Shawna Casey
Los Angeles, CA
NIGHT BECOMES DAY (2nd place Ebell of L A Playwright Prize) STRONG FORCE (NEWvember Fest NY & BAPF semi-final) BLUE BLUE MOON (Last Frontier AK & NEWvember NY)
Biography

     Shawna Casey comes to playwriting from her experience as an award-winning stage actress performing new works by top playwrights in Los Angeles, New York and Europe.  Cast in premiere productions by playwrights Irene Fornes, Murray Mednick, Jose Rivera, Michael Sargent and Sharon Yablon (most recently as MARIE in Ms. Yablon's radio play Dear Marie https://www.terribleblooms.net/play/12/ ), she now writes plays of her own with an eye toward love in all its glory, pathos and humor.  

     In 2021, her short play stars in their eyes, about a teenage brother and sister emerging from the pandemic in rural Ireland, was read at the Birr Theatre's SCRIPTS IRELAND Festival as part of an evening about teens and mental health in today's world. 

Her full length plays include: 
Night Becomes Day (2nd in Ebell of Los Angeles Playwright Prize Competition; Green Read at Theatricum Botanicum, with Ellen Geer illuminating the role of MATILDA)  
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.929429063760646.1073741856.118436738193220&type=3
Strong Force (chosen out of 500 blind submissions to be the featured reading at NEWvember Fest in NY; finalist in Aurora’s GAP competition; semi-finalist in BAPF competition)  
blue blue moon (Last Frontier Conference in Alaska; featured reading at NEWvember Fest)
https://www.facebook.com/TangentTheatreCompany/photos/a.172596109720.114842.171935574720/10155881502279721/?type=3&theater

Short plays that have been produced include:
Catch, produced at the What She Said Festival in Duluth, Minnesota.
http://duluthplayhouse.org/announcing-the-selected-plays-directors-of-what-she-said/ 
The Aegean, produced by Padua at the Lillian Theatre in Hollywood; Animal Style, Sap, and His Name Was Luke, produced by the Lost Studio in Los Angeles; Bluebird, produced by Theatre of N.O.T.E. in Hollywood; Out of the Blue, produced by There in 10 at the Acting Barn in Los Angeles.    
  
Ms. Casey received her MFA in Writing at Spalding University MFA program in Louisville.  She conceived, edited and contributed to the single edition of her zine, LOVE, which was carried by two popular independent bookstores in Los Angeles.  She is the recipient of 6 DRAMALOGUE AWARDS and 8 LAWeekly AWARD Nominations for her work as an actress.

   

Successes

In 2021, her short play stars in their eyes was a top ten finalist of the SCRIPTS IRELAND competiion. 

short play, Catch, was produced at the What She Said Festival in Duluth, Minnesota.

full-length play blue blue moon, invited to the Last Frontier Playwright’s Conference in Valdez, Alaska, and to Tangent Theatre’s NEWvember Festival of new play readings in New York’s Hudson Valley.

 

full-length play Strong Force - chosen out of 500 blind submissions for the NEWvember Festival; finalist in Aurora's Global Age Project competition; semi-finalist in the Playwrights Foundation BAPF.

first full-length play Night Becomes Day 2nd place in The Ebell of Los Angeles Playwright Prize Competition for women playwrights in CA"Green Read" in Theatricum Botanicum's Seedlings series in Los Angeles.