Join us for a reading of The View from Here at the Fertile Ground Festival!

The View from Here

As Elsie prepares to leave the planet, she’s visited by two young people who are also, in their own ways, death-adjacent. Can the three of them help each other fix the terrible, lonely tilting of their lives before Ed arrives?

Directed by Nik Whitcomb

Featuring Vana O'Brien, Taya Dixon, Samuel Campbell, and Tony Green.

Part of LineStorm Playwrights presentations of new works in progress in Portland's Fertile Ground Festival!

April 17th at 2pm at Artists Repertory Theater in Portland, Oregon.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/portland/article/10-Shows-to-Check-Out-at-the-2026-Fertile-Ground-Festival-20260403

Wonderful reviews for Apple Hunters, now playing at Artists Rep!

"APPLE HUNTERS! is listed as the "feel-good" show in Artist Repertory Theatre's season, presumably because "will lighten your heart and restore your faith in humanity" would have been too long. But that's really what E.M. Lewis's gorgeous new play does..."

Krista Garver at Broadway World

https://www.broadwayworld.com/portland/article/Review-APPLE-HUNTERS-at-Artists-Rep-20260408

"With quiet brilliance, E.M. Lewis’s heartwarming play about brotherhood, adeptly directed by Zeina Salame at Artists Repertory Theatre, drops breadcrumbs of meaning while also letting us make our own way through the rich woods of her characters’ memories and current-day troubles."

Linda Ferguson at Oregon ArtsWatch

https://www.orartswatch.org/looking-for-love-in-all-the-right-places-four-childhood-friends-embark-on-a-quest-to-find-an-apple-in-apple-hunters/

Apple Hunters! World Premiere at Artists Repertory Theater in Portland, Oregon!

Apple Hunters!

March 31 - April 26, 2026
Artists Repertory Theatre

written by E.M. Lewis |  directed by Zeina Salame

It’s been a hard year for Eddie.  So he gets the old gang back together (his big brother and two childhood friends) and convinces them to join him as he tries to find a long-lost variety of apple once grown in their childhood stomping grounds. Amid the blur of chores, kids’ soccer practice, and the relentless daily grind, the guys embark on a quest for this legendary golden apple — and end up finding something much more valuable along the way..

Mellon Foundation Playwright-in-Residence E.M. Lewis wraps up her 6-year residency at Artists Rep with Apple Hunters!, a funny and heartfelt story of men, friendship, and the power of showing up for each other.

https://artistsrep.org/performance/apple-hunters/

Dorothy's Dictionary -- now playing at Oregon Contemporary Theater!

Dorothy's Dictionary is playing at Oregon Contemporary Theater in Eugene from February 21 - March 9, 2025!

https://www.octheatre.org/dorothysdictionary

Reviews:

Dorothy Velasco, for KLCC:

"A play named Dorothy’s Dictionary would naturally grab my attention, and I’m so glad that it did. Now playing at Oregon Contemporary Theatre, this tender-hearted two-person drama by E.M. Lewis can juggle our emotions from laughter to tears in a matter of seconds. ...the play is only an hour and 15 minutes long, but the plot is fully developed, and completely satisfying."

Dorothy's Dictionary comes to Portland in 21ten's "Bare Bones" Theater Production

In November 2024, Dorothy's Dictionary had a lovely little production at 21ten in Portland -- an intimate theater with lots of heart.

Sparks fly when Zan, an angry high school student, is forced to work off his community service assignment helping Dorothy, an ailing librarian. But each of them might just have what the other needs... if they can only find the words.

https://www.21ten.org/event-details-registration/dorothys-dictionary-2024-11-17-14-00

Reviews:

Linda Ferguson for ArtsWatch: "Chronicling the friendship between a teen and a librarian, the 21ten Theatre production of the Oregon playwright's award-winning play glows with humor and emotion."

https://www.orartswatch.org/short-and-sweet-e-m-lewiss-60-minute-play-dorothys-dictionary-offers-inspiration-and-hope-in-a-divisive-time/

Krista Garver for Broadway World: "The production is part of 21ten’s BareBones mobile theatre program, designed to bring dramatic storytelling to audiences in spaces like schools, libraries, and senior centers. As such, the production itself is quite simple – two actors, a set consisting mostly of stacks of books. The secret sauce here is authenticity, evident in Lewis’s gorgeous writing as well as Campbell and Darner’s performances, which perfectly capture the warmth, humor, and humanity of their characters. I recognized bits of myself in both of them.

DOROTHY’S DICTIONARY is a reminder of the beauty of shared stories and the surprising places we find connection. Don’t miss it."

https://www.broadwayworld.com/portland/article/Review-DOROTHYS-DICTIONARY-at-21ten-Theatre-20241114

Strange Birds is a finalist for the Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival!

In May, STRANGE BIRDS was one of five plays featured in the 2024 Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival!  I had the opportunity to work on the play with Chicago director Mikael Burke and a wonderful cast of young actors from Southeast Missouri State College -- lovingly referred to as SEMO.  It was a wonderful week of readings and workshops.  Very inspiring to be part of!

https://www.broadwayworld.com/st-louis/article/Student-Blog-My-Week-at-the-Lanford-Wilson-New-American-Play-Festival-2024-20240709

The Frankenstein Project is a finalist for the Neukom Award!

Intimate Surveillance by Catherine Stewart won this year's Neukom Award, and The Frankenstein Project by Oregon-based playwright E. M. Lewis was selected as the finalist for 2024. Five additional plays were selected as honorable mentions: The Fabric of Things by Dan Aibel; Sync by Shanna Allman; otou-san by Sean-Joseph Choo: Cut It Out by Jonah Lipsky; and I WOULD DO ANYTHING 4 U! by Maggie Munday Odom. All the recognized plays were selected from 96 submissions.

The Neukom Institute for Computational Science at Dartmouth College is dedicated to supporting and inspiring computational work. The Literary Arts Awards is part of the Neukom Institute’s initiative to explore the ways in which computational ideas impact society.

https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2024/12/nh-playwright-wins-neukom-institute-literary-award