Yvette Sirker

Yvette Sirker is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, born to Nicaraguan immigrants with East Indian heritage. Active in the field of theater education, Ms. Sirker has taught acting at Tulane University, Dillard University, Delgado College, and the New Orleans Public Schools Talented in Theater program, and the New Orleans Public Schools Arts in Education Program. She created the Shakespeare Festival at Tulane’s Apprentice and Intern Program, and developed acting training programs for the New Orleans Chapter of Young Audiences, and Zhoux Zhoux Theatre Company. She is founding Artistic and Executive Director of Zhoux Zhoux Theatre Company a new 501(c)3 organization devoted to the development of new theatrical works that address issues of the contemporary American south, with a specific focus on southern women. Ms. Sirker holds a B.A. in English from Cornell University, and an MFA in Acting from New York University. She has been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Louisiana Division of the Arts, the Arts Council of New Orleans, Bellsouth, the RosaMary Foundation, and the Kabacoff Family Foundation. In addition to a Fellowship in Playwrighting from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, she has also been awarded Gambit Weekly’s 40 Under 40 award for outstanding contribution to theater in New Orleans.

Sirker received a fellowship to the Lucas Programs thanks to a James Irvine Foundation grant offering residencies to displaced Gulf Coast artists.