Yazmeen, Sharifa

Sharifa Yazmeen (she/her) is a trans Arab-American playwright and director whose work explores the intersection of Queer and Arab identities. Her work has been published in Overheard, a collection of monologues by and for TNB2S+ artists, and Faces of America Monologues. Her play Bone by Bone was selected for the 2025 MixFest at Atlantic Theater Company and the 2026 Great Plains Theatre Festival. Her play The Devils Between Us was a featured finalist for the Blue Ink Award and published in the first volume of The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays. Her play Close to Home was published in the second volume, recognized by the American Theatre Wing at the Antoinette Gala, included on the 2023 Kilroy’s List, selected for the 2023 Bay Area Playwrights Festival and the 2024 National New Play Showcase, and premiered at Pillsbury House + Theatre in 2025. She holds an MFA in Directing from Brown/Trinity Rep, has completed fellowships with The Drama League, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Geva Theatre, and was a Eugene O’Neill National Directing Fellow. She is the inaugural recipient of the SCDF Barbara Whitman Award (2021) and the Abe Burrows Award (2024).