Judy GeBauer is an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. Born in

Long Beach, CA Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporated ...

, she grew up in the Bay Area and spent several years abroad. Her love for acting and writing began early. By third grade, she had written several neighborhood plays and she was appearing in

children's theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

productions, playing the Queen of Hearts, a spider, a clown, and a toy soldier. She moved with her family to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

during her junior high years and attended an international school and a private girls school in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. With her mother and brother she traveled through

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

before returning to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. As an undergraduate at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

, she appeared as

Emilia Emilia may refer to: People * Emilia (given name), list of people with this name Places * Emilia (region), a historical region of Italy. Reggio, Emilia * Emilia-Romagna, an administrative region in Italy, including the historical regions of Emi ...

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

and Mary Warren in The Crucible, among other roles. After graduation, she appeared as Octavia in

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in around ...

at Marin Shakespeare Festival, in productions of

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

(

Viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

( Jane Shore), and

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

(Mustardseed) at California Shakespeare Festival. She toured for two years with the National Shakespeare Company out of New York, during which time she played Kate in

She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays from the 18th ...

Jocasta In Greek mythology, Jocasta (), also rendered Iocaste ( grc, Ἰοκάστη ) and also known as Epicaste (; ), was a daughter of Menoeceus, a descendant of the Spartoi Echion, and queen consort of Thebes. She was the wife of first Laius, t ...

Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...

, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing,

Olivia Olivia may refer to: People * Olivia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Olivia (singer) (Olivia Longott, born 1981), American singer * Olívia (basketball) (Carlos Henrique Rodrigues do Nascimento, born 1974 ...

in Twelfth Night,

Lady Capulet William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'' contains a relatively distinctive cast of characters. In addition to the play's eponymous protagonists, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the play, which is set in Verona, Italy, contains roles fo ...

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

. While living in New York, she returned to her early love, playwriting. Her plays Seconds, Bobby Sands MP, Reclaimed, and Mrs. Plenty Horses have been presented at the O’Neill Playwrights Conference. Her play about

HUAC The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

and education, Every Secret Thing, premiered at Modern Muse Theatre in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Bobby Sands MP premiered at Philadelphia Festival Theatre for New Plays and went on to a New York production at Irish Arts. The Hidden Ones premiered at Philadelphia Festival Theatre. She is published by

Broadway Play Publishing Inc. Broadway Play Publishing Inc (BPPI) was established in New York City in 1982 to publish and license the stage performance rights of contemporary American plays. The Broadway Play Publishing Inc catalog consists of over 1,000 plays and nearly 400 ...

, Playscripts, Inc., and Heinemann Books, and in Dramatics Magazine. She is married to Broadway dancer Gene GeBauer. She holds an MFA in playwriting from the University of Iowa Playwrights Workshop.

Education

Skyline High School, Oakland, CA San Francisco State University, B.A. American Conservatory Theatre Summer Congress University of Iowa, MFA

Affiliations

Dramatists Guild PEN West U.S.A. Actors Equity Assoc. Rocky Mountain Women's Institute

Publications

Playscripts, Inc. ''Reclaimed'' ''The Secret Earth'' ''A Young Housewife'' ''A Holmes Family Christmas'' ''Good Night, Valsetz'' ''Tricker Treat''

''Facing Forward: The Nip and the Bite'' ''Every Secret Thing'' Heinemann Books ''Baseball Monologues: a catcher to his pitcher'' ''Elvis Monologues: A Pair of Eyes'' ''On the Road: Advice to the Ingénue'' ''On the Road: Someday there’ll be roads'' Dramatics Magazine ''Reclaimed'' ''Doctor Chekhov Makes A House Call''

Awards and honors

HBO Writer Award Dennis McIntyre Playwriting Award Innovation Award, Colorado Federation for the Arts W. Alton Jones Foundation grant Steinberg Charitable Trust grant Beverly Hills Theatre Guild-Julie Harris Award Denver Post Ovation Awardhttp://www.modernmusetheatre.com/Modern_Muse/Archive/Pages/Every_Secret_Thing.html Playwrights Unit (Denver Center Theatre Company)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gebauer, Judy American women dramatists and playwrights Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Long Beach, California 21st-century American women