Jenny Laird was a long-time Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists, where her first play BALLAD HUNTER premiered and earned a Joseph Jefferson Nomination for Outstanding New Work and won Chicago s Cunningham Prize for Playwriting. Her play SKY GIRLS was originally commissioned and produced by Northlight Theatre, received Developmental andProduction grants from the NEA and subsequently had its West Coast premiere at The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. ONLY THE SOUND was the recipient of Mill Mountain Theatre s New Play Award, an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, as well as Chicago s 2003 Jeff Award for Outstanding New Work. Jenny has had the good fortune to have her plays developed and produced at theatres all across the U.S. dedicated to new work; some of her favorites include: The Women s Project, The Road Theatre, The Asylum, API, Stage 3, Rivendell Theatre, Horizon Theatre Company, The New Harmony Project and The Utah Shakespeare Festival.
During her decade in Chicago, Jenny had a strong presence in the theatre outreach and educational community. She was a professor of Playwriting at DePaul University and full time outreach educator for Northlight Theatre, where she created and developed The Open Door Ensemble - a writing and acting program for older adults. She was also a guest artist/teacher for numerous playwriting programs for underprivileged youth throughout the city and enjoyed every moment of nurturing young talent and helping kids to find their voice and tell their stories through her favorite medium.
Jenny currently lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Randy Courts, and their wondrous eight-year old son, Quinn, and when she has time, blogs about her adventures raising a child with epilepsy and autism.
