Susan Emshwiller

Susan Emshwiller was raised in Levittown, N.Y. by writer Carol Emshwiller and sci-fi illustrator, avant-garde filmmaker Ed Emshwiller. She got her BFA from Syracuse University in painting and printmaking and her MFA from California Institute of the Arts where she studied film. As a set decorator, her "day job" for many years, she worked with David Mamet, Michael Apted, and happily with Robert Altman on The Player, (in which she is a featured actress) Short Cuts, Kansas City, and Cookie's Fortune. She has written and directed several plays including the critically acclaimed and award winning "Brush Strokes", inspired by paintings of Edward Hopper. Her play "Dominoes" is published by the Dramatists Play Service and "Defrosting Popsicles" by Playscripts Inc. Susan has written screenplays on spec and for hire; most notably- co-writer of the Academy Award winning film Pollock for actor/director Ed Harris. Susan's feature film, In the Land of Milk and Money, a wild social satire, garnered awards and rave reviews at festivals in the US and internationally. She has written and directed short films, commercials, and music videos. Additional activities include script doctoring, teaching screen and playwriting at the MET Theatre in Hollywood, and giving workshops in filmmaking and writing. She has published several short stories and has just finished her first novel "Exclamation Point."