sarah tuft

Sarah’s play, MARVEL-OUS MONICA; IN WHICH MONICA LEWINSKY IS A SUPERHERO HELL-BENT ON REVENGE, was developed at the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Valdez Last Frontier Conference, Antaeus and IAMA Theatre Companies. Her new play, ABIGAIL, is currently an Athena Project PIP semi-finalist (finalists pending), an Ashland New Plays finalist, and was workshopped at Inkwell Theater and San Antonio’s Public Theatre. Her docu-play, Sarah’s 110 STORIES has been developed/read at Geffen Playhouse, Public Theater, Vineyard Theatre, and Toledo Rep with actors including Billy Crudup, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Edie Falco, James Gandolfini, Neil Patrick Harris, Samuel L. Jackson, Jay O. Sanders, Cynthia Nixon, Susan Sarandon, Tony Shalhoub, and Kathleen Turner. Published by Playscripts, the play is produced in regional and academic theaters across the U.S. and abroad. Sarah’s short plays and one-acts have been read/produced at Carlow Little Theatre, EST’s Lexington Center, Monster Box Theatre, Naked Angels’ Tuesdays@9, Sundog Theatre, and 24Hour Plays. Awards include the Max K. Lerner Fellowship, Humanitas PlayLA Workshop finalist, and a NYFA fellowship. Sarah is a NYFA fellow, member of Dramatists Guild, Playwrights’ Center, and Antaeus Playwrights Lab, and an Executive Committee member of Honor Roll!, an action and advocacy group for womxn playwrights over 40. Sarah is based in LA and NYC and teaches at SF Creative Writing Institute. For more, go to sarahtuft.com or newplayexchange.org/users/17049/sarah-tuft

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
http://www.sarahtuft.com

MORE ABOUT ME
My most gratifying moment in the theater was watching actors bring my first play to life. When James Gandolfini channeled the real person upon whom his character was based in a deeply moving performance, I was blown away. Later, Jay O. Sanders played the same role in a completely different but equally powerful way. This was a masterclass in what actors bring to the text and what they require to do their best work. It was also gratifying going to the O'Neill with my play, MARVEL-OUS MONICA; IN WHICH MONICA LEWINSKY IS A SUPERHERO HELL-BENT ON REVENGE. Of the eight playwrights in the National Playwrights Conference, four were womxn over 40. I had no idea how extraordinary this was. Having come later to playwriting from a background in painting/photography, I was not yet aware of theater’s engrained ageism—which combines with sexism—to overlook the voices of older womxn, especially if we're emerging and even more so in intersection with racism, ableism, transphobia and other biases. The O’Neill provided me with a powerhouse team to develop my play to its full potential. It also provided me with a perspective on our industry to which I’d not previously had access. I began to see how the theater awards opportunities to those who already enjoy opportunity, exposing the American theatre’s participation in a capitalistic system with its roots in imperialism, colonization, and the patriarchy. If I could bring one change to theater, it would be for “emerging playwright” programs to recognize that “emerging” can happen at any age, that womxn playwrights over 40 are often “early career” because of the inherent disincentives and social responsibilities that frequently fall to womxn, that our lived experience has value, that our voices are worthy of development, and that our careers deserve support.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON
I'm developing a pilot which might take me out of my comfort zone but which is very much in my voice and wheelhouse. I’m also "warming up" by writing short plays about family.

KEYWORDS
Strong female leads, Womxn over 40, Sex, Gender, Power, #MeToo, Sexual Harassment, New Historicism, Diverse characters