Emma Ashford

Biography

Emma Ashford is playwright, composer and actor based in New York City. Recently, Emma’s show HEARTBEATS (for which she wrote book, music, and lyrics) was selected as a Semi-Finalist at the O’Neill NMTC 2023. Additionally, Two of Emma’s songs from the score of the movie musical 1660 VINE (directed by NYTW’s Patricia McGregor) received Awards of Excellence at the IndieFEST Film Festival. Originally hailing from Los Angeles, Emma is a recent graduate of The University of Michigan’s Musical Theatre program, where she was in the inaugural class of their MT Composition Minor. During her time there, she also studied Playwriting under the guidance of Vince Cardinal, Jose Casas and Geoff Packard. As a storyteller, Emma is often drawn to stories of people who live in, or through, institutions - people hidden from society’s view for one reason or another - because it’s these spaces that have taught her the most about human instinct, fortitude, and folly. She is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild, ASCAP and SAG-AFTRA.