Ellen McLaughlin
Encyclopedia
Ellen McLaughlin is an American
playwright
and actor for stage and film. Her plays include Days and Nights Within, A Narrow Bed, Infinity's House, Iphigenia and Other Daughters, Tongue of a Bird, The Trojan Women
, Helen, The Persians
and Oedipus
.
Producers include: Actors' Theater of Louisville, The Actors’ Gang L.A., Classic Stage Co., N.Y., The Intiman Theater, Seattle, Almeida Theater, London, The Mark Taper Forum, L.A., the Public Theater in NYC, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The National Actors’ Theater, N.Y.,and The Guthrie Theater, MN, among many other venues.
Grants and awards include: Great American Play Contest, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the NEA, the Writer's Award from the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, the Berilla Kerr Award for playwrighting, and the NEA/TCG Theatre Residency Grant.
McLaughlin is also an actor. She has worked on and Off Broadway as well as extensively in regional theater. She is most well known for having originated the part of the Angel in Tony Kushner
's Angels in America
, appearing in every U.S. production from its earliest workshops through its Broadway run.
Other favorite roles include The Homebody in Homebody/Kabul (Intiman Theater, Seattle),
Pirate Jenny in Threepenny Opera (Trinity Rep. Elliot Norton Award), Mrs. Alving in Ghosts (Berkeley Rep.)and Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream
at the McCarter and the Paper Mill Playhouse.
Her on-screen credits include Everything Relative, The Bed You Sleep In, with guest appearances on Law & Order
.
She has taught playwrighting in numerous venues, from Yale School of Drama to Princeton University. She has been teaching at Barnard College
since 1995.
She is a member of New Dramatists and has served on the board of T.C.G..
Her most recent publication, by T.C.G., is The Greek Plays.
She is married to Rinde Eckert, a theatre artist and composer. She attended The Potomac School in McLean, Virginia for elementary school (through 9th grade). She subsequently attended and graduated from Sidwell Friends School
, in Washington, DC. She graduated from Sidwell Friends School
in 1976.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and actor for stage and film. Her plays include Days and Nights Within, A Narrow Bed, Infinity's House, Iphigenia and Other Daughters, Tongue of a Bird, The Trojan Women
The Trojan Women
The Trojan Women is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced during the Peloponnesian War, it is often considered a commentary on the capture of the Aegean island of Melos and the subsequent slaughter and subjugation of its populace by the Athenians earlier in 415 BC , the same year...
, Helen, The Persians
The Persians
The Persians is an Athenian tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. First produced in 472 BCE, it is the oldest surviving play in the history of theatre...
and Oedipus
Oedipus
Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
.
Producers include: Actors' Theater of Louisville, The Actors’ Gang L.A., Classic Stage Co., N.Y., The Intiman Theater, Seattle, Almeida Theater, London, The Mark Taper Forum, L.A., the Public Theater in NYC, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The National Actors’ Theater, N.Y.,and The Guthrie Theater, MN, among many other venues.
Grants and awards include: Great American Play Contest, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the NEA, the Writer's Award from the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, the Berilla Kerr Award for playwrighting, and the NEA/TCG Theatre Residency Grant.
McLaughlin is also an actor. She has worked on and Off Broadway as well as extensively in regional theater. She is most well known for having originated the part of the Angel in Tony Kushner
Tony Kushner
Anthony Robert "Tony" Kushner is an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993 for his play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, and co-authored with Eric Roth the screenplay for the 2005 film, Munich.-Life and career:Kushner was born...
's Angels in America
Angels in America
Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is the 1993 Pulitzer Prize winning play in two parts by American playwright Tony Kushner. It has been made into both a television miniseries and an opera by Peter Eötvös.-Characters:...
, appearing in every U.S. production from its earliest workshops through its Broadway run.
Other favorite roles include The Homebody in Homebody/Kabul (Intiman Theater, Seattle),
Pirate Jenny in Threepenny Opera (Trinity Rep. Elliot Norton Award), Mrs. Alving in Ghosts (Berkeley Rep.)and Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
at the McCarter and the Paper Mill Playhouse.
Her on-screen credits include Everything Relative, The Bed You Sleep In, with guest appearances on Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
.
She has taught playwrighting in numerous venues, from Yale School of Drama to Princeton University. She has been teaching at Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
since 1995.
She is a member of New Dramatists and has served on the board of T.C.G..
Her most recent publication, by T.C.G., is The Greek Plays.
She is married to Rinde Eckert, a theatre artist and composer. She attended The Potomac School in McLean, Virginia for elementary school (through 9th grade). She subsequently attended and graduated from Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker private school located in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through secondary school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas Sidwell, its motto is "Eluceat omnibus lux" , alluding to the Quaker concept of inner light...
, in Washington, DC. She graduated from Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker private school located in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through secondary school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas Sidwell, its motto is "Eluceat omnibus lux" , alluding to the Quaker concept of inner light...
in 1976.