Ellie Heyman is director of theater and film. Her work, known for its emotional depth with a visually imaginative aesthetic, won the Drama League Award for Outstanding Production in 2021 and has been nominated for Drama Desk, Lortel, Bessie and PGA Awards.
Her piece, The Great Work Begins, featuring Glenn Close, Laura Linney, and Brian Tyree Henry, was named “Best of 2020” in the New York Times & New York Magazine.
She directed The Traveling Imaginary, a theatrical rock show, rated in the "top five shows of the year" by NPR and a Time Out "Critic's Pick" on two continents with long term collaborator Julian Koster (Neutral Milk Hotel).
Ellie co-directed/developed the narrative podcast The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air), presented by Night Vale and WNYC. It's been downloaded over 5 million times, rated #1 in Apple Podcasts and, features John Cameron Mitchell, Tim Robbins, Mandy Patinkin and Charlie Day.
Credits include: (Still) Asking For It (The Public Theater); Space Dogs (MCC); ThisTree (Prototype); Dinner with Georgette (New York Theater Workshop, Next Door); Jason Craig & Dave Malloy's Beardo (Drama Desk Award Nomination; Pipeline Theater) Erin Markey: Boner Killer (Under the Radar/The Public Theater); Becca Blackwell's They, Themself and Schmerm (Under the Radar/The Public Theater); Adrienne Truscott's THIS (Bessie Award Nomination for Outstanding Production; NYLA) and cult classic, music-fiction podcast Dreamboy (Night Vale Presents). International credits include: Elevation 506 in Bulgaria and Home/Yuva in Turkey.
She is currently developing a feature with Poe Global
Ellie is a graduate of Northwestern and Boston Universities (MFA), a Drama League Directing Fellow and Artist in Residence, and a Time Warner Directing Fellow at the WP Theatre.
Resume available upon request.