A Yourd (she/they) is a queer and neurodiverse playwright, educator, and theatre artist based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they currently teach theatre courses at the University of New Mexico and Central New Mexico Community College. She graduated with distinction from the Dramatic Writing MFA program at the University of New Mexico, and she holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied devised theatre at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School.
Yourd’s plays explore the possibilities of science fiction and other fantastical storyworlds in live performance while remaining grounded in the emotional lives of the characters that inhabit those worlds.
Their dissertation explored the process of imaginary world-building for theatrical performance, investigating theories of science fiction, fantasy, and utopia while considering the development of their work as a playwright. Other academic interests include genre narratives, fandom, queerness, and the post-human. Yourd’s work has been presented by the University of New Mexico, North Fourth Art Center, and Blackout Theatre in Albuquerque, New Mexico, by Theater Viscera in Portland, Oregon, and by Undiscovered Countries on Zoom and in Brooklyn, New York.
Yourd is also a director, dramaturg, solo performer, sound designer, and devised theatre artist who brings a strong sense of interdisciplinary design and creative collaboration to their writing and theatrical practice. While living in New York, Yourd worked off-Broadway for the long-running immersive theatre experience Fuerza Bruta and co-founded Undiscovered Countries, a Brooklyn-based incubator for new work. Yourd completed an internship in literary management at Florida Studio Theatre, and they have studied with The TEAM, Theater Mitu, and the New York Neo-Futurists.
From 2012 to 2022, Yourd was a Team Captain for GISH, an international scavenger hunt focusing on art and community service. Other interests include tabletop gaming, pub trivia, and karaoke.
A Yourd 