Emily Gardner Xu Hall

Emily Gardner Xu Hall is a composer-lyricist, playwright and actor whose writing focuses on feminist perspectives inclusive to people of colour. For her musical theatre writing, she won the “Go Write a Musical” Lilly Award for a Female Composer-Lyricist with supervision from Broadway producer Stacey Mindich. Book/music/lyrics (adaptations): UNTITLED CHERRY ORCHARD MUSICAL (Musical Theatre Factory), CYMBELINE. Book/music/lyrics (original): I AM THIS FOR YOU (Ars Nova ANT Fest), NASCENT PHASE (Bushwick Starr). Collaborations (musicals and plays) include NOMAD MOTEL (with Carla Ching, Atlantic Theatre Company), BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL… (with Kareem M. Lucas, Public Theater Under the Radar Festival), THE CARDINAL (with Cusi Cram, Cornerstone Theatre Company), RUTH BADER GINSBERG PROJECT (with Dianne Nora, Goodman Theatre). She has developed work at Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project, New York SongSpace, CATWALK residency, and is an alum of New Dramatists Composer-Librettist Studio and a member of the BMI workshop. BA Music and English, Wellesley College; MFA, NYU Graduate Acting Program.