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Sheri Wilner (born January 22, 1969) is an American playwright. Her works have been produced at the
Humana Festival of New American Plays Humana Festival of New American Plays is an internationally renowned festival that celebrates the contemporary American playwright. Produced annually in Louisville, Kentucky by Actors Theatre of Louisville, this festival showcases new theatrica ...
, the Guthrie Theater, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA),
Williamstown Theatre Festival The Williamstown Theatre Festival is a resident summer theater on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1954 by Williams College news director Ralph Renzi and drama program chairman David C. Bryant. I ...
,
Naked Angels ''Naked Angels'' is a 1969 American outlaw biker film directed by Bruce D. Clark. Starring Michael Greene (actor), Michael Greene as Mother, Jennifer Gan as Marlene, and Richard Rust as Fingers, it provides an insider's perspective at the lifesty ...
,
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater Rattlestick Theater is a non-profit off-Broadway theater based in the West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The traditional b ...
, Cherry Lane Theatre Alternative,
Ensemble Studio Theatre The Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) is a non-profit membership-based developmental theatre located in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. It has a dual mission of nurturing individual theatre artists and developing new American plays. Overview The E ...
,
Women's Project Theater WP Theater (formerly known as Women's Project Theater) is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater based in New York City. It is the nation’s oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing and promoting the work of female-iden ...
, and the
Philadelphia Theatre Company The Philadelphia Theatre Company (PTC) is a theater company located Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1974 as The Philadelphia Company by Robert Hedley and Jean Harrison. Since October 2007, PTC's home has been the new Suzanne Rober ...
.Meet our faculty: Sheri Wilner
/ref> In addition her plays have been produced at the
Contemporary American Theater Festival The Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) is an American annual professional theatre festival held at Shepherd University, located in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. According to the New York Times (in 2015), it is one of "50 ''essential'' ...
in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, the Summer Play Festival in New York, and the Old Vic New Voices program in London.


Career

Sheri Wilner attended
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
, graduating
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
with a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
in English in 1991. She went to Columbia University School of the Arts where she studied with Romulus Linney,
Eduardo Machado Eduardo Oscar Machado (born June 11, 1953) is a Cuban playwright living in the United States. Notable plays by Machado include ''Broken Eggs'', '' Havana is Waiting'' and ''The Cook''. Many of his plays are autobiographical or deal with Cuba in ...
,
Tina Howe Tina Howe (born November 21, 1937) is an American playwright. In a career that spans more than four decades, Howe's best-known works include ''Museum'', '' The Art of Dining'', '' Painting Churches'', ''Coastal Disturbances'', and ''Pride's Crossi ...
, and
Andrei Șerban Andrei Șerban (born June 21, 1943) is a Romanian- American theater director. A major name in twentieth-century theater, he is renowned for his innovative and iconoclastic interpretations and stagings. In 1992 he became Professor of Theater at th ...
. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting from Columbia in 1999.Indie Theater Now
/ref> Also an established playwriting teacher, she teaches at New York University's Dramatic Writing Program, the Dramatists Guild Institut
Link label
and PlayPen
She was the 2016-2017 Rev. J. Donald Monan, S.J. Professor in Theatre Arts at Boston College, the 2013-14 Fred Coe Playwright-in-Residence at Vanderbilt University, and a visiting assistant professor in Playwriting at Florida State University
’s MFA Dramatic Writing Program. She has also taught at the University of California,
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
, the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
. and for the Off-Broadway theatre companies Primary Stages, and New Georges. A review of the Humana Festival premiere of Wilner's one-act play ''Bake-Off'' in the ''New York Times'' said “the play completely earns its farcical climax. 'Bake Off' is barbed, witty, thoughtful, giggle and snort inducing and most of all compact; it accomplishes everything in 20 minutes tops." ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'' journalist Michael Kilian in a 2005 review of Winer's play ''Father Joy'' said the play was “a joy to behold”. Wilner's latest play ''Kingdom City'' uses a high school production of Arthur Miller's play ''
The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...
'' to explore religion, community values, and censorship. It had its world premiere at the
La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...
on September 12, 2014. A review in the ''
San Diego Union Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...
'' said, "Wilner explores the issues at hand with considerable wit and insight, and weaves in themes and even passages from ''The Crucible'' ... in some wonderful and surprising ways." Wilner co-adapted her play ''Bake Off'' into the musical ''Cake Off'' with playwright Julia Jordan and composer Adam Gwon. It premiered at Signature Theatre in 2015 and received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Original Play or Musical Adaptation. It was subsequently produced by Bucks County Playhouse and starred Euan Morton and Justin Guarini


