Emma Rutter Blood Clarke

Emma Clarke is a second-year PhD student in the Theatre and Drama program at UC San Diego. Emma's research is anchored in dance and performance studies, with lines of inquiry that pay particular attention to archival practices, potency of materiality, and dynamics of spectatorship and spectacle. Emma is growing her practice as a dramaturg and curator. In winter 2023, she served as the dramaturg for Raja Feather Kelly’s Bunny, Bunny at UCSD, and is currently working on the UCSD production of Sarah Ruhl’s Orlando (Fall 2023). In Spring 2021, Emma curated a public digital archival exhibit “Choreographic Innovation at the Pillow,” for the Jacob’s Pillow Archives as part of a master’s practicum. Emma has presented her scholarship at conferences held by the Dance Studies Association as well as the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association and will present at the upcoming American Society for Theatre Research Annual Conference (November 2023). 

Emma was born and raised in New York City and began her professional career in arts fundraising most especially as a grant writer for performing arts organizations the New York Philharmonic, Signature Theatre Company, and Theatre Communications Group. Emma holds an M.A. in Performance Curation from Wesleyan University’s Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance and a B.A. in Dance from Bard College where upon graduation, she received the Ana Itelman Prize for Performance.

Research 

Education 

B.A. in Dance, Bard College

M.A. in Performance Curation, Wesleyan University