An Exploration of a Director's Approach with Joanna Settle

Joanna Settle

Joanna is an award winning theater and opera director based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. A native New Yorker, she has received commissions from Joe’s Pub, Berkeley Rep., the Kimmel Center, the Public Theater, The Arts Center at NYUAD, and Opera Philadelphia. Her work has been seen at PS122, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, MASSMoCA, all venues at the Public Theater, The Guthrie Theater, Arena Stage, the Wilma Theater, the Kimmel Center, Opera Philadelphia, Joe’s Pub, Brooklyn’s American Can Factory, and other locations that are not formal venues. Recent productions include: Sky on Swings: a world premiere new opera about Alzheimer’s disease by Lembit Beecher and Hannah Moscovitch presented by Opera Philadelphia, world premiere of Noura by Heather Raffo presented by Shakespeare Theater of DC, NYU Abu Dhabi Arts Center and Playwright’s Horizons NYC; and most recently, Settle co-created Al Raheel/Departure with Emirati writer Reem Almenhali, which was commissioned by The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi and The Cultural Foundation of DCT and premiered at The Arts Center at NYUAD January 2020.

She is a resident artist at the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris, Serves on the Board of Advisors for Exit 11 Performing Arts Company, Abu Dhabi, UAE, serves as a Committee Member for the UAE Ministry of Education Pedagogical Coordination Committee, and received NYUAD’s Shukran Award for Cultural Appreciation in 2021, as well as a Distinguished Faculty Award. She has four projects in development ranging in research locations from Armenia, Beirut, Paris, Philadelphia, Detroit, Germany, Oman and the UAE. Settle sees her artistry, teaching and residence as part of a whole approach to interpersonal and civic engagement. Since moving to Abu Dhabi, her creative and pedagogical practices have been tremendously influenced by the potential of the UAE to become a central platform for knowledge generation in the field of Theater and Performance. She holds a BA in Theater Directing and Design from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts and an MFA from the Juilliard School, Drama Division in New York City.