Ilana Khanin is a director of theatre and experimental performance. Her work has been developed and presented at Ars Nova, Prelude, HERE Arts Center, New Ohio, Judson, Governors Island, The Tank, The Brick, Primary Stages, Theaterlab, Dixon Place, Samuel French Festival, and the Center at West Park. Directing credits include Eric Marlin’s What a World! What a World! (The Tank), Shot List (Baryshnikov Arts Center), How to Mourn the Dead: a tragedy (in flux) (Montclair New Works Initiative), Breakfast Scene (Samuel French OOB Festival), The Book of Jonah [The Interim Years] (Exquisite Corpse Company/ Governors Island); Lyndsey Bourne and Sam Kaseta's I Was Unbecoming Then (ANT Fest; Toronto's Next Stage-Dora nomination for New Musical); we need your listening (New Ohio Ice Factory); Stephen Charles Smith's Ancient Greek Corn (HERE); Jordan Baum's Gobstopper (The Tank).

She has worked as an associate director for Lila Neugebauer, Annie-B Parson, and Lee Sunday Evans at venues including Playwrights Horizons, Playmakers Rep, Abrons Arts Centre, and Carolina Performing Arts. Associate artist with Big Dance Theater (BAM, Old Vic, Deutsches Theater, among others).

Her work has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts,  Ontario Arts Council,  Toronto Arts Council, and the Puffin Foundation. She received the 2025 Toronto Theatre Critics’ Award for Best Direction of a Musical.

She holds a BFA and MA from NYU, and a PhD from the University of Toronto. Her SSHRC-funded dissertation, “The Contingent NFT,” received the Alumni Dissertation Award and the Clifford Leech Prize.

photo by Drew Berry