About

Hi there!

I'm Molly Shayna Cohen - I direct plays of all kinds (new, devised, adaptation, and more) about humans and their many feelings, emotions, and coping mechanisms. I’m interested in plays that lean into the contradictions between hyper naturalism and surrealism, where I can use their dichotomy to uncover new meanings within the world of the play. Rather than only suspending disbelief, I aim to expand belief to reveal / revel in the absurdities and ridiculousness of our collective human chaos. My work centers on moments of transformation and the ephemerality in all things.

Molly Shayna Cohen

Some neat things I've done...

  • Moxie Arts Incubator, 2026 (current)
  • Theatre Communications Group Programming Fellow, 2025
  • La MaMa Umbria Directing Symposium, 2024
  • ZAR Intense at The Grotowski Institute, 2024
  • Tow Graduate International Research Grant, 2024
  • Playwrights Horizons Inaugural New Media Lab Program Associate, 2024
  • The Mercury Store Directing Technique Cohort, 2023
  • The Public Theatre New Work Development Artistic Apprentice, 2023
  • Theaterlab Hotel New Work Artist in Residence, 2023
  • Kennedy Center Director’s Intensive Cohort, 2022
  • Theatre of the Electric Mouth Associate Artistic Director, 2021

My work spans past the theatre realm: I was the recipient of The Maryland Humanities Grant (2019) for my installation Weaving a New Narrative; an exhibit on how to heal the memory survivors have about what they wore when they were sexually assaulted, and how to reclaim their clothes - and much more. If this topic resonates with you and you'd like to share about your own experience, contact me. Though this specific project has concluded, the conversation never does.

Contact me: mollyshaynacohen@gmail.com