emma wood

Emma Wood is an award winning, internationally produced playwright from Melbourne Australia. With a determination to write stories both entertaining and thought provoking, Emma’s plays have been widely acclaimed by audiences and critics in ten full length productions. Her ability to create passionate, substantial roles for men and women of all ages delights actors and audiences. Her full-length plays are very different but have common threads: engaging characters of a wide range of ages, sparkling dialogue, and a satisfying story to tell. She has been produced by professional and community theatre companies in Australia, USA, UK and Asia. Emma is the recipient of Best New Play in the City of Newcastle Drama Awards 2012 for contemporary drama Water Child, as well as a nomination in 2014 for her period comedy Mr Bennet's Bride. Her latest play, A Hit and Miss Christmas, is currently a finalist with B Street Theatre New Comedies, and was awarded semi-finalist by Creede Repertory Headwaters New Play Festival and semi-finalist by Dreamcatcher Rep 2021. Another full-length play, The Third Act, was a semi-finalist in Act Your Age Showcase (Manchester UK) 2021. She also won 'Audience Choice' award at Short and Sweet Manila 2017 for her short play 'Women of the World'. 

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Website: https://newplayexchange.org/users/16534/emma-wood
Instagram: emmawood_plays 
Facebook: Emma Wood Plays

MORE ABOUT ME
My most gratifying moment in theatre was a full house on opening night and a sold out season at Newcastle Theatre Company's premiere of Mr Bennet's Bride. It was unbelievably thrilling as it was my second play and it rocketed to top three sellers in the almost 60 year history of that company. The direction and acting were wonderful and I was immensely grateful and humbled by the enthusiasm for the play onstage and off. The play or production that changed my life was a school production of Royal Hunt of the Sun by Peter Schaffer, I was cast as the leading male role aged 15. I have never before or since had such a passion to learn and act a role, and the magnificence of the play entrusted to year 10 students by our drama teacher lit a fire that still burns. It was also the beginning of my understanding that male roles have historically been better, more magnificent, more plentiful, and led to the development of my mission to write better roles for women of all ages in more female centred stories. One change I’d like to bring to theatre: better roles for older women in particular, and better roles for all women that do not revolve around being a hot young love interest but are complex, fully developed, fun, fantastic or whatever – but where a woman has her own arc and story and is not sidelining the male hero. I try to overcome disappointment by reflecting that life will always have many twists and turns, but sometimes we learn and develop more from disappointments than triumphs. And reminding myself to play the long game, and not to let current issues obscure the bigger picture. 

WHAT I'M WORKING ON
A 3F/1M black comedy with two friends around 60 trying to enhance their retirement savings with a mad plan that might just possibly work. 

KEYWORDS
​Period comedy, comedy, contemporary drama, holiday, Christmas, mature roles, adaptation