Margaret Shigeko Starbuck (she/they) is a theatre director, dramaturg, and arts administrator. Her directing work has been seen at theaters throughout Southern California including Ensemble Theatre Company Santa Barbara, Boston Court Pasadena, Playwright’s Arena, Pomona College, UCLA TFT and EST/LA. They recently completed the Phil Killian Directing Fellowship at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and have assistant directed at the Geffen Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, and A Noise Within, among others. They specialize in new play dramaturgy, and have contributed to the development of plays by Lisa Dring, Eliana Pipes, May Treuhaft-Ali, John Anthony Loffredo, Jennie Webb, Jacqueline Wright, Alison Minami, Carolyn Ratteray, Halley Feiffer, Aaron Posner, and Rosie Narasaki, among others. She was the Literary Intern at the Geffen Playhouse in 2017 and served as a script reader for the Geffen from 2017-2019. She forayed into playwriting with EST/LA’s Ignite Project, enjoys salsa and swing dancing, and previously served as Boston Court’s Artistic Associate and Associate Artistic Director from 2020-2025.

New Play Direction and Dramaturgy, Shakespeare, Community Engagement

English, Spanish

Yes