Lillian June McDermott
Dramaturg
2026, she/her BFA Drama, Dramaturgy
Lillian McDermott is a dramaturg and arts administrator. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to a theatrical family, she attended CMU School of Drama’s pre-college program as an MT student, where she was offered a dramaturgy class. This experience allowed Lillian to discover a field combining her love for theatre, history, and communications.
During her time at CMU, Lillian has been the Lead Dramaturg on The Little Prince, Titanic: The Musical, a Co-Dramaturg on Hurricane Diane, and an Assistant Dramaturg on Put Your House in Order. She additionally spent a delightful summer with Front Porch Theatricals of Pittsburgh as their first-ever dramaturg, working on the show Bandstand. These productions afforded her the opportunities to create multiple audience engagement displays, some with technical components and historical archives, and taught Lillian her love for connecting with an audience and supporting their experience with theatre.
Lillian was an ambassador for the School of Drama at CMU for 3 years, conducting multiple tours a week and one-on-one school visit days for prospective/admitted students. She has also spent 2 years as a Teaching Assistant for Dr. Amanda Olmstead, providing administrative assistance with grading and attendance, leading classes in group discussions, offering student support, and creating learning resources for Foundations of Drama II and MT History.
Lillian has found joy in the mentorship and administrative work in her time at CMU, not just in her jobs at the School of Drama, but also in her time with the student-led theatre organization, Scotch’n’Soda. She has worked with S’n’S as a dramaturg, performer, props manager, and social media manager, culminating in her position as Artistic Director for their 2025-2026 season. Leading the show selection process while mentoring creative teams in producing four full-length productions, producing two staged readings, and guiding the artistic identity of the organization.
These experiences have helped Lillian discover her mission to work towards a more sustainable model of community in theatre, through more ethical and accessible theatre education and engagement. In pursuit of this goal, she spent the summer of 2025 in Sarasota, Florida, working at Florida Studio Theatre as the General Management Intern. Here, she learned the administrative side of regional theatre and her passion for crafting sustainable workflows in the arts. She looks forward to future opportunities in production dramaturgy, audience engagement work, and arts administration. Outside of her work, Lillian loves the tv show Glee, Keith Haring art, Maori music, scrapbooking, spending time with her nephew and niece (Rocco and Gigi), and being in nature!
Work Samples
Titanic, The Musical Lobby Display
Story & Book by Peter Stone, Music & Lyrics by Maury Yeston, Orchestrations by Ian Weinberger
Directed by Telly Leung, Music Directed by Michael E. McKelvey
Dramaturgy by Lillian McDermott
CMU School of Drama – April 2025
Hurricane Diane
By Madeline George
Directed by Kaycee Swierc
Dramaturgy by Lillian McDermott and Jesús Feliciano
CMU School of Drama – February 2026
Dramaturgy Production Website
Put Your House In Order
By Ike Holter
Directed by Alyssa Rivera
Dramaturgy by Jacey Lozada with Asst. Lillian McDermott
CMU School of Drama – November 2023
Photo Credits: Xuewei (Eva) Hu 胡雪薇