Justin Tanner is a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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 ...

. He is the author of "Wife Swappers" and "Oklahomo" (both staged at the Third Stage Theater in Burbank) and "Space Therapy" (at the Zephyr Theater in Hollywood, nominated for an L.A. Stage Alliance

Ovation Award The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Winne ...

). He has written and directed numerous highly regarded plays such as "Pot Mom" (which won a Pen West Award), "Teen Girl", "Bitter Women", "Tent Show", and "Coyote Woman". Justin Tanner also wrote, with then partner Andy Daley: "Zombie Attack", which ran for ten years at the Cast Theater in Hollywood, and has since had numerous revivals.

Career

Tanner was resident playwright of the Cast Theater which was originally run by the late Ted Schmitt and Dana Gibson. In early 1990s, He took control of the Cast Theater and his association with Gibson ended. A several-month revival of several popular Tanner plays resulted. Tanner & co. left the Cast Theater in late 1999. His many other projects have included doing a weekly late night live comedy serial called "The Strip" starring, among others, John Waters luminary

Mink Stole Nancy Paine Stoll (born August 25, 1947), known professionally as Mink Stole, is an American actress from Baltimore, Maryland. She began her career working for director John Waters, and has appeared in all of his feature films to date (a distinc ...

, and being a staff writer on television's ''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) and Alexis Bledel (Rory Gilmore). The show debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flagshi ...

'' and the short lived cult favorite ''

Love Monkey ''Love Monkey'' is an American comedy-drama television series starring Tom Cavanagh. The series was created by Michael Rauch, based on the book of the same name, by Kyle Smith. It was a co-production of Paramount Television and Sony Pictures Te ...

'', and directing the yearly Christmas satire "Bob's Office Party". Tanner's play "Voice Lessons" opened in 2009, and has had an extended run at the Zephyr Theater in Hollywood. The cast includes Laurie Metcalf, French Stewart, and Maile Flanagan. It was co-directed with Bart DeLorenzo, with whom Tanner became acquainted during the run of "The Strip" at the Evidence Room, where Bart was artistic director. A later run of "Voice Lessons" at

Sacred Fools Theater Company The Sacred Fools Theater Company is a Los Angeles-based theatre company and nonprofit organization. Founded in January 1997, it's a member organization of the LA Stage Alliance. For 18 years the company resided at 660 N. Heliotrope in The Heliotr ...

was nominated for four

Ovation Awards The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Winne ...

including Best Play in an Intimate Theatre (Linda Toliver and Gary Guidinger in Association with Sacred Fools Theater Company), Acting Ensemble for a Play (

Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress. Often described as a character actor, she's known for her complex and versitile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career sp ...

French Stewart Milton French-Stewart IV (born February 20, 1964), known professionally as French Stewart, is an American actor, best known for playing Harry Solomon on the NBC sitcom ''3rd Rock from the Sun''. He also played Marv Murchins in ''Home Alone 4'', In ...

Maile Flanagan Maile Flanagan () is an American television, film, and voice actress known for her work in cartoons, anime and video games. Some of her prominent roles include Naruto Uzumaki in the English dub of ''Naruto'', Piggley Winks in ''Jakers! The Adven ...

), Lead Actor in a Play (French Stewart as Nate), and Lead Actress in a Play (Laurie Metcalf as Virginia). "Voice Lessons" received its East Coast Premier at Mad Horse Theater Company in Portland, Maine, opening for a limited run on March 22, 2010.

Personal life

Tanner is openly gay. He stated to ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...

'' in 2005 that he was in a relationship with musician

Kristian Hoffman Kristian Hoffman is an American musician. Biography and career Kristian Hoffman came into public consciousness as the best friend of Lance Loud in the PBS series ''An American Family.'' His sister is the writer Nina Kiriki Hoffman. During the mid ...

.Hensley, Dennis (October 11, 2005)
"Justin's Time".
''

''. Retrieved January 20, 2015.

References

Primary source- Justin Tanner

External links

* Justin Tanner's Official Websit

* The Playwright's Database guide to the works of Justin Tanne

* Compilation of reviews for Justin Tanner's "Voice Lessons" from Plays 41

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanner, Justin American dramatists and playwrights Living people American gay writers Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) American male dramatists and playwrights