Melissa Firlit Guest Artist and Director for Theatre First gen Areas of expertise: Directing Musical theatre New play development Acting for stage Uta Hagen Frantic method Meisner Devised Education: M.F.A., Directing, Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts, 2012 About Melissa Firlit Melissa Firlit is a director and educator based in New York City with national and international credits. Her work has been seen at 59E59 Theaters, Luna Stage, Mile Square Theatre, Creede Repertory Theatre, and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Internationally, she has directed multiple productions at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and toured Ireland with Misterman. Her directing credits span contemporary plays, musicals, and new works, including Lonely Planet, Jekyll & Hyde, Red, A Few Good Men, Dracula, Men on Boats, Trojan Women, Goodbody, and Pirates of Penzance. Dedicated to supporting emerging voices, she has developed and premiered new plays through platforms such as id(iots) at play, VoxFest (Dartmouth), Dragon’s Egg, and the Thingamajig Playwrights Festival. Her work has been recognized with nominations for the Henry Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical, as well as honors from the New York Innovative Theatre Awards and commendations at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, reflecting her range across theatrical styles. Melissa is the Artistic Director of Resolve Productions, a New York–based company committed to developing new work and creating meaningful community impact. She holds an MFA in Directing from Rutgers University and currently serves on the theatre faculty at both Fort Lewis College and CAP21/Molloy University, where she mentors and trains the next generation of theatre artists.