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Lauren Gunderson

Lauren Gunderson (she/her) is one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015, topping the list twice including 2019–20. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award and the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award, a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and the John Gassner Award for Playwriting, and a recipient of the Mellon Foundation’s residency with Marin Theatre Company. She studied Southern literature and drama at Emory University and dramatic writing at NYU’s Tisch School where she was a Reynolds Fellow in social entrepreneurship. Her play The Catastrophist, about her husband virologist, Nathan Wolfe, premiered digitally in January 2021. She co-authored the Miss Bennet plays with Margot Melcon and her audioplay The Half-Life of Marie Curie premiered Off-Broadway and at audible.com. Her work is published at Playscripts, Dramatists Play Service, Methuen Drama, and Samuel French. laurengunderson.com.

Rad Adaptation (Radaptation?) with Octavio Solis and Kate Hamill
headshots of octavio solis and kate hamill
Video

Rad Adaptation (Radaptation?) with Octavio Solis and Kate Hamill

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Thursday 27 August 2020
United States
Writing Science for Stage with Anna Ziegler, Charly Evon Simpson, and Geetha Reddy
Anna Ziegler and Geetha Reddy.
Video

Writing Science for Stage with Anna Ziegler, Charly Evon Simpson, and Geetha Reddy

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Wednesday 19 August 2020
United States
Arts + Activism: Jeannette and Making Political Musical Theatre
text: jeannette, or how to make a musical in a pandemic. six headshots of the event participants.
Video

Arts + Activism: Jeannette and Making Political Musical Theatre

with Ari Afsar, Erin Ortman, Martha Nichols, Jen Bender, and Regina Victor

Thursday 6 August 2020
United States
Writing Amazing Audio Plays with Madhuri Shekar and Chisa Hutchinson
Video

Writing Amazing Audio Plays with Madhuri Shekar and Chisa Hutchinson

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Thursday 16 July 2020
United States
Building a Playwriting Career with The Dramatists Guild
Tina Fallon, the Dramatist Guild logo, and Deborah Murad.
Video

Building a Playwriting Career with The Dramatists Guild

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Friday 15 May 2020
United States
Playwrighting Class with David Ball!
David Ball and the book Backwards and Forwards.
Video

Playwrighting Class with David Ball!

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Wednesday 13 May 2020
United States
Devised Theatre Class with Erika Chong Shuch and Ryan Tacata
Ryan Tacata and Erika Chong Shuch
Video

Devised Theatre Class with Erika Chong Shuch and Ryan Tacata

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Friday 8 May 2020
United States
Writing Killer Short Plays with Steve Yockey
Video

Writing Killer Short Plays with Steve Yockey

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Wednesday 6 May 2020
United States
Publishing + Theatre Class with Peter Hagen, President of DPS!
Event promotion.
Video

Publishing + Theatre Class with Peter Hagen, President of DPS!

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Wednesday 6 May 2020
United States
Comedy + Playwrighting Class!
Headshots of Tori Sampson, Leah Nanako Winkler, Larissa FastHorse, and Jonathan Spector.
Video

Comedy + Playwrighting Class!

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Tuesday 5 May 2020
United States
Writing the Personal Epic with Benjamin Scheuer + Sean Daniels
Benjamin Scheuer, Sean Daniels, and a production of Lauren Gunderson's The Heath
Video

Writing the Personal Epic with Benjamin Scheuer + Sean Daniels

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Monday 4 May 2020
United States
Writing Incredible Theatre for Young Audiences (as well adults)
event promotion.
Video

Writing Incredible Theatre for Young Audiences (as well adults)

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Wednesday 29 April 2020
United States
Feminism + Theatre with Marissa Wolf, Hana Sharif, and Ari Afsar!
Headshots of Marissa Wolf, Ari Afsar, and Hana Sharif.
Video

Feminism + Theatre with Marissa Wolf, Hana Sharif, and Ari Afsar!

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Tuesday 28 April 2020
United States
Writing Trans Realities w/ Scott T Schofield + Nic Sommerfeld
performance shots of Nic A. Sommerfeld and Scott Turner Schofield
Video

Writing Trans Realities w/ Scott T Schofield + Nic Sommerfeld

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Friday 24 April 2020
United States
Director - Playwright Class: Lauren talks with Eric Ting
actors on an outdoor stage
Video

Director - Playwright Class: Lauren talks with Eric Ting

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Tuesday 21 April 2020
United States
A Critical Approach: Playwriting, Advocacy and Dramaturgy with Regina Victor and Lauren
actors on stage reading from music stands
Video

A Critical Approach: Playwriting, Advocacy and Dramaturgy with Regina Victor and Lauren

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Tuesday 21 April 2020
United States
Directors + Playwrights - Lauren talks with Evren Odcikin
actor onstage in front of a pink background
Video

Directors + Playwrights - Lauren talks with Evren Odcikin

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Friday 17 April 2020
United States
Theatre Journalist + Playwright - Lauren talks with Diep Tran
headshot of diep tran
Video

Theatre Journalist + Playwright - Lauren talks with Diep Tran

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Thursday 16 April 2020
United States
Dramaturgs + Playwrights - Lauren and Martine Greene-Rogers talk
actors in shakespearean garb
Video

Dramaturgs + Playwrights - Lauren and Martine Greene-Rogers talk

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Tuesday 14 April 2020
United States
Musical Theatre w/ Lauren, Kait Kerrigan + Brian Lowdermilk
actor hugging a child with text Earthrise Kennedy Center
Video

Musical Theatre w/ Lauren, Kait Kerrigan + Brian Lowdermilk

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Friday 10 April 2020
United States
A Playwrighting Class
photo of laptop with notebook, mug, and an image of Shakespeare
Video

A Playwrighting Class

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Wednesday 8 April 2020
United States
a woman teaching
The How of Theatre
Essay

The How of Theatre

a Playwriting Class

24 July 2018

Playwright Lauren Gunderson offers other writers lessons on dramatic structure, building characters, and crafting a powerful ending.

The Why of Theatre
Essay

The Why of Theatre

a Playwriting Class

9 July 2018

Playwright Lauren M. Gunderson add to her video series "Why Theatre?" by discussing why theatre still matters in the age of filmed storytelling.

Dramatic Structure
Essay

Dramatic Structure

a Playwriting Class

3 May 2017

Lauren Gunderson continues her series of videos asking "Why theatre?" In this class, she addresses active characters in plays, and dramatic structure.

On Dialogue
Essay

On Dialogue

a Playwriting Class

13 April 2017

Lauren Gunderson shares a video of her teaching a playwriting class on dialogue and asks the question: why theatre?