Talking with Playwright Lauren Gunderson

Lauren sharing the vibe of some music
for a musical she's working on 

Playwright Lauren Gunderson is a whirlwind of creative energy. She's written straight plays and books for musicals and plays for children. She's always involved in multiple projects, whether it's writing something new, workshopping a project or putting the final touches on a play for opening night. She can sometimes be found in a classroom -- be it live or virtual -- sharing her knowledge of playwriting. She hosts a "How to Playwright" podcast in her spare time. And somehow I feel certain this is an incomplete litany. But knowing something from doing research and experiencing it in person are two different things. I had the chance to talk with Lauren recently at Urbanite Theatre's Modern Works Festival. With my initial question, she was off to the races.

Lauren was just 17 years old when she first had a play professionally produced. She did some acting when she was younger, both in school performances and at Atlanta's Essential Theatre. And so when she was ready for someone to see her work, she sent it to the Managing Director at Essential with a note, "Is this a play? Did I do it right?" Indeed it was, and indeed she had. Essential gave "Parts They Call Deep" -- a semi-autobiographical play about three generations of women who go on a road trip -- its inaugural prize celebrating the work of Georgia playwrights. Since that auspicious beginning, Lauren has been recognized three times by American Theatre Magazine as the most produced playwright in the country. 

Lauren is known for writing plays about women -- often someone who worked in the field of science -- whom history has overlooked. But it's "The Revolutionists," a play without a science angle, that's my personal favorite of her works I've seen. The story is set during France's Reign of Terror, and the audience finds playwright Olympe de Gouges, Marat assassin Charlotte Corday, queen Marie Antoinette and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle together fighting the good fight. All of the women actually existed but for Angelle, who is a composite figure. The play was funny and raucous yet gave us something to talk about on the way home. And it's worth mentioning that the production was mounted at Venice Theatre, a local community theatre. Gunderson writes plays that don't require all the bells and whistles -- or the budget -- of a Broadway show. Plays for the people, so to speak. 

Not surprisingly, Gunderson has said she most relates to the character of de Gouges in "The Revolutionists." But it's not the mere fact that they both are playwrights. De Gouges reportedly asked herself, "Am I doing good or am I getting away with something by just writing about it instead of being active about it?" Gunderson has asked herself a similiar question on occasion. Can theatre serve as an agent for change? Her answer is a resounding "yes." 

Gunderson's writing is quite feminist, but not in a hit-you-over-the-head kind of way. Take "Silent Sky," a show produced at Asolo Rep a couple of years back. The play introduces audiences to the critical work Henrietta Leavitt did at the Harvard College Observatory. Without getting too geeky, "Silent Sky" explains how Leavitt's work laid the foundation for Hubble and other astronomers to determine the distance to galaxies beyond our own. Leavitt accomplished this work without the use of a telescope because whatever that would have entailed just wouldn't have been proper in the early 20th century. (Hence Leavitt's title as a "computer" who interpreted data rather than an astronomer.) The audience left the theatre talking about Leavitt's accomplishments and bemoaning the fact we weren't taught about her contributions in school. By shining a light on women like Leavitt, Lauren slides ideas about female empowerment into the audience members' heads.

That doesn't mean, however, that Gunderson shies away from being overtly political. Following Trump's election in 2016, she organized nationwide readings of a play she called "The Taming." (Creating her own take on Shakespearean plays -- in this case "The Taming of the Shrew" -- is something else for which Lauren is known.) The set up was the solicitation by a beauty contestant with political ambitions of both a conservative advisor and a liberal advisor to work on her campaign. What a concept! The readings took place in 40 cities on inauguration day with the the proceeds going to the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. 

Then there's her "Natural Shocks," a play written in the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting in 2018. The solo show finds a woman who's locked herself in her basement during a tornado. She rants about Hamlet and reinsurance and how bad her marriage is. She says she told her abusive husband just an hour earlier that she's leaving him so he can't hurt her anymore. He didn't respond well. She tells us he has a large gun collection upstairs but that she also has a gun locked away in an accessible cabinet. Not good. But she has also told us that she's a liar (without giving any specifics). Gunderson leaves it up to each audience member to determine how they think the story will conclude. (I didn't come down on the side of a happy ending.) 

Gunderson waived the royalties for performances of "Natural Shocks" that took place across the country on the weekend of the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting. The proceeds of other readings of the play have gone to support programs for gun and domestic violence prevention.  

This post only hits on a few of Gunderson's accomplishments and contributions to the theatrical world. I'll leave you with a link to her website and a word of encouragement to explore it when you have a chance. Even if you're not as avid a theatregoer as I am, I'm confident you'll be impressed. And of course don't miss seeing any of her plays being produced in your area. I'm particularly hoping to see "Justice," a musical about Sandra Day O'Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor and a show still in the works about Billie Jean King. 

Thanks to Urbanite Theatre for giving me the opportunity to meet and talk with Lauren. It was an evening I'll never forget.