Corey Atkins (that’s me!) is a director, writer, and creative producer born and raised in Utah and Idaho. I’ve worked with companies and organizations in NYC and across the U.S., as well as in the UK.
(If you like your info in a narrative format, read on! Or you can check out my resumes HERE. )
As a director I’ve worked with Lincoln Center Theatre/Institute, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, The Acting Company, Cleveland Play House, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Noor Theatre/NYTW, Hangar Theatre, and Portland Stage Company, among others. Recent work includes the world premiere of John Jiler’s Under Big Piney, starring Tim Blake Nelson and Gloria Reuben (Intiman Theatre, digital) and a developmental workshop of Matthew Goldstein’s dark comedy Purgatorium, starring Noah and Emma Galvin, Richard Masur, and Molly Bernard (Evan Bernardin Productions).
My work as a writer spans stage, screen and print. As a screenwriter I’ve written or am in development on multiple projects for TV and film. My short film September (currenlty in post-production) was praised by WeScreenplay as “demonstrat[ing] exceptional storytelling prowess.” Other writing highlights include winning the Rocky Mountain Theatre Association’s Best New Play award for my relationship satire, The Rise and Fall of a Meaningful Relationship on a Bench in a Park Anywhere At All; working as an an Arts and Culture stringer for Salt Lake City’s beloved indy newspaper, City Weekly; and serving as associate editor and contributing essayist for several books from University of Texas Press, including the essay “Twenty-Six Letters and Thousands of Days” in the book Steven Dietz: Four Plays for Family Audiences.
As an artistic producer I was Artistic Associate with the Obie Award-winning Playwrights Realm from 2016-18, producing and administering the company’s playwright development and support programs and INK’D new play festival, and I’m currently the company’s Aspiring Playwrights Program Content Producer. From 2011-2016 I was Associate Producer for the 2015 Tony Award-winning Cleveland Play House, including directing, writing, and producing multiple special events and performances during the company’s landmark Centennial Season. I’m also a former producer, and current script reader, for The Writers Lab, a screenplay development program for women writers age 40+, generously supported by founding donor Meryl Streep, and Nicole Kidman.
(Take a time out if you need…but I’m almost done!)
Also.. I’m a freelance script and story consultant, as well as acting and audition coach. I’ve worked extensively as a mentor and educator, including partnering with Case Western Reserve University to create and teach a program for 1st year Medical Residents at Cleveland Clinic, using theatre training methodologies to teach communication, collaboration, listening and empathy.
I am a Drama League Directing Fellow, a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, and was a finalist for SDC’s Mike Ockrent Fellowship with Casey Nicholaw, and the Gielgud Fellowship with Michael Greif. I’ve also been a volunteer member of the Translation Committee of the Latinx Theatre Commons.
I hold an M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Texas at Austin, and several many thousands of dollars in student loans to prove it.