New Paths of Discovery

"What the future looks like might be in our hands"

Joanna Settle brings more than 20 years of leadership in education and theater to her new associate arts professor role at NYU Abu Dhabi.

“Each conversation on my way to considering this appointment found a deeper resonance between the mission of NYU Abu Dhabi and the motors driving my own work as an artist and educator,” Settle said.

“I seek environments for my creative work (and classroom) that force new paths of discovery. Here, the founders of both NYU Abu Dhabi and the UAE seem to have created a culturally and historically unique moment, gathering extraordinary voices from around the world and suggesting what the future looks like might be in our hands. I look forward to many years in my new home, pursuing and inciting regionally centered investigations and innovations in theater and performance practice.”

Recent Theater Credits

  • The Total Bent
  • In Darfur
  • 365 Plays/365 Days
  • Nine Parts of Desire

Settle has three prominent world premieres set for the American stage in 2018, including NOURA by Heather Raffo, a new play about an Iraqi immigrant family living in New York. After its world premiere at the Shakespeare Theater in Washington DC, NOURA will transfer to the Red Theater at the NYU Abu Dhabi Arts Center to close the season.

NYUAD’s theater program engages in the practice and study of theater and performance to critically evaluate and demonstrate historic and contemporary social and cultural relations across the globe.