Shirley Lauro

Playwright, Novelist, Editor
New York, New York USA

Where do I look for inspiration?
Deep, emotional life experiences. What is closest to me, whether personal or situations I observe that touch so deeply, I feel compelled to express and share them.

Favorite line from a play?
“Time and the hour run through the roughest day.” Macbeth.

Favorite drink?
Dry martini with olives!

What play changed your life?
Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, Ghosts, and A Doll House. Born in small town Iowa, I felt suffocated growing up. Ibsen made me believe I could be free and create life for myself.

Is there anything you still dream of doing?
I started as an actress and would like to act again. Also I would like to feel freer to open up and write everything in my heart.

I feel most like myself when I –
“You can take the girl out of the country, you can’t take the country out of the girl!” What I do miss about Iowa is the country in summer, barefoot, laying under a tree in the grass, looking up at the sky, only alive to my senses.

What is your best escape?
Traveling. Lately cruising – sitting on a boat deck, reading, sipping wine, maybe a game of Scrabble.

What’s one thing nobody knows about you?
I’m addicted to TV’s “Deal Or No Deal” game show! Watch it especially late night.

Shirley Lauro. Open Admissions: Broadway: one Tony nomination, adapted for CBS TV. A Piece of My Heart: Vietnam Vets selection: “Most Enduring Play on Vietnam”. Co-editor: Front Lines anthology. Novel, The Edge: Doubleday, publisher. Grants: Guggenheim, NY Foundation For Arts, 3 NEAs. Affiliations: DG’s Fund Board, EST, Actors Studio Playwrights Unit.  www.ShirleyLauro.com