Ilana Lucas is an English professor at Toronto’s Centennial College. She holds a BA in English and Theatre from Princeton University, and an MFA in Dramaturgy and Script Development from Columbia University, where she learned countless fascinating theatre stories as lead archivist for the estate of Tony winners Phyllis Newman and Adolph Green. She is Vice President of the Canadian Theatre Critics’ Association.
Before BroadwayWorld, she worked as Brit+Co’s weekly books columnist, and as a Senior Writer for Mooney on Theatre. In her spare time, she is a freelance dramaturg and playwright, sings in Toronto's Amadeus Choir, and plays nerd-rock handbells with Pavlov's Dogs Handbell ensemble. Her most recent play, “Let’s Talk,” won the 2019 Toronto Fringe Festival’s 24-Hour Playwriting Contest.
She believes that theatre has a unique ability to foster connection, empathy, and joy, and has a deep love of the playfulness of the written word.