Laurel Ollstein

Laurel Ollstein is an award-winning playwright, director and actor whose produced plays include They Promised Her the Moon; Laughter, Hope and a Sock in the Eye; CHEESE; Esther’s Moustache; Unhappily Married in Valencia; OPA! the Musical; Dorothy Parker Is in the Bath; Blackwell’s Corner; The Dark Ages; Bias Cut; and Showing Our Age (a play with music about aging). She has written commissions for the Getty Villa Museum, About...Productions, Virginia Ave. Project, New Jersey Repertory Company and Playwrights’ Arena, and she has developed plays with TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, The Actors’ Gang, Cornerstone Theater Company, Ensemble Studio Theatre, New Jersey Rep, The Barrow Group, Miranda Theatre Company and The Playwrights’ Center. Her awards include grants from the NEA and California Arts Council as well as Ovation, Garland and LA Weekly awards. Laurel also directs playwriting programs serving mature adults and teens, provides writing and arts education in schools, and creates plays on social justice themes. She has been an adjunct faculty for CalArts, UCLA, USC, LMU, University of Redlands and Otis College of Art and Design.