(Updated: 10/14/2026) Donna Kaz aka Aphra Behn is a multi-genre writer and activist and for the past 20 years she has led the theatre troupe, Guerrilla Girls On Tour, around the world with performances and talks focused on how to create humorous works which address social issues and prove feminists are funny at the same time. Kaz’s memoir, “UN/MASKED, Memoirs of a Guerrilla Girl On Tour,” (Skyhorse 2016) was named best nonfiction prose of 2017 by the Devil’s Kitchen Literary Festival. Her awards include a 2020 Jerry Kaufman Playwriting Award, Venus Theatre Lifetime Achievement Award, Ian MacMillan Writing Award, Boundary Stone Screenwriting Award, Skowhegan Medal and the Yoko Ono Courage Award for the Arts. She was named a “Notable Woman in American Theatre” by CUNY-TV and has been the Thomas P. Johnson Distinguished Visiting Artist at Rollins College. She has held residencies at Yaddo, Ucross, Blue Mountain, Djerassi, Wurlitzer, Mesa Refuge, Ragdale, Pine Meadow Ranch and Marble House. Donna Kaz’s plays/musicals have been produced around the world including "Stamina" (American Renaissance Theatre/Best Ten Minute Plays of 2019 Smith and Kraus); "JOAN" (Edinburgh Festival Fringe) “Food, the musical” (Best New Musical Award, William Patterson University) "Performing Tribute 9/11" (Harlem Stage); "Feminists Are Funny, Pride edition" (Lincoln Center); "The History of Women in Theatre: Condensed" (Women Playwrights International, Dramalabet, Sweden); "Silence Is Violence" (Women’s Arts International Festival, Kendal UK) "If You Can Stand the Heat: and "The History of Women and Food" (City of Women Festival Slovenia); “Life After 9/11: 25 Years Later” (James Street Players). She is a member of New Circle Theatre Company and currently lives on Long Island.
WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
http://donnakaz.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/kazdonna
TW: @donnakaz @guerrillagsot
IG: @donna_kaz
MORE ABOUT ME
What play or production changed your life?
I grew up on Long Island and when I was in the 8th grade a close family friend, who was a theatre lover, took me, my sister and my mom to see the original production of "HAIR" on Broadway. I will never forget the show, especially the end where they invite the audience to come up and dance to "Let the Sunshine In." My mom shoved my sister and me into the aisle and we ran up on stage just as the show was ending. That was the moment I knew theatre would be a part of my life forever.
WHAT I'M WORKING ON
Kaz is currently working on a trilogy of plays entitled, "THE SWEETGUM TRILOGY," which explores the connection between human beings and trees. She also teaches dance for people with Parkinson’s at the Parrish Museum in Southampton, NY.
KEYWORDS
feminist, women, comedy, musicals, activist, choreographer, parody, movement, physical theatre, librettist, lyricist, director, feminism, equality, climate change, environmental, Guerrilla Girl
