about me — Erin Shea Brady

Hello!

I’m Erin (they/them) and I’m a writer, director, facilitator and social worker based in Chicago, IL. My favorite stuff to work on lives at the intersection of social work and art, whether I’m borrowing social work’s “person-in-environment” approach to more deeply understand a character, making art that aims to offer company in times of uncertainty, discomfort or growth, conceptualizing workshops that strive to improve mental health in artistic spaces, or creating space for folks to make meaning of their lives through the stories they tell. I hold a MSW from Loyola University Chicago and am currently accepting individual clients, in addition to working with groups. If you’d like to learn more about my approach to therapy, take a look over here!

My newest play, You’re a Weirdo, Annie Best, is a rare polyamorous rom-com in the style of Nora Ephron’s beloved canon. Annie Best has been workshopped and developed by the SheATL festival (Atlanta, GA,) Unheard Of Company (Chicago, IL,) and the Fresh Fruit Festival (NYC) through which I was awarded Outstanding Playwright (2022) and our Annie, Juliet Roll, received Best Actress in a Drama (2022.) Annie Best was also chosen as a finalist for the Todd McNerney Playwriting Award. I’ve also developed two plays (Revival and Chaos Theory, or something about butterflies) with the Jackalope Playwrights Lab and am currently pursuing a Masters in Extension Studies with a concentration in Creative Writing and Literature at Harvard University.As a director, credits include: Grace, or the Art of Climbing and Everybody (Brown Paper Box Co.); Cabaret; Annapurna (staged reading) and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (No Stakes Theater Project). Assistant Directing and Dramaturgy credits include productions at the Goodman, Jackalope, TimeLine, A Red Orchid, Northlight, and Remy Bumppo.

As a human beyond the work, my best days find me Virgo-ing on Google Sheets, hiking somewhere beautiful, watching (too many) movies, reading (not enough) books, spending time with the people I love and generally growing as a person. See also: doing crossword puzzles, bothering my cats and learning to play the guitar (I finally have calluses!!)

Jump to:
current events | writing | directing | criticism

Resume »

New Play Exchange »

Currently

February 2024

The latest session of the Anti-Racism Accountability & Consultation Group for White-Identifying Mental Health Clinicians is up and running! This is the third time I’ve had the opportunity to co-facilitate this group, which was developed by Marion Malcome, LCSW and Brit Holmberg, LCSW in an effort to create a space for white folks in the mental health space to hold each other accountable. A third of the proceeds go to support the Treatment Not Trauma campaign, which aims to create a city-wide, non-police mental health crisis response.

January 2024

I said goodbye to my role as a Staff Therapist at The Josselyn Center in Northfield in order to build my own practice, which will still prioritize work with low-income folks as well as LGBTQ+ individuals and those who are seeking trauma work. In addition to seeing clients on zoom, I’ll be seeing folks in person one day/week at Chi-Town Shakti Yoga and Meditation. I’m available to see new clients and am currently able to accept Cigna, Aetna, and United Healthcare.