
Philippa Kelly has a PhD in Shakespeare and began her career as a professor in Australia. She moved twelve years ago from Australia to live in America with husband, composer Paul Dresher, and son Cole. She is Resident Dramaturg at the California Shakespeare Theater and has served also as production dramaturg for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Word for Word Theater, and the University of California, Berkeley. She writes program articles for every Cal Shakes production, and her recent book, The King and I is a meditation on Australian identity through the lens of Shakespeare's King Lear. The book has been celebrated for its poignant and humorous exploration of Australian life, and for its illumination of various contemporary social attitudes toward those on the fringes of society. With Lydia Garcia of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and with the support of a Mark Bly Creative Capacity grant from the LMDA, Philippa is co-writing an online handbook on diversity in dramaturgy. She is also writing a book on feminist dramaturgy with Laura Hope (contracted by Ashgate Press).