BIOGRAPHY

shira helena gitlin (they/them) is a trans nonbinary director, gender consultant, dramaturg, intimacy choreographer, and musical theatre enthusiast based in boston, massachusetts. shira centers their artistic work around three ‘A’s: agency, accessibility, and authenticity. 

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shira is interested in pushing the boundaries of music(al) theatre and crafting new works that showcase queer, transgender, and neurodivergent histories, fantasies, and realities. they are inspired by alternative methods of musical storytelling, particularly concept albums and communal music making. their work is often signified by rich, colorful aural and visual aesthetics, a sense of liminality, and maybe a little bit of human magic. in their work, you might see ghosts, memories, found families, love stories, wind chimes, stars, or trees. their work is also influenced by their academic background in neuroscience & psychology. for a full list of influences, visit their inspiration page. 

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in their artistic work, shira has collaborated with new repertory theatre, greater boston stage company, reagle music theatre, boston theater company, lyric stage company, speakeasy stage company, central square theater, moonbox productions, fresh ink theatre, boston playwrights' theatre, the burlington players, the concord players, the walpole footlighters, flat earth theatre, the treehouse collective, sparkhaven theatre, playwrights’ platform, national women's theatre festival, the boston theatre marathon and more.

shira is the assistant event producer for the boston area theatre auditions (BATA) and is the curator of the boston theatre resource round-up. they are a graduate of the arden professional apprentice class 26, were an artistic fellow at speakeasy stage company, and are an alumni of directors lab north in toronto, canada. They were also a directing observer for the national alliance of musical theatre festival (NAMT) in 2021. they have a BA from hampshire college and are currently in the MFA directing program at boston university (graduating may 2027).

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shira also works as an intimacy choreographer and gender consultant. they have held transgender inclusion workshops for various theatres, universities, and institutions across the united states and canada. they were part of the gender explosion initiative and have trained with theatrical intimacy education. 

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when they're not doing theatre, shira can be found running around in the woods with their spouse and dog, playing the banjo, ice skating, using too many exclamation points & being weird about capitalization, reading every queer novel ever, doing arts & crafts, and plane spotting.
they are an aries sun, capricorn moon, libra rising, and glitter fanatic. 

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proud member of ring of keys, director's gathering
associate member of SDC
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shira uses they/them pronouns (or ze/zir if you're feeling adventurous)

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headshots by riley west