Erika Dickerson-Despenza
Education Coordinator
Erika Dickerson-Despenza is a multi-award-winning writer, cultural memory worker, and farmer. She is the creator & inaugural resident of The Ntozake Shange Social Justice Playwriting Residency in partnership with The Public Theater, Barnard College & the Shange Trust. Erika is also the independent steward of The Daughters Table, a 14-acre regenerative organic farm & herbiary in South Central Louisiana. Productions: shadow/land (The Public Theater, 2023), cullud wattah (The Public Theater, 2021), [hieroglyph] (San Francisco Playhouse/Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, 2021). Select Awards: Jane Chambers Playwriting Award (2024), PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award (2023), Drama Desk Nominee for Best Play (2022), Outer Critics Circle’s John Gassner Award Nominee (2022), Susan Smith Blackburn Prize (2021), Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award (2020), Lilly Award (2020) Grist 50 Fixer (2020), Princess Grace Playwriting Award (2019).
As a sixth generation New Orleans resident and eighth generation Louisianan, she is excited to bolster Louisiana's cultural economy by developing curricula that foster the artistic excellence and reinforce literacy skills so young people can thrive in the film industry.
