs and was the project manager of ArtsHub’s diverse writers initiative, Amplify Collective. Most recently, Celina was one of three Australian participants in DFAT’s the Future of Leadership program. Celina is based in Naarm/Melbourne. Instagram @lleizy_