"Art is not escape but evidence — the residue of our moral witnessing."
"The stage is my tribunal; the camera, my conscience."
"Where language fails to defend the voiceless, art must rise as testimony."
Introduction
The theatre and film industry perceive Sophia Romma as an esoterically unique artist, and not only in the literal sense of being a playwright and filmmaker, but in the deeper, intellectual and aesthetic sense as well. Critics and colleagues describe her as an avant-garde dramatist, a poet of conscience, and an artist of resistance. Her work across theatre, film, and human rights law reflects a singular commitment to moral truth and artistic integrity.
In theatre, she has been recognized for her lyrical and politically charged works that explore exile, memory, and injustice. In film, she creates poetic visual allegories that challenge convention and illuminate social and spiritual questions. In international human rights law, she translates her belief in the sanctity of the human spirit into advocacy and teaching, as well as the importance in adhering to the rule of law.
Biography / Artist Statement
Sophia Romma is a daring and visionary voice in the arts and justice spheres. Dr. Romma was born in the former Soviet Union, and came to the United States in 1979, as a child refugee. With deep roots in Russian Jewish, Ukrainian, Romanian, and Romani heritage, her creative identity is formed at the intersection of exile, linguistic nuance, and the politics of belonging.
Across theatre, film, and legal activism, Romma's work is rooted in the conviction that art is not decoration but moral reckoning — that the poetic, the surreal, and the rebellious can expose injustice, resurrect memory, and reclaim dignity.
Education and Career Overview
- BFA & MFA, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU
- Ph.D. in Philology, Maxim Gorky Literature Institute
- Masters of Law Degree, Fordham University School of Law, specializing in International Human Rights and Racial Justice
- Literary Manager / Dramaturg, Negro Ensemble Company
- Producing Artistic Director, Garden of the Avant-Garde Film & Theatrical Foundation
- Writing Specialist at Touro University Graduate Writing Center of the Professional Divisions
- Professor of College Writing I And II at the New York School of Career and Applied Studies
Organizational Membership / Volunteer Work
Chair, the United Nations Committee of the New York City Bar Association, Chair of the Council on International Affairs Subcommittee on Ukraine at the City Bar, Member of the New York State Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the International Bar Association. Member of the European Affairs Committee of the New York City Bar. Member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Member of the League of Professional Theatre Women, Board Member of the NYU Alumni Association, Member of Pen America, and Member of the Players.
In the Press
amNewYork · September 22, 2026 · By Max Parrott
"For attorney and playwright Sophia Murashkovsky Romma, law and art are a 'natural' complement"
amNewYork profiled Sophia Murashkovsky Romma in a feature on how her two vocations — international human rights law and the stage — sustain one another. She arrived in the United States from the Soviet Union in 1979, at the age of six, and grew up on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Her family, of Roma and Jewish ancestry, had left behind discrimination; her grandparents survived the Soviet gulag and prison before emigrating during the Kennedy administration.
She first established herself as a playwright and writer associated with La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club on the Lower East Side, working under mentors including Anna Deavere Smith and Leslie Lee. In her early forties she entered Fordham Law School to specialize in human rights and international law. "Law gave me another language for advocacy," she told the paper.
Sophia Romma speaking at the United Nations.
Her practice today centers on refugee protection, migration law, and the rights of women and children affected by conflict, with clients drawn largely from Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. She chairs the United Nations Committee of the New York City Bar Association, and her recent work spans both disciplines at once: the documentary "Soul Arbitration" and the play "The Past is Still Ahead," staged in Seoul.
Sophia Romma with the Seoul cast of her play, "The Past is Still Ahead."
She describes the two halves of her career as a single pursuit — preserving human dignity and amplifying voices that would otherwise go unheard. "Law is at its most meaningful when it restores agency to people," she said.
Read the full article: amNewYork — For attorney and playwright Sophia Murashkovsky Romma, law and art are a "natural" complement →
Photos courtesy of amNewYork / Schneps Media.