Meet the folks who shape the Expand the Canon lists!
The Research Team, Reading Committee, and Curators all make the Expand the Canon project possible. Our Research Team helps build out and improve our internal database of 8000+ plays by women and gender-expansive writers through history. Most years, the Reading Committee - our trusted community of theatre artists, professors, and translators - are then the first set of eyes on any classic play we’ve found. Each member reads 2-4 plays a month during our 4 month process. Finally, our Curators painstakingly evaluate the highest-rated plays, winnowing down around 80 titles to a final list of excellent, diverse, resonant classics.
We know not every theatre, university, or actor has the time to read every play by femme writers from 1600 onwards – so get to know the incredible community of professionals here to make it easy!
Click on a headshot for each member’s bio.
2025 Curators
Past Curators: Skye Pagon (2020-2024), Triza Cox (2024), Shannon Corenthin (2020-2023), Mary Candler (2020-2022)
2025 Research Committee
Past Reading Committee Members
Desiree Baxter (2020-2024)
Rachel Schmeling (2020-2024)
Madeline Addis (2020-2024)
Katherine Bischoping (2021-2024)
James La Bella (2021-2024)
Daniel Light (2021-2024)
Roshni Lavelle (2022-2024)
James Hyett (2022-2024)
Aamira Challenger (2023, 2024)
Natalie Kane (2023, 2024)
Aziza Gharib (2023, 2024)
Dorothea Gloria (2023, 2024)
Ioana Litra (2023, 2024)
Royston Scott (2023, 2024)
Molly Seremet (2023, 2024)
Zhe Pan (2023, 2024)
Rebecca Maxfield (2022, 2024)
Nazlah Black (2020, 2024)
Karina Batchelor (2024)
Alex Brinkman-Young (2024)
Tia Cassmira (2024)
Conrad Cohen (2024)
Gilbert Cruz (2024)
Erica Dilworth (2024)
Melody Erfani (2024)
Erick Gonzalez (2024)
Chika V Ike (2024)
Gwen Kelso (2024)
Chad Dexter Kinsman (2024)
Karen Lee (2024)
Rhiannon Ling (2024)
Alle Mims (2024)
Julia Moriarty (2024)
Caitlyn Piccirillo (2024)
Shubhra Prakash (2024)
Sierra Rosetta (2024)
Nina Ryan (2024)
Sara Hymes (2020-2023)
Chari Arespacochaga (2021-2023)
Allison Epperson (2021-2023)
Jennifer Goff (2021-2023)
Basil Rodericks (2020-2023)
Kaelani Burja (2022, 2023)
Raphael Massie (2022, 2023)
Regina Robbins (2022, 2023)
Pamela Allen Brown (2023)
Alexxis Briviesca (2023)
Renea S. Brown (2023)
Sarah Campbell (2023)
Alexis Cofield (2023)
Aili Huber (2023)
Emily Jackoway (2023)
Lizzie Kehoe (2023)
Lizzie Milanovich (2023)
Luli Gomez Teruel (2023)
Greg Phelps (2020-2022)
Amy Blackman (2021, 2022)
Brendon Fox (2021, 2022)
Gagarin (2021, 2022)
Michelle Kuchuk (2021, 2022)
Emily MacLeod (2021, 2022)
Javan Nelson (2021, 2022)
Esther Williamson (2021, 2022)
NJ Agwuna (2022)
Cheryl Davis (2022)
Ekemini Ekpo (2022)
Jefferson Farber (2022)
Zed Zhipeng Gao (2022)
David Huynh (2022)
Rafe Jordan (2022)
Kalina Ko (2022)
Tatyana Marie-Carlo (2022)
Laura Muñoz (2022)
Rafael Untalan (2022)
Emilia Smart-Denson (2022)
Sarah Byrons (2020, 2021)
Eugene Melino (2020, 2021)
Amy Brown (2021)
Jamal James (2021)
Emily Drossell (2021)
Michael Fleischer (2021)
Sarah-Lucy Hill (2021)
Kathryn Markey (2021)
Katherine Mayberry (2021)
Sophia Menconi (2021)
Makha Mthembu (2021)
Eleanor O'Meara (2021)
Anne Phelan (2021)
Michelle Pittenger (2021)
Randolph Curtis Rand (2021)
Colleen Wood (2021)
Andy Baldeschweiler (2020)
Celeste Cahn (2020)
Greg Carere (2020)
Danielle Cohn (2020)
Kelly Lynn Hogan (2020)
Andrew Hutcheson (2020)
Fara Faidzan (2020)
Juliet Kapanjie (2020)
Kubbi (2020)
Carly Jurman (2020)
Harrison Moore (2020)
Jory Murphy (2020)
Daniel Petzold (2020)
Lizzie Roberts (2020)
Haley Sakamoto (2020)
Mary Jo McConnell (2020)
Ashley Kristeen Vega (2020)
Mark Weatherup Jr. (2020)
Olivia Williamson (2020)