Ira S. Murfin is a writer, artist, educator, scholar, critic, and cultural worker based in Chicago. He creates original public programming in partnership with communities and cultural institutions, and writes and lectures on contemporary theatre and performance for both academic audiences and the general public. Ira holds an Interdisciplinary PhD in Theatre & Drama from Northwestern University and an MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His original interactive, solo, and collectively created performance work has been seen at many arts venues, festivals, and literary series in Chicago and elsewhere. Since 2016, dozens of people have participated in his ongoing conversational performance project, An Interview. Ira is the co-host of the exploratory and expansive podcast Jiggle It a Little It’ll Open with his friend and collaborator Aaron Kahn. He lives in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood with his partner Emmy Bean and their son Floyd.

(Photo by Joe Mazza, Brave Lux)