CanDid Conversations: Premiere
Hosted by Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA)
⚆◟⚆18/25 spots left
Be the first audience, and only live audience for this premiere podcast! The Committee hosts intergenerational conversations between dramaturges in order to learn from the histories and celebrate the futures of each region’s artist-landscape.
DOORS@ 5
SNACKS@ 515
RECORDING @6pm
For more about the Philadelphia Metro Region panelists:
- Quinn D. Eli is a Bronx-born playwright, dramaturg, and educator whose work explores race, identity, and power with sharp wit and emotional depth. His short plays appear in Best American Ten-Minute Plays and have been produced nationwide. His longer works include Hot Black/Asian Action, a satire on sexual and racial stereotypes, and In Common, an interracial ghost story produced by Purple Rose Theatre. A cofounder of Jouska PlayWorks, a Philadelphia-based initiative supporting playwrights of the African Diaspora, Eli was recognized by the Kilroys as an artist-advocate in 2025 and currently heads the Theatre Program at the Community College of Philadelphia.
- Heather Helinsky (she/her) is a Philadelphia-based dramaturg known for fostering discovery, freeing creative energy, and centering playwright care. Since 2019, she has served as Literary Manager for Playwrights Foundation and Jewish Plays Project, where her community-centered, anti-bias practices emphasize abundance over scarcity. Her production dramaturgy has been seen nationally at institutions including the Kennedy Center, A.R.T., Denver Center, Woolly Mammoth, and PlayPenn, with notable work on Oslo, Two Degrees, and Guapa. An LMDA leader and Kennedy Center teaching artist, Heather mentors dramaturgs nationwide and holds an MFA from A.R.T./MXAT. She leads with values, even amid arts funding precarity.
- Erlina Ortiz (she/her/ella) is a Dominican-American playwright and theatre maker from Reading, PA, known for heartfelt, humorous work rooted in community joy. A Resident Playwright and Co–Artistic Director at Power Street Theatre, her plays have been presented nationwide. Honors include the Bonaly Award, ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award Citation, National Latine Playwriting Award, and recognition on the Kilroys List. Her work has premiered at Azuka Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Philadelphia Theatre Company, and the O’Neill. A Dramatists Guild Foundation Catalyst Fellow and multiple Leeway Award recipient, Erlina also teaches playwriting and serves on the board of Theatre Philadelphia, using art as a force for good.
- Liv Shoup (she/her) is a Philadelphia-based writer and educator whose plays and screen work explore humor in life’s messiest and most tender moments. Her writing aims to make audiences laugh, feel seen, and occasionally wince in recognition. Liv centers underdogs—particularly people of marginalized genders, sexualities, neurodivergent identities, and anyone who doesn’t quite fit—and makes them heroes of their own stories. A proud Drexel University Performing Arts alum, she works as an Audience Services Coordinator and adjunct instructor. Her two-woman comedy Girlfails ran successfully in July 2025 and will be published by 1319 Press in 2026.
Guest List
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