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Ira Gamerman

Ira Lawrence Gamerman is a Baltimore-bred AustraliAmerican playwright, podcaster, script consultant, screenwriter, musician, and educator based in NYC.

Ira’s theatrical work has been performed at The Kennedy Center, Samuel French OOB, Ensemble Studio Theater, Short & Sweet Sydney, Collaboraction (at the Steppenwolf Garage), F*It Club, Source Festival, Single Carrot, The Australian Broadcast Corporation, and The Chicago New Media Summit (among many other places). He has received playwriting grants from the Maryland State Arts Council and Chicago Union League. Billy Bitchass will be published in The Best 10 Minute Plays of 2016 by Smith & Kraus. Larry at the Gaza Strip Club is premiering this spring in Manhattan.

Ira composes original music as Ira Lawrences Haunted Mandolin. His debut EP Elegant Freefall  (Independent Clauses #9 Best Ep Of 2015) was recorded at Galaxy Smith Studios by John Smith.

Internationally, Ira is 1/4th of AustraliAmerican Theater Collective Everything is Everywhere  (2 Aussies 2 Americans 2 gals 2 dudes 2 goys 2 Jews 2 legit 2 quit) whose new performance Everything Is Everywhere Lie To Your Face debuted at the 2015 Karnabal Festival in the Philippines.

Ira’s podcast work has been produced by Radiotopia’s The Truth where "Biological Clock" won a 2013 Mark Time Award and "Sweets For The Cheat" was a 2013 Audio Verse Awards finalist. In addition, he co-created, co-produces, and co-hosts Dangerously Unqualified: A Podcast About Love.

Ira holds a BA in Theater from Towson University, an MFA in Playwriting from Ohio University, and studied Devised theater at the (now defunct) Dartington College of Art in the UK. 

Kill New Play Deniers
Essay

Kill New Play Deniers

2 March 2016

Ira Gamerman reports on Australian playwright David Finnigan's new play Kill Climate Deniers that has been funded through an arts grant from the Australian government and called out as a waste of government arts spending although it hasn’t premeried yet.

Playwrights On Podcasts
Essay

Playwrights On Podcasts

10 November 2015

Ira Gameraman, writer for podcasts Dangerously Unqualified and Radiotopia’s The Truth addresses the possibilities for playwrights in podcasting.

Bardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
Essay

Bardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

11 September 2014

I feel fairly confident that if some sort of census was to be taken from the last decade of American theatermaking, counting up the total number of productions by playwrights who are dead versus playwrights who are alive, The Zombies would outnumber those of us with pulses by a large margin. Which sincerely begs to question: Do artistic directors have a bias against playwrights who are alive? Are they “Life-ist?” “Pulse-Phobic?” Do they hate my heartbeat?

Age-ism, Classism, and the Future of New Play Development or “Watch The Throne”
Essay

Age-ism, Classism, and the Future of New Play Development or “Watch The Throne”

1 December 2013

Ira Gamerman offers his insight and a strategy to becoming a successful playwright.