Laura Maria Censabella 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 ...

and screenwriter. She has been awarded three grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts; two in playwriting for '' Abandoned in Queens'' and '' Three Italian Women'', and The Geri Ashur Award in Screenwriting for her original screenplay '' Truly Mary''. She is the Director of The Playwrights Unit of the Ensemble Studio Theatre

Works and awards

Her short play '' Posing'' was nominated for a

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

, and '' The Actual Footage'' won the 2000 Tennessee Chapbook Prize for Drama. Both plays are published in Poems & Plays. She has written the short film adaptation Physics for HBO's Women: Breaking The Rules series, and she has won two

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

s for her work on ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

''. Her first Emmy win in 2001 was shared with

Hogan Sheffer Hogan Sheffer (June 12, 1958 – September 28, 2019) was an American screenwriter. Personal life Sheffer was born in York, Pennsylvania. His full birth name was Mark Wayne Sheffer; he received his nickname of Hogan from younger brother Craig, who ...

(

head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...

Leah Laiman Leah Laiman (born August 29, 1946 in Tel Aviv, Israel) is an American soap opera writer and romance novelist. Career Laiman got her start on daytime television during the early 1980s at General Hospital. Laiman succeeded former Head Writer, P ...

(head writer),

Carolyn Culliton Carolyn Culliton (née DeMoneyIMDbBiography for Carolyn Culliton) is an American daytime radio and television writer. Born in Indiana, she graduated from Northwestern University.TheMemoirGroup.comWho We Are Her husband is fellow daytime serial writ ...

(co-head writer),

Stephen Demorest Stephen Demorest is an American soap opera writer. He is married to Nancy Curlee. Positions held ''All My Children'' *Associate Head Writer: April 8, 2005 - January 14, 2008 '' Another World'' *Associate Head Writer: March 1999 - June 25, 1999 ...

Hal Corley Hal Corley is an American television writer and playwright. He was Associate Head Writer for '' All My Children'' and ''As The World Turns'', for which he won five Daytime Emmy Awards and two Writers Guild of America Awards. His plays have bee ...

Stephanie Braxton Stephanie Braxton (born December 11, 1944 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American television writer, playwright and actress. She married Dan Hamilton (actor), Dan Hamilton in 1976 after meeting him when they were both appearing on ''The Secret ...

, Jeff Beldner,

Tom Casiello Tom Casiello is an American writer. Casiello has written content for three distinct entertainment genres. Casiello began his career as a soap opera writer, working on a number of shows as a staff writer. He was then hired by WWE, where he ser ...

, Susan Dansby, Judith Donato, Lynn Martin,

Marie Masters Marie Masters (born February 4, 1941) is an American actress. Early years Born Marie Mastruserio in Cincinnati, Ohio, Masters attended Marian College in Indiana. After graduation, she worked at the city desk of the publication ''Women's Wear Da ...

, Richard J. Allen,

Judy Tate Judy is a short form of the name Judith. Judy may refer to: Places * Judy, Kentucky, village in Montgomery County, United States * Judy Woods, woodlands in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom Animals * Judy (dog) (1936–1950) ...

, Courtney Sherman, and

Karen Lewis Karen Lewis ( Jennings; July 20, 1953 – February 7, 2021) was an American educator and labor leader who served as president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), Chicago's division of the American Federation of Teachers, from 2010 to 2014. F ...

. Censabella's half-hour independent film ''

Last Call In a Bar (establishment), bar, a last call (last orders) is an Wiktionary:announcement, announcement made shortly before the bar closes for the night, informing patrons of their last chance to buy alcoholic beverages. There are various means to ...

'' (directed by Robert Bailey) has been an official selection in festivals throughout the world, including the Avignon Film Festival, Other Venice Film Festival, Hermosa Shorts Film Festival, Sedona International Film Festival, Anthology Film Archives, and the Breckenridge Film Festival where it won the Best Short Drama award. ''Paradise'', a two-actor play by Censabella, was a finalist for the 2016 Saroyan/Paul Playwriting Prize for Human Rights. In 2021,

L.A. Theatre Works L.A. Theatre Works (LATW) is a not-for-profit American media arts organization based in Los Angeles founded in 1984. The intent of the organization is to produce, preserve, and distribute classic and contemporary plays of significance. Along with i ...

released an audio recording of ''Paradise,'' which was based on the 2019 Odyssey Theatre production produced by

Viola Davis Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crow ...

’ JuVee Productions in collaboration with American Oasis.

Education

Censabella's teaching experience includes

The New School for Drama School of Drama at The New School is a multidisciplinary training program for theater arts, located at 151 Bank Street, and 55 West 13th Street New York City, It is a part of The New School's College of Performing Arts. History The graduate pro ...

The Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 44th Street (Manhattan), West 44th Street between Ninth Avenue (Manhattan), Ninth and Tenth Avenue (Manhattan), Tenth avenues in the ...

Drama School (where she developed the playwriting program with Romulus Linney),

Columbia University School of the Arts The Columbia University School of the Arts, (also known as School of the Arts or SoA) is the fine arts graduate school of Columbia University in Morningside Heights, New York. It offers Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Film, Visual Arts, ...

, Columbia College's Undergraduate Writing Program, City University's MFA Writing Program, The Sewanee Writers' Conference, and Summer Literary Seminars.Summer Literary Seminars:Faculty--Past faculty
Retrieved on February 14, 2009. She is a member of the

Dramatists Guild The Dramatists Guild of America is a professional organization for playwrights, composers, and lyricists working in the U.S. theatre market. Membership as an Associate Member is open to any person having written at least one stage play. Active Mem ...

and the

Writers Guild of America, East The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is a labor union representing writers in film, television, radio, news, and online media. The Writers Guild of America, East is affiliated with the Writers Guild of America West. Together the guilds admi ...

, and graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Censabella, Laura American soap opera writers American women screenwriters Screenwriters from New York (state) Living people American women dramatists and playwrights Women soap opera writers Columbia University faculty Year of birth missing (living people) American women academics 21st-century American women