Interview: Theatre Life with Lauren M. Gunderson
The most produced playwright in the country three times over on turning her acclaimed play I And You into a musical at Olney Theatre Center and more.
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Today’s subject Lauren M. Gunderson is a prime example of an artist living her theatre life to the absolute fullest. She has had the honor of being the most produced playwright in this country three times and shows so signs of letting up with her always superb creative output. One of her latest projects is the world premiere of I And You The Musical which is in performance at Olney Theatre Center through May 24th. The show is based on her play of the same name, which was part of a Rolling world premiere that played at Olney Theatre Center in 2015.
Ms. Gunderson’s plays have been seen all over the country and the world, including the DC area. Previous local productions include The Book of Will at Round House Theatre, Earthrise at Kennedy Center, and A Room in The Castle at Folger Theatre.
Her many acclaimed plays also include Bauer, Ada and The Engine, and the upcoming Little Women.
Ms. Gunderson 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 William Inge Distinguished Achievement in Theatre Award, the Lanford Wilson Award, and a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.
Her plays have also been translated into a dozen languages, and her new anthology, Revolutionary Women, is published by Bloomsbury.
Please make I and You The Musical at Olney Theatre Center part of your theatre going plans this spring. Any chance to see a show with a credit saying “Book by Lauren M. Gunderson” always suggests that the production is going to be something wonderful.
Were you interested in working somewhere else in theatre before becoming a playwright?
I thought I was going to be an actor. I think a lot of us start our theatre journey as actors, and I was really young. I loved being in student theatre, but my first time touching the stage as an actor was in first grade or kindergarten. I really loved that experience, and it sort of grounded me in how powerful this art form is, even as a kid. I then did some professional productions around my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. Pretty quickly, looking around, I began thinking that the stories I was given to tell didn't have a lot of women in them and weren't written by many women. It allowed me to sort of see a vacuum for stories that I could tell. This was also the time, gratefully, that Lynn Nottage, Paula Vogel, and Sarah Ruhl were coming to prominence in their careers. They were such inspirations for how diverse, beautiful, funny, strange, and profound stories written by women could be. So, I wanted to join their ranks.
Who would you say had the biggest influence on you becoming a playwright?
Besides whom I just mentioned, it's hard to know. There's so many. I grew up in the South with storytellers like Flannery O'Connor being taught to me. I absolutely loved her searing short stories, which feel a lot more like plays than novels do. I think I learned that ferocious and unbridled, but very well structured, storytelling from southern writers like O'Connor. I also got to see a ton of theatre and I loved Shakespeare. So much of my influence is based on reading and seeing Shakespeare and, of course, the contemporary writers that I mentioned being great examples of how to be a modern playwright with a modern voice.
Where did you receive your training?
I did my undergrad at Emory University where I studied English and Creative Writing with a concentration in Southern Literature. And then I went to NYU's Tisch School of Drama for my MFA in Dramatic Writing.
What was your first professional job in the performing arts?
I was cast in a play in Atlanta, Georgia, at a company called Actors Express. They did contemporary new plays and new versions of classic plays. I got cast in this beautiful Tina Howe play called Approaching Zanzibar. It was my first professional acting gig ever. The play was so beautiful and wild, and it stuck with me forever. I so loved being on stage and wrestling with these words. It's impacted me so much as a playwright, even more than a performer, because I was able to sink into the language. I still think that part of why I'm a playwright is because I got to be an actor and really know what it takes to translate the page to the stage. I try to do that from inside the language with every play and role.
Essential Theatre premiere of Parts They Call Deep.
Photo by Essential Theatre.
Photo courtesy of the artist.
What do you remember the most about the first professional opening night of one of your plays?
The first one I remember was at Essential Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia for my play called Parts They call Deep. It was about three women in a Winnebago driving to Florida. There was a grandmother, mother, and a daughter – so three generations in a Winnebago on the road. It was a contemporary family comedy drama. I remember it won the Essential Theatre Award, which was a new play prize for Georgia writers. That was incredibly meaningful, and in many ways, it launched my career and that play. I remember sitting with my mom and so many of our friends and family in the theatre. Everyone were there and I remember being so excited, so giddy, and really honored. My mom, of course, made sure everyone around us knew that this play was not about her, which is hilarious and sort of true. My parents have always supported me in my craziest ideas and ambitions, and they're very much the reason why I am where I am now.
World Premiere production of I And You The Musical.
Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography.
At what point did you think that I and You would be perfect to turn into a musical?
It is such a beloved play right now and has garnered international prominence after ten years. I’m so honored by that and so enlivened by the reception. It's had productions all over the world and in various different languages. It felt sort of intimate, powerful, and full of emotion and those things make for great musicals. It's challenging though because of the intimacy and the two-hander nature of it. However, it felt like something that music could really amplify and get to different parts of these characters and – especially towards the end – find a way to make something so intimate into something epic.
2015 Olney Theatre production of I And You.
Photo by Stan Barouh.
Olney Theatre Center presented the play version of I and You in 2014 and is now premiering the musical version. What is it about Olney Theatre Center that makes it so great for a playwright to have their work presented there?
It's all about the people. They have beautiful stages and facilities, as well as access to wonderful East Coast/DC actors. The DC area is an amazing theatre area. It's Jason Loewith and the people who run this company that really prioritize new work. They are ready to take the risk on new work, which not everyone is willing to do. I have much gratitude for everyone.
When you were starting your theatrical journey, did you ever think you would be the most produced playwright in this country three times so far?
No way! Little playwright Lauren would be shocked and delighted. It's an amazing, humbling, and fricking exciting honor. Every time that I've been on top of that list it is amazing. The reason is because it's not about awards, reviews, or critical things that can often be very political. What I love about being the most produced playwright is that it is a statement about audiences and actual productions and how much of my work is being seen and done all over the country. The true marker of a successful writer, to me, is feeling like these communities want to engage with my work and learn something from it. That's really the most gratifying part of that honor.
What advice can you give to someone starting to write their first play?
See and read a ton of plays. Talk to people about plays. Ask yourself what plays you love and go study them. Figure out what features they have, how they're structured, what kinds of characters there are. Figure out what kinds of plot and conflict are in the play. Do your homework to figure out what great writers have to say about writing, but then ask yourself, what do you want to do with your writing? Who do you want to reach? What do you want to say? What part of the world do you believe in? And what part of the world would you change? What kind of journeys are you most compelled by? Then write those things. Because if it matters to you, it will matter to somebody else. So, tell your story.
Can you please tell us about any upcoming projects that you have for the rest of 2026 and onward?
So, so many projects, but upcoming or recent projects include the rolling world premiere of my new play, Lady Disdain. It is a riff on Much Ado About Nothing, but about audio books and romance books. It just had its first production in Madison, Wisconsin and goes to Oslo Rep in Sarasota, Florida next. I will have a brand new play called All the World that is premiering at Chicago's Northlight Theatre. It's a two-hander about two actors and the loves and struggles off stage that blend and contrast with what they do onstage. There are a lot of projects that are in development right now, including Pride and Prejudice, the musical, which I'm writing with Keira Stone. I have a ton of stuff next year, but some of it I can't announce yet. So that's a good start for now.
I also have a podcast called How to Playwright. The episodes include all sorts of playwriting tips and techniques as well as life in the theatre entries.
Special Thanks to Olney Theatre Center's Director of Marketing and Communications Joshua Ford for his assistance in coordinating this interview.
Theatre Life logo designed by Kevin Laughon.
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