This Thursday, Essential Theatre is presenting a one-night-only performance of Day by Emma Yarbrough. Read on to find out more about Emma and the show!

Emma Yarbrough is a storyteller, immersive theater-maker and clown from Eufaula, Alabama. A passionate advocate for arts education and community-building, Emma currently serves as the Senior Associate Director for Emory Arts at Emory University, where she earned a degree in Theater Studies. Emma trained in physical theater and clowning at the Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy. As a devised theater-maker, Emma has worked with Out of Hand Theater, the Object Group, 7 Stages, and Theater Emory and presented original work at Alliance Theatre, Synchronicity Theatre, Center for Puppetry Arts and Barn Arts Collective in Tremont, Maine. Emma serves as a senior producer for the storytelling organization the Story Collider, hosting live storytelling shows, coaching storytellers as they craft their work for performance, and teaching workshops on the art of personal narrative.

ET: Hi Emma! We’re looking forward to your show Thursday night. Where did you get the idea for this play?

EY: My Aunt Day died in August 2014, and as a result, I went through a difficult period of traumatic grief. I stepped away from the theater because I didn’t have the energy for my creative work. I found a lot of comfort in listening to storytelling podcasts, because I didn’t know anyone in my life that had dealt with traumatic grief. After listening to other people’s stories, I started writing some of my own. Pretty quickly it started to feel like I had an internal mandate–that I needed to make a piece of work to continue her story, so her traumatic death wouldn’t be the last chapter.

ET: Wow. And have you written other plays? How did you end up deciding a play was the right vehicle for this story?

EY: I’m not sure I would consider myself a playwright even to this day, but storytelling is my birthright. I come from a family of artists and performers. Family gatherings have always revolved around humorous retellings of the same stories from the past. When you’re telling a story and really in the moment, you’re simultaneously performing, writing, directing, and having a conversation with the audience. I think that’s why I’ve found a home in devised theater–I am most comfortable in creative scenarios where my role isn’t easily defined.

ET: Are you working on any new projects at the moment? What’s next for you?

EY: You can hear some of my storytelling on the Story Collider podcast, and my website (emmayarbrough.com) lists upcoming performances of this show, which I am performing at various venue across Atlanta this year and plan to tour next summer! Who knows what’s next after that. This show is nearly a decade in the making, so it’s hard to imagine moving on!

ET: Do you have any closing thoughts about your performance with us this Thursday?

EY: I am so honored that an Atlanta institution like Essential would select my little show for this year’s festival. If you’d told me a few years ago that this play would get this sort of recognition, I’d never have believed you!

Catch Emma’s play, Day, at the Essential Theatre Play Festival this Thursday, August 28, at 7:30pm. Tickets: EssentialTheatre.Tix.com