Ashley M. Thomas

If June Ambrose and James Baldwin had a baby, it’d be Ashley! Ashley M. Thomas (she/her(s)/herself) was born and raised in Harlem, NY with roots in the deep South. She’s done a little bit of it all: writing, dramaturgy, directing, producing, teaching, and organizing, which she’s most proud of combining altogether as the Producing Artistic Director of Yale Cabaret. As an artist, all of her work centers on Black life from the mundane to the surreal. Her plays, poems, creative criticism, and short stories all are crafted with a spirited curiosity and passion for storytelling. Her work has been published in Jabberwock, Broadway News, and 3Views Theater. As a dramaturg, she helps writers get clear about their story and characters through deep listening and deeper questions. Ashley has dramaturged over 20 works both regional & Off-Broadway. She is a proud alumna of the First Wave Urban Arts Scholarship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she graduated with her Bachelor of Social Work. Ashley also has developed work at The Workshop Theater and INTAR Theatre’s Unit 52. Somewhere between arts and administration, Ashley graduated with her MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from Yale School of Drama.