The actors playing Persues and Medusa embrace. Medusa is lifted in the air. The stage is lit in purples and reds.

Playwriting

I write for the stage to create joy, form connections, and explore big, complicated ideas. I am passionate about the crossover between physical and digital spaces. Here are some of my produced works and what's in-motion.

The play Little Blue perfoming at The Kennedy Center. Three actors read the script onstage at music stands. They are seated, either in a wheelchair or chair. The left and right actors extends their hands to the center actor. A keyboard player is in the background. A box with an ASL interprenter is in the upper left corner.

Performance at The Kennedy Center, August 2022

Maybe She Dies

Maybe She Dies, a play with music, boldly reimagines the original 1837 Little Mermaid through the lens of mental illness and disability and allows for the audience to make choices about a branching storyline. Written for adults, it rejects disability tropes and portrays characters with nuance and messiness. The play challenges stories where disabled characters are cured or killed in the end. At its core, Maybe She Dies is an imperfect coming-of-acceptance story and love letter to anyone who has experienced thoughts untethered from reality. This play is all these things and funny, joyous, and hopeful.

For 5 to 6 actors with doubling. Formerly titled Little Blue.

Watch Kennedy Center performance

Upcoming: March 2023 weeklong residency at The Kennedy Center

Open Doors Festival, The Kennedy Center

Semifinalist, Bay Area Playwright's Conference

Actors playing Medusa and Perseus meet each other's gaze for the first time.

Medusa's Reflection

Perseus is on a quest to kill Medusa, and Medusa is ready for it. She has suffered enough. But wait, heroes can't claim victory without a fight. Maybe there's more to Medusa than meets the eye, if only Perseus could look at her without turning to stone.

Part of Fighting Chance at SAFEhouseARTS in SF

Starring Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor's greatest love affairs and deepest tragedies were closely observed by her producers, the paparazzi, and the world. A play-poem about Liz's early life, formed from verbatim interviews and lines from her films. Co-written with Lara Hillier.

Produced at Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, NY

The ensemble lifts Elizabeth Taylor in an iconic Cleopatric side-lounging pose.

Photo by Rachel Philipson.

Hungry

The Phoenix Flower Cafe, deep in the New Mexico desert. A comically dysfunctional, fiercely cruel, and deeply loving family are hungry for change. When a stranger shows up, will they find the magic they’re looking for?

Workshopped at Profile Theatre in Portland, OR

Read at Penguin Rep in Stony Point, NY

Read at Primary Stages / ESPA in NYC

An absctract scenic design with elements for the American Southwest: cacti, the moon, the body of a woman, gas pumps. Diner furniture is suspended in the air, as actors face forward.

Conceptual design by Stephen Dobay.

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Pretend! The Musical

Justine is perfect princess material. However, when her fairy godmother is unable to give her a happily-ever-after, she grows up quickly. "The dreams that you wish do come true", so be careful what you wish for. Co-written with James Rushin.

Workshopped at The Pitch / Merry-Go-Round Playhouse in Auburn NY

Workshopped at MTAP / University of Pittsburgh

Workshopped at Carnegie Mellon / Playground in Pittsburgh, PA

The City

Three dreamers act out their hopes and fears in this coming-of-age collection of scenes, music, and poetry. Co-developed with the company (Christine Dwyer, Bethany James, Jamison Daniels, and Kyle Brand), as well as guest composers.

Produced at Sandbox Theatre / Paul Gleason Theatre in LA

Three actors stand with their backs to each other. There is a single lighbulb above their head. They're bathed in a soft blue light.

Writer-actress Amy Claussen, a tall white man with curly red hair, stares at a stage full of bubbles, beside a large vase.

Solo shows

I've written a collection of lyrical solo pieces, combining a theme with an element: beauty + water, home + earth, love + fire, wind + loss.

Performed at NYC Fringe Festival

Performed at Allegheny RiverStone Arts in Foxburg, PA

Performed at Garage Theatre Group in Teaneck, NJ

Performed at Perry-Mansfield in Steamboat, CO

Performed at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, PA

Performed at Idyllwild Arts Academy in CA

Bio

playwright | content design leader