Claudia Allen is an American playwright and educator based in Chicago, Illinois.
17 Facts About Claudia Allen
2.
Claudia Allen is known for writing LGBT characters in her plays, for Hannah Free, and for her association with the Victory Gardens Theater.
3.
Claudia Allen was born on October 2,1954, and grew up in Clare, Michigan.
4.
Claudia Allen attended the University of Michigan, graduating with a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in English.
5.
Claudia Allen's works have been featured and produced around Chicago, such as her play They Even Got the Rienzi, which was one of only two works by women in the Great Chicago Playwrights Exposition by Victory Gardens and Body Politic theaters in 1987.
6.
Claudia Allen's most produced lesbian play is Hannah Free, which premiered at Chicago's Bailiwick Repertory Theatre in 1992.
7.
Claudia Allen co-produced and wrote the screenplay of the 2009 film, Hannah Free, starring Sharon Gless.
8.
Claudia Allen wrote the novelization, Hannah Free: the Novel.
9.
Claudia Allen has taught at DePaul University, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Lake Forest College, and Western Michigan University.
10.
Claudia Allen has collections of scripts, drafts, programs, and other documents with DePaul University Special Collections and Archives, and with the Chicago Public Library.
11.
Claudia Allen is an original member of the Victory Gardens Playwrights' Ensemble, which was founded in 1996.
12.
Claudia Allen often partnered with Sandy Shinner, the associate artistic director of Victory Gardens.
13.
Claudia Allen premiered many works at Victory Gardens, including I Sailed with Magellan, Winter and Fossils, Cahoots, Deed of Trust, The Long Awaited and Still Waters, Unspoken Prayers, and Hanging Fire.
14.
Claudia Allen has won two Jeff Awards for New Works, for The Long Awaited in 1989 and for Still Waters in 1991.
15.
Claudia Allen's play I Sailed With Magellan is an adaptation of Stuart Dybek's book, I Sailed with Magellan.
16.
Claudia Allen was named Best Playwright by Chicago in 1999.
17.
In 2000, Claudia Allen received a Trailblazer Award from Bailiwick Repertory Theatre.