Alice Austen (playwright)

Last updated
Alice Austen
Born
Alice Lawton
Occupation(s)playwright, screenwriter, producer

Alice Austen is an American playwright, screenwriter, and producer known for writing and producing the critically acclaimed 2019 film Give Me Liberty . [1]

Contents

Biography

Austen grew up in the Pacific Northwest. She attended the University of Oregon in Eugene, where she ran on the women’s track team. [2]

While at Harvard Law School, Austen co-founded the Harvard Human Rights Journal. She represented the Ministry of Industry in Václav Havel’s nascent Czech government. Austen studied creative writing under Seamus Heaney. [3]

Austen is a past resident at the Royal Court Theatre. Her playwrighting credits include Water, La Musica , and Ninth Man Out at Goodman Theater. [4] [5] [6] Water was a 2006-07 season the Jeff Award Nominee. [7] Her credits with Steppenwolf Theatre include Next Stop [8] and George Orwell’s Animal Farm , [9] which was noted for “its removal of Orwell's dystopian story from its overtly British agrarian setting: The famous anthem "Beasts of England" is now rendered as "Beasts of Earth"”, – wrote Chris Jones of The Chicago Tribune. [10] “A remarkable script, solidifies why this novel and its impact reverberates throughout the world today“ (Newcity Stage). [11]

Girls in the Boat, premiered in 2018 at The First Stage Children's Theater, is a “fast-paced script, which mimics the intensity of an actual sporting event. Audiences dare not blink or they might lose track of a gesture or a thread of a conversation” (Shepherd Express). [12]

Austen won the John Cassavetes Award for Give Me Liberty at the 35th Independent Spirit Awards. [13]

She is a co-founder with Kirill Mikhanovsky of Give Me Liberty, Mfg., a Milwaukee-based film and TV production company.

Filmography

YearTitleCreditNotes
2019 Give Me Liberty Screenplay, Producer
2021Brighton 4thProducer
2022Happy Birthday CharlieProducer

Awards and nominations

YearAssociationCategoryNominated workResult
2007 Jeff Awards New Work – PlayWater, Chicago DramatistsNominated
2020 Independent Spirit Awards John Cassavetes Award Give Me Liberty Won

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References

  1. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 28, 2020). "'Give Me Liberty' Indie Spirit Winners Kirill Mikhanovsky & Alice Austen Sign With WME". Deadline Hollywood . Deadline Hollywood.
  2. "Alice Austen". thewrap.com. TheWrap.
  3. Wang, Lucy (May 25, 2019). "From Cannes: "Give Me Liberty" Team Reflects On A Number of Firsts". thecrimson.com. The Harvard Crimson.
  4. Jones, Chris (April 30, 2007). "In 'Water,' a cultural battle for small-town America". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune.
  5. "Alice Austen". goodmantheatre.org. Goodman Theater. April 2013.
  6. "La Musica at Salomee Speelt. Theater review". timeout.com. Time Out. April 24, 2012.
  7. "Jeff Awards Committee Announces Equity Nominees for 2006-2007 Season". theatreinchicago.com. Theatre In Chicago.
  8. "Route 66 Presents World Premiere of Diana Lawrence's NEXT STOP, Now thru 6/26". broadwayworld.com. BroadwayWorld. June 18, 2012.
  9. "Alice Austen". timelinetheatre.com. TimeLine Theatre Company.
  10. Jones, Chris (October 19, 2014). "REVIEW: 'Animal Farm' at Steppenwolf Theatre Company". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune.
  11. Webb, Loy (October 20, 2014). "Review: Animal Farm/Steppenwolf For Young Adults". newcitystage.com. Newcity Stage.
  12. Siegel, Anne (December 10, 2018). "First Stage 'Girls in the Boat' Tracks the Rise in Women's College Sports". shepherdexpress.com. Shepherd Express.
  13. Verhoeven, Beatrice (February 8, 2020). "Independent Spirit Awards 2020: The Complete List of Winners". thewrap.com. TheWrap.