Sarah Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl is an American playwright, essayist, and poet known for her unique and poetic style of writing. She was born on January 24, 1974, in Wilmette, Illinois, and grew up in a family of artists and writers. Ruhl attended Brown University, where she studied under Paula Vogel and earned her MFA in playwriting.

Ruhl's plays often explore themes of love, loss, and the human experience. Her first play, "The Dog Play," was produced in 2001 at the Brown/Trinity Playwrights Repertory Theatre. Her breakthrough play, "The Clean House," premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 2004 and went on to receive the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and a Pulitzer Prize nomination.
Ruhl's other notable plays include "Eurydice," a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, which premiered at the Madison Repertory Theatre in 2003; "In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)," a comedy about the invention of the vibrator, which premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2009 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; and "Stage Kiss," a romantic comedy about two ex-lovers who are cast in a play together, which premiered at the Goodman Theatre in 2011.
In addition to her work in the theatre, Ruhl has also written essays and poetry. Her essay collection, "100 Essays I Don't Have Time to Write," was published in 2014 and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism. Her poetry collection, "44 Poems for You," was published in 2021.
Ruhl has received numerous awards and honors for her work, including a MacArthur Fellowship, a PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award, and a Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award. She has also been a finalist for the Tony Award for Best Play.
Ruhl's most recent work includes "Becky Nurse of Salem," a play about one of the women accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials, which premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2019. She is currently working on a new play, "Letters from Max," which is based on her correspondence with the poet Max Ritvo, who died of cancer in 2016.