Deborah Wicks La Puma

A composer, music director and orchestrator, Deborah Wicks La Puma is one of the most produced Theatre for Young Audiences artists working today. Her many and diverse works with playwright Karen Zacarías include "Ella Enchanted" (based on the book by Gail Carson Levine), "Olivério: A Brazilian Twist" (The Kennedy Center), "Frida Libre" (La Jolla Playhouse), "Chasing George Washington: A White House Adventure" (The Kennedy Center), "Looking for Roberto Clemente" (Imagination Stage) and "Einstein Is a Dummy" (The Alliance Theatre). With bestselling children's author Mo Willems she has created "Elephant and Piggie’s: We Are In A Play" (The Kennedy Center), and "Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience" (Seattle Children’s Theatre). With playwright Doug Cooney, La Puma created "Nobody's Perfect" (based on the book by Marlee Matlin), a bilingual musical in English and American Sign Language, commissioned by Very Special Arts and the Kennedy Center. Upcoming 2019 premieres include "She Persisted" (based on the book by Chelsea Clinton) with Adam Tobin at Bay Area Children’s Theatre, and "Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus: The Musical" with Mo Willems at the Kennedy Center. Her adult works include the lyric opera "Dakota Sky" and the Mexican folk musical "Perdita" (based on Shakespeare's Winter's Tale) with Kathleen Cahill; and Cornerstone Theater Company's "Making Paradise: The West Hollywood Musical". Recent music directing credits include "Destiny of Desire" (dir: José Luis Valenzuela) at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and "A Christmas Carol" (dir: Lauren Keating) at The Guthrie Theatre. She received her MFA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and her bachelor's degree from Stanford University, and she studied folk music with ethnomusicologist Alfredo López Mondragón. Her honors include the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, an NEA New American Works Grant, two Parents' Choice Awards, and a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Musical Adaptation. A proud Mexican-American and "Navy brat" who grew up in Brazil, Portugal and California, La Puma is a member of TYA USA/ASSITEJ, ASCAP and The Dramatists Guild. Mother to three daughters and Mimi the Cat, La Puma lives in Southern California with her PR Agent and loving husband, Chris.