BIO: Corinna Schulenburg (she/her/hers) is a transgender artist and activist committed to ensemble practice and social justice. She is a mother, playwright, novelist, poet, actor, director, deviser, ensemble collaborator, facilitator, programmer, activist, organizer, and communications specialist. She is a founding Creative Partner of Flux Theatre Ensemble and the director of communications at Theatre Communications Group. She has served as co-president of the Network of Ensemble Theaters. She is a white queer intersectional feminist with a focus on anti-racism and immigrant justice. She acknowledges that she works and lives as an uninvited settler on Indigenous lands, primarily those of the Canarsie and Munsee Lenape (Queens) and the Wampanoag (Cape and Islands). She holds Heather and Mercena in her heart’s core.VALUES: My values were forged in large part through my work with Flux Theatre Ensemble, a non-hierarchical, consensus-based collective of theatremakers. Our values, which are also my values, are Joy, Collective Care, Consent and Agency, Rigor and Release, and Aesthetic of Liberation.
MOTHER: I am a proud mother of Mercena West Schulenburg, who is herself a formidable novelist, visual artist, and actor. I’m grateful to share the role of mother with my wife, Heather Cohn. I write about my experience as a trans Mama because it brings me joy, and to normalize and celebrate trans motherhood.
PLAYWRIGHT: As a playwright, my produced work includes: Carrin Beginning, Rue, Riding the Bull, Other Bodies, Honey Fist, Jacob’s House, DEINDE, Dream Walker, Jane the Plain,The Lesser Seductions of History, Salvage, The Sea Concerto, and Operating Systems.. My plays have been produced and developed at the Lark Play Development Center, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Chelsea Playhouse, Theater for the New City, Portland Stage Company, Dayton Playhouse, Colonial Players, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Contemporary Stage Company, Abingdon Theater Company, Gideon Productions, New Amerikan Theatre, Penobscot Theatre, Impetuous Theater Group, Decades Out, Soundtrack Series, Reverie Productions, Wolf 359, Blue Box Productions, Piper McKenzie, Boomerang Theatre Company, Adaptive Arts, Hall High School, Nosedive Productions, MTWorks, Purple Repertory, Valley Repertory Company, The Brick Theater, CAPS LOCK Theatre, Chameleon Theatre Circle, Retro Productions, Elephant Run District, and TheatreLAB and Flux Theatre Ensemble. I was a member of the Propulsion Lab for Mission to (dit)Mars. My work has also been published in the New York Theater Review, Stage and Screen, Indie Theater Now, Midway Journal, NoPassport Press and in two issues of Carrier Pigeon.
NOVELIST: I am currently looking for representation for my first novel. Zou Waters and the Red-and-Real is the first in a middle-grade science fiction series that follows Zou and Liam as they jump forward in time to different planets on a quest to save the sun. The book is written in two parts with a total of 96,339 words. I have begun work on the second book in the series, Zou Waters and the Many Moons.
POET: I am working on my first chapbook of poetry, tentatively titled The Girl Who Wasn’t There.
ACTOR: I am currently developing the role of Samantha in Metra, a climate change play with songs by Emily Hartford and Ned Massey. Prior to my transition, some of my favorite roles included Max in World Builders, Doctor X in Hearts Like Fists, Ezekiel in 8 Little Antichrists and the Professor in Rue (all with Flux Theatre Ensemble); Marcel DePaul in the feature film The Golden Scallop; Angelo in Measure for Measure and Touchstone in As You Like It (both for APAC); and Will in the Equalogy plays. I have also acted at the Pennsylvania and Orlando Shakespeare Festivals and the Theater at Monmouth. While I am not actively auditioning now, I continue to take acting projects that align with my values. I’m particularly interested in roles for trans women that aren’t primarily about our transitioning or trauma.
DIRECTOR: Some of my favorite productions that I’ve directed are Ajax in Iraq by Ellen McLaughlin and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, both with Flux Theatre Ensemble; and the short film Old Maid, written by Sol Crespo. While I am not actively looking for directing work now, I continue to take projects that align with my values. I’m particularly interested in non-naturalistic plays and works that exist outside of a traditional theatre context (devised plays, immersive theatre, street theatre, etc.).
DEVISER: Highlights from my work as a deviser include Faust with Adaptive Arts, and Breathe Free and Understand Our Ground with Flux Theatre Ensemble. Through Flux’s Core Work, Flux Sundays, and Annual Retreat, I’ve also contributed to the workshopping of many devised projects. I’m currently devising with Flux on our Hotline project, a participatory play accessed through the phone, and Ritual (re)Opening.
ENSEMBLE COLLABORATOR: I’m a co-founding Creative Partner of Flux Theatre Ensemble and served as co-president of the Network of Ensemble Theaters.
FACILITATOR and PROGRAMMER: Primarily through my work at Theatre Communications Group (TCG), I’ve programmed and facilitated an extensive number of convenings and workshops.
ACTIVIST and ORGANIZER: With TCG, I organize internal and external white caucus/affinity spaces for anti-racist learning and action.
