Silent Sky Playwright to Visit the Festival
The Utah Shakespeare Festival’s current production of Silent Sky tells the story of 19th Century scientist and astronomer Henrietta Leavitt and was written by playwright Lauren Gunderson, who will be visiting the Festival and Cedar City during the week of September 23.
Since 2015 Gunderson has been one of the most produced playwrights in the United States, reaching the top of that list three times, including in 2022/2023. She is an award-winning writer who won the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award twice, the Lanford Wilson Award, and the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award. She has also been a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Weisberger Award, and John Gassner Award for Playwriting. Her musical adaptation of The Time Traveller’s Wife premiered on The West End last year. Revolutionary Women––her new anthology of five plays––was published by Bloomsbury in 2023. She has authored numerous other theatre works and screenplays, as well as a picture book, Dr. Wonderful: Blast Off to the Moon, and hosts a creative podcast for theatre lovers called How To Playwright. She is a board member of The Playwrights Foundation, and a member of the Science & Society Program Advisory Council at The Aspen Institute.
In addition to Silent Sky, the Festival has also produced her play, The Book of Will, in 2019, both directed by longtime Festival artist Melinda Pfundstein.
“Lauren Gunderson is a prolific and powerful playwright whose works are produced extensively across the nation,” says Festival Executive Managing Director Michael Bahr. “It is a gift having her plays performed here. It is a double gift that she is able to share her experience and expertise with students and patrons.”
The public is invited to participate with these FREE events during her visit:
- Utah Shakespeare Festival’s Play Seminar in the Balcony Bard’s Seminar Grove on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 10-11 a.m. MDT
- Southern Utah University’s Eccles APEX Lecture Series with a book signing to follow, presenting “Theatre as Thought Experiment: Timeless Discoveries in New Plays”, on Thursday, September 26, 11:30 a.m. MDT, in the R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center Great Hall. Live streaming of this event can be found here.
- SUU’s Eccles APEX Radio Hour on Thursday, September 26, 3:00 p.m. MDT on KSUU Thunder 91.1. Live streaming can be found here.
For more information regarding SUU’s APEX Lecture Series, visit here. For more information about Gunderson, visit her website at laurengunderson.com.
Get your tickets today for Silent Sky, which runs through October 5. SUU students can take advantage of T-Bird Tuesdays ($10 tickets with an SUU student I.D.). Any student who has a Student Access Pass can bring a friend for free on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. And locals can get a half-price ticket for every five non-perishable food items contributed to our Fall Food Drive. For more information, visit bard.org, calling 800-PLAYTIX, or stop by the Festival Ticket Office.
