Playwrights, Productions, and Programming: Lyric Stage Company of Boston Artistic Director Courtney O’Connor in Conversation with Playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer

How do playwrights make a living in the theatre industry? How do they find theatres to produce their work? How do theatres decide which plays are the right fit for their missions and audiences? As a professional playwright, Deborah Zoe Laufer has grappled with these questions for more than 20 years. Known for writing sweet but dark comedies, Laufer’s plays have been produced at theatres around the world including Steppenwolf, Cincinnati Playhouse on Park, Geva Theatre Center, and the Ensemble Studio Theatre. Laufer’s play Be Here Now was produced at Lyric Stage Company of Boston and was directed by Artistic Director Courtney O’Connor in Fall 2021, and Rooted, also directed by O’Connor, will run at Lyric in June 2023. This event will feature Laufer in conversation with O’Connor and will examine the experience of being a professional playwright, the relationship between theatres and writers, and how Artistic Directors approach selecting plays to include in a season.

To attend, please visit this Zoom webinar registration page.

Courtney O’Connor (Director/Artistic Director): Courtney joined the full-time staff of the Lyric Stage in 2018 and was named Artistic Director in 2020. She has directed several pieces for the Lyric Stage, including Stones in His Pockets, Red Hot Patriot, The Cake, The Book of Will, and Preludes. Courtney is a senior affiliated faculty member in Performing Arts at Emerson College. In addition to directing for theatres and universities, Courtney has directed multiple site-specific productions at locations including Mount Auburn Cemetery and Boston’s Old State House. Through her work with the Coyote Theatre Project, she oversaw the creation of more than 200 new 10-minute plays written by youths from Boston. Courtney has received the Elliot Norton award for her work as the Associate Director on the Lyric Stage’s production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby and the Alan L. Stanzler Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Deborah Zoe Laufner (Playwright): Deborah’s plays have been produced at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Cleveland Playhouse, Geva Theatre Center, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Portland Stage, and The Humana Festival. Informed Consent, an Alfred P. Sloan/EST commission appeared at The Duke Theatre in NYC in 2015, a co-production of Primary Stages and EST. It was a NYTimes Critic’s Pick. Her play End Days won The ATCA Steinberg citation, and has received over 70 productions around the country, and in Germany, Russia and Australia. Other plays include Leveling Up, Out of Sterno, The Last Schwartz, Sirens, Meta, The Gulf of Westchester, Miniatures, Fortune, and Be Here Now, commissioned and produced by Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and Window Treatment, a collaboration with composer Daniel Green, produced in NYC by Premieres, Inner Voices, both in 2018. She is a graduate of Juilliard, an alumna of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, and a member of The Dramatists Guild.

This online program is presented in partnership by the Boston Public Library and Lyric Stage Company of Boston, which produces and presents live theatre in Greater Boston with an intimate approach that promotes inclusivity and connection. The Lyric Stage leads an effort to integrate live theater and theater education into the lives of all residents of greater Boston. To learn more about them, visit their website.

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