Chelsea Phillips (Dramaturg, 2018 Conference) is an Assistant Professor and Resident Dramaturg for Villanova University’s Department of Theatre. She is committed to supporting artists in the creation of compelling and urgent stories in any form and style. She enjoys plays big and small, and delights in exploring language, structure, and theatre’s ability to create community and connection. She has particular expertise in non-realism, devised work, adaptation, and pieces drawing on historical figures, styles, and events. Most recently, she worked with New Dramatist resident playwright J. Julian Christopher on his queer fabulist Bruise & Thorn at the 2018 PlayPenn National Conference, and with Whiting Award Winner Michael R. Jackson on his biting and hilarious 90’smusical satire, White Girl in Danger. At Villanova, she has helped develop and produce new works by Owen McCafferty, Douglas Carter Beane, Kathryn Petersen, Michael Hollinger, and James Ijames. Previously, she’s worked with Manhattan Shakespeare Project, the for/word company, Uncut Pages Theatre, and artists from the Royal Shakespeare Company, Folger Shakespeare Theatre, and the American Shakespeare Center. Chelsea received her MFA in Dramaturgy from Mary Baldwin University/The American Shakespeare Center, and a PhD from Ohio State University. She is currently writing a book about celebrity pregnancy on the eighteenth-century London stage. When not in the theatre, Chelsea is usually found spending time with her animals, baking, or crafting.