Elizabeth hails from Edmonton, Alberta, and holds an MFA in Writing for Screen+Stage from Northwestern University (class of 2015), a BA in English from Fordham, and an Associate’s Degree from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts East. She is also a graduate of The Second City Chicago’s Musical Improv and Improv Conservatories. A book of Ukrainian folk verses she compiled and edited was published by the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press, University of Alberta and is now used as part of the curricula at Ukrainian bilingual schools in Western Canada.
In June of 2014, her play Old Gray Devil was performed as a part of the Source Festival in Washington, D.C. In December 2014, her play Both Sides, Now received a staged reading at Chicago Dramatists and was also performed as part of the 2015 Source Festival. In the summer of 2016, Elizabeth served as co-producer for her play TROLL put on by Fraud & Phony Theatricals, a new Chicago theatre collective she co-founded. She is a two-time semi-finalist for the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, and a semi-finalist for the 2016 P73 Playwriting Fellowship. Her play El Words was produced by Chicago's Fury Theatre as a part of their 2016 SAST Festival, and her 10-minute play La Donna e Mobile received a reading in May 2017 at the Stella Adler School of Acting (in conjunction with the Harold Clurman Playwrights Unit) in NYC. Elizabeth was a finalist for the 2018 and 2020 Campfire Theatre Festivals, and was selected as one of three fellows in Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ Confluence Regional Writers’ Project. In 2023, The Goodman Theatre commissioned Elizabeth and her writing partner, Rebecca Gilman, to write a new musical. P.S. Here's her National New Play Exchange page, so. |
Artistic Statement
My plays occur at the intersection of our online and offline lives. They examine how we live through Social Media, how the internet shapes and changes us as human beings, and how technology snakes into our minds, bodies, and souls. While this might make it sound like I’m just writing Black Mirror fanfic (what a show!), it’s less about what could happen in the near future, but rather about what’s happening now, at this second. Other recurring themes in my work include sexuality, friendship, mental health, animals, and history repeating itself.
I love the hyper-theatrical: I love writing (and watching!) things that could only happen on stage, that would look deeply goofy or implausible on film. From chimpanzees raised as humans to talking fetuses to the human embodiment of a woman’s libido, the stranger the better. My mom lovingly calls my work “weird shit,” and I think it’s an accurate assessment. I was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and now– having a siiiilightly better understanding of how my brain works– I think the drive to keep myself interested, engaged, and invested in my writing leads me to explore the heightened, magical realms of dream logic, nightmares, dance sequences, and music. From these slightly altered realities, I can explore social issues that rattle, disturb, and intrigue me while incorporating fantastical, magical elements that elevate everyday human struggles and emotions into the realm of the epic and mythical.
I love the hyper-theatrical: I love writing (and watching!) things that could only happen on stage, that would look deeply goofy or implausible on film. From chimpanzees raised as humans to talking fetuses to the human embodiment of a woman’s libido, the stranger the better. My mom lovingly calls my work “weird shit,” and I think it’s an accurate assessment. I was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and now– having a siiiilightly better understanding of how my brain works– I think the drive to keep myself interested, engaged, and invested in my writing leads me to explore the heightened, magical realms of dream logic, nightmares, dance sequences, and music. From these slightly altered realities, I can explore social issues that rattle, disturb, and intrigue me while incorporating fantastical, magical elements that elevate everyday human struggles and emotions into the realm of the epic and mythical.
Semi-Awards
- Second-Rounder for the 2022 Austin Film Festival (Stage Play Category)
- Finalist for the 2020 Campfire Theatre Festival (postponed until 2021)
- Finalist for the 2018 Campfire Theatre Festival
- Semi-finalist for Kitchen Dog Theater's 2017 New Works Festival
- Finalist for the 2017 DVRF Emerging Playwrights Award
- Semi-finalist for the 2016 Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference
- Semi-finalist for the 2016 P73 Playwriting Fellowship
- Semi-finalist for the 2015 Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference
- Runner-up for the Arch and Bruce Foundation Award 2014