Public Works' Public Record

Lisa Sanaye Dring

Playwright

LISA SANAYE DRING Dring’s play SUMO was produced by Ma-Yi, The Public, and La Jolla Playhouse. It was nominated for a 2025 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding New Play and a 2023 San Diego Critics Award for Best New Play. Her play Kairos had a Rolling World Premiere with National New Play Network and was nominated for a 2025 Jeff Award for New Work. She has worked with Meow Wolf, was a member of The Geffen Writers' Room and was honored as a recipient of the 2020/21 PLAY LA Stage Raw/Humanitas Prize. Her work has also been produced by Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, East West Players, Circle X, Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Theatre NOVA, Rogue Artists, Red Theater, Theatre of NOTE and Skylight Theatre. They have been awarded fellowships at MacDowell (2x), Blue Mountain Center and Yaddo. Dring received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Interactive Programming for a piece she co-wrote and co-directed with Matt Hill called Welcome to the Blumhouse Live and was a 2025 recipient of the Helen Merrill Award. 

Michael Thurber

Original Orchestrations, Music Supervisor, Music Director, Arrangements

MICHAEL THURBER (Orchestrations, Music Supervisor, Music Director, Arrangements) is a Tony-nominated, Drama Desk/Outer Critics Circle-winning composer and lyricist. Broadway: Just in Time. Off-Broadway: Twelfth Night, Merry Wives (Shakespeare in the Park); Goddess (The Public Theater). As a bassist, Thurber was an original member of the house band on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”

Dan Canham

Co-Director & Choreographer

DAN CANHAM (Co-Direction and Choreography) is an award-winning choreographer, theater maker, and filmmaker with over 20 years in the industry. Having performed for 10 years with some of the UK and Ireland’s most celebrated theater and dance companies including Punchdrunk, Kneehigh, and DV8, in 2011 he created his own company Still House. Still House productions include SESSION, Of Riders & Running Horses, and 30 Cecil Street, with touring including Australia, China, Canada, and throughout Europe. Key projects as co-director and choreographer include Brighter Still (closing event for Bradford City of Culture 2025) and Public Record (National Theatre’s Public Acts). Movement director credits include The Odyssey: The Underworld (National Theatre’s Public Acts), Jane Eyre (National Theatre/Bristol Old Vic), A Monster Calls (Old Vic/Bristol Old Vic), and Peter Pan (National Theatre). As a filmmaker, his work has featured in festivals all over the world. Canham’s work is rooted in collective joy, heart, courage and humanity. dancanham.com

Emily Lim

Director

EMILY LIM is an award-winning director whose work explores theater as a form of community building and social activism. She works in settings ranging from grassroots community centers to major theatres and international festivals. From 2017 - 2025 she was an Associate Artist of the National Theatre where she led the critically acclaimed programme Public Acts, directing productions featuring hundreds of community members and professional performers from across the country, including Public Record (The Fire Station, Sunderland), The Odyssey: The Underworld and Pericles (both in The Olivier Theatre, National Theatre). Other directing credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe); Brighter Still (closing ceremony for UK City of Culture 2025); The Enormous Crocodile (Roald Dahl Story Company, Regents Park Open Air Theatre, upcoming USA / UK tours); the internationally acclaimed Brainstorm (as Co-Director, Company Three); Yoko Ono’s Bells for Peace (Manchester International Festival) and Jeremy Deller’s We’re Here Because We’re Here (1418 Now). She is regularly invited to share her practice with organizations in the UK and abroad as a mentor, educator, speaker, and consultant, exploring the transformative impact of theater and cultural activism within communities.