Awards

Wilner is a two-time winner of the
Heideman Award The Heideman Award is given each year to the winner of the National Ten-Minute Play Contest, a competition hosted by Actors Theatre of Louisville. The $1,000 cash prize award was established in 1979 by Louisville, Kentucky native Ted Heideman. P ...
granted by Actors Theatre of Louisville, for her plays ''Labor Day'' in 1998 and ''Bake Off'' in 2001, both of which premiered at the
Humana Festival Humana Festival of New American Plays is an internationally renowned festival that celebrates the contemporary American playwright. Produced annually in Louisville, Kentucky by Actors Theatre of Louisville, this festival showcases new theatrica ...
. Other playwriting awards include a Howard Foundation Fellowship (2008–2009),George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation, Fellows
Brown University.
a Dramatists Guild Playwriting Fellowship (2000–2001), a Bush Artist Fellowship (2007–2010), and two Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellowships (2006–2007). The Rose O’Neill Literary House,
Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...
’s center for literature and the literary arts, will establish the
Douglass Wallop John Douglass Wallop III (March 8, 1920 – April 1, 1985) was an American novelist and playwright. Early life On March 8, 1920, Wallop was born as John Douglass Wallop III in Washington, D.C. to Marjorie Ellis Wallop and insurance agent Jo ...
Fellowship as a nationwide competition and award the initial 2015 fellowship to Wilner.Sheri Wilner awarded 2015 Douglass Wallop Fellowship. Washington College, May 1, 2014
/ref>


Works

Partial list of productions of Wilner's plays:


Full-length plays

* 2014 ''Kingdom City''
La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...
* 2008 ''The End'' Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, MN * 2005 ''Father Joy'' Summer Play Festival, New York, NY * 2000 ''Hunger''
Contemporary American Theater Festival The Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) is an American annual professional theatre festival held at Shepherd University, located in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. According to the New York Times (in 2015), it is one of "50 ''essential'' ...
, Shepherdstown, WV


One-acts

* 2012 ''The Miracle of Chanukah'' “Playing on Air” broadcast on Public Radio * 2012 ''Arts & Sciences''
Boston Theater Marathon The Boston Theater Marathon (BTM) is a Boston based charity theatre event consisting of 50 plays performed by 50 different theatre companies in 10 hours. Founders Kate Snodgrass (Artistic Director of Boston Playwrights' Theatre) and Bill Lattanzi ...
* 2011 ''A Tall Order''
Boston Theater Marathon The Boston Theater Marathon (BTM) is a Boston based charity theatre event consisting of 50 plays performed by 50 different theatre companies in 10 hours. Founders Kate Snodgrass (Artistic Director of Boston Playwrights' Theatre) and Bill Lattanzi ...
* 2007 ''The First Night of Chanukah'' Illusion Theater, Minneapolis, MN * 2006 ''Equilibrium'' The Guthrie Theater * 2004 ''Hell and Back'' New Georges’ Manfest, New York, NY * 2004 ''The Bushesteia'' The Hourglass Group, New York, NY * 2003 ''Moving Shortly''
Naked Angels ''Naked Angels'' is a 1969 American outlaw biker film directed by Bruce D. Clark. Starring Michael Greene (actor), Michael Greene as Mother, Jennifer Gan as Marlene, and Richard Rust as Fingers, it provides an insider's perspective at the lifesty ...
, New York, NY * 2002 ''Bake Off'' Actors Theatre of Louisville,
Humana Festival of New American Plays Humana Festival of New American Plays is an internationally renowned festival that celebrates the contemporary American playwright. Produced annually in Louisville, Kentucky by Actors Theatre of Louisville, this festival showcases new theatrica ...
* 2002 ''The Unknown Part of the Ocean'' Women on Top Festival, Boston, MA * 2001 ''Little Death of a Salesman'' Women on Top Festival, Boston, MA * 1999 ''Joan of Arkansas'' Actors Theatre of Louisville, Louisville, KY * 1999 ''Labor Day'' Actors Theatre of Louisville,
Humana Festival of New American Plays Humana Festival of New American Plays is an internationally renowned festival that celebrates the contemporary American playwright. Produced annually in Louisville, Kentucky by Actors Theatre of Louisville, this festival showcases new theatrica ...
* 1996 ''Relative Strangers'' New Georges, New York, NY


Screenplays

* 2007 ''Sugar Fix''


References


External links

* ''New playwrights: the best plays of 1999'' by Marisa Smith, Smith & Kraus, Hanover, NH, June 2001 * ''The Women's Project and Productions: The Best One-Act Plays, 1975-1999'' edited by Julia Miles, Smith & Kraus, Hanover, NH, June 2002, * ''The Best American Short Plays 2000-2001'' by Mark Glubke, Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, September 2002, {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilner, Sheri Writers from New York (state) Living people American women dramatists and playwrights Cornell University alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni 1969 births 21st-century American women