Plays Written by Laurel Ollstein:
THEY PROMISED HER THE MOON
PANDORA
ESTHER’S MOUSTACHE
CHEESE
UNHAPPILY MARRIED IN VALENCIA
Synopsis:
THEY PROMISED HER THE MOON – (casting flexible) The first American woman to test for space flight, Jerrie Cobb steps into an isolation tank for a record-breaking nine hours as her memories unfold before her, from learning to fly a plane as an Oklahoma child to testifying in Congressional hearings on NASA’s under-the-radar, all-female Mercury 13 program. A compelling drama about the challenges of sisterhood and fighting for the greater good, based on a true story.
PANDORA – (4W, 2M) A commission from the Getty Villa – A retelling of the myth from a feminist perspective. Ignorance killed the cat, Curiosity was framed!
ESTHER’S MOUSTACHE – (3W,1M) A comedy about a young Jewish woman, author of the cartoon strip “Oh My Goddess”, as she struggles to erase her family past, her grandmother Esther shows up uninvited in her Venice beach apartment and on her upper lip!
CHEESE – (4W, 2M) A dark comic farce about grief, secrets, and family – and surviving them all with a sense of humor.
UNHAPPILY MARRIED IN VALENCIA – (2W, 3M) Commission from Playwright’s Arena – Modern adaptation of Guillen de Castro’s 1618 Los mal casados de Valencia. An edgy farce about two mismatched married couples living in Valencia California, all looking for something different, when a young poet arrives manipulating everyone.
Bio:
Laurel is an award-winning playwright, director and educator whose plays – Laughter, Hope and a Sock in the Eye, CHEESE, Esther’s Moustache, OPA! the Musical, Dorothy Parker Is in the Bath, The Dark Ages, Bias Cut, Showing Our Age, Unhappily Married in Valencia, Pandora and They Promised Her the Moon, have been produced at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, The Getty Villa, Actors’ Gang, EST Los Angeles, New Jersey Repertory Company, Miranda Theatre Co, Theatre at St. Clements, About Productions, Inside the Ford and Barrow Street Theatre. Her awards include grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as Ovation, Garland, and LA Weekly Theatre Awards. She also directs playwriting programs, providing writing and arts education in schools, and creates plays on social justice themes. She serves as adjunct faculty at Cal Arts, UCLA, Loyola Marymount, and Otis College of Art and Design. She holds an MFA from UCLA.
Website: www.laurelollstein.com