Director . Speaker . Coach

Emily is a Washington-based director, speaker, and acting coach whose work includes Equivocation, The Wizard of Oz, Dragons Love Tacos, Exit, Pursued by a Bear, The Neverending Story, and Jesus Christ Superstar, She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from Eastern Washington University and a Masters of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She currently serves as the Board President of The Rude Mechanicals theatre company in Richland, Washington.

Emily's unique perspective is informed in part by her work as a mental health counselor, as she creates human-centered productions in which the characters can be truly seen. "I'm not satisfied with the idea that there are villains, heroes, and archetypes," Richman said. "Characters deserve to be fully realized in their humanity, protagonists and antagonists alike.

In her work, Emily seeks to disrupt previously existing theatrical structures such as racism, ableism, and heteronormativity by casting actors not by type but rather by their ability to do the human-centered, emotional labor necessary to bring the wholeness of the character to the stage.