Emily Claire Schmitt (she/her) is an NYC-based playwright and screenwriter focused on uncovering the mystical in the modern world. She is a Core Member of The Skeleton Rep(resents) and sits on the board of directors of The Catholic Artist’s Connection. When she was seven years old, she announced that her deceased grandmother was visiting her every night and sitting in her rocking chair. This was not factually accurate, but it did help her to ease her grief - and that of her parents. Since then, she has continued to explore the healing power of myth. Myths exist on a separate plane intimately infused with our own. The best myths are true. 

 

As a playwright, Schmitt focuses primarily on questions of gender and sexuality within Catholicism. Her play The Chalice was produced as a collaboration between the historic Stonewall Inn and Xavier Theatre, a Jesuit theater company. It tells the story of a gay man who receives a controversial religious relic from his estranged father. Her play Whatchamacallit was produced by The Skeleton Rep in 2016. The comedy, which grapples with issues of consent, sexuality, and faith, has since been developed into an original musical titled The Inconvenient Miracle. (Music by Emily Rose Simons, Story with Ria T. DiLullo). Other theatrical work includes Absolution (recipient of the Xavier Theatre Virtual Play Grant) and Confessional (Skeleton Rep 2018 Salon Series.)

 

TV credits include Raise a Glass to Love (story and teleplay, 2021) and Beverly Hills Wedding (teleplay 2021), both on The Hallmark Channel. Schmitt is currently developing two horror scripts, both dealing with aspects of religion. She is also the Show Runner for Skeleton Rep’s anthology webseries and short film project The Great Vanishing. 

 

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