SUU A.P.E.X. Welcomes Playwright Lauren Gunderson to Campus

Published: September 24, 2024 | Author: Brooke Heath | Read Time: 2 minutes

Lauren GundersonCedar City, UT - Southern Utah University's premier event series, Eccles A.P.E.X. Events is proud to welcome acclaimed playwright Lauren Gunderson as the 2024 Eccles Visiting Scholar. Gunderson, one of the most produced playwrights in the U.S. since 2015, will present a public lecture, Theatre as Thought Experiment: Timeless Discoveries in New Plays, on Thursday, September 26, at 11:30 a.m. in the Great Hall of the R. Haze Hunter Conference Center. This lecture is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow.

In addition to her A.P.E.X. appearance, Gunderson will engage with audiences through the Utah Shakespeare Festival's production of her play Silent Sky, which runs through October 5 and tells the incredible story of 19th-century scientist and astronomer Henrietta Leavitt.

Public Events Featuring Lauren Gunderson:

Utah Shakespeare Festival's Play Seminar

  • Wednesday, September 25, 2024, 10 - 11 a.m.
  • Balcony Bard's Seminar Grove
  • Join this discussion on Gunderson's Silent Sky and other works.

SUU's Eccles A.P.E.X. Lecture Series: Theatre as Thought Experiment: Timeless Discoveries in New Plays

  • Thursday, September 26, 2024, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
  • Great Hall, R. Haze Hunter Conference Center, Southern Utah University
    • As part of SUU's premier event series, Eccles A.P.E.X. Events, Gunderson will present her lecture on the intersection of theatre and thought experiments. A book signing will follow. This event is free and open to the public.
  • Live streaming of this event can be found on the SUU Calendar Event.

SUU's Eccles APEX Radio Hour

  • Thursday, September 26, 2024, 3:00 p.m.
  • Tune in to KSUU Thunder 91.1 for a special interview with Gunderson, where she'll discuss her creative journey and the themes in her work.
  • Live streaming can be found on the SUU A.P.E.X. podcast website.

Lauren Gunderson has earned critical acclaim as one of America's most prolific and produced playwrights. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award (I and You and The Book of Will), a winner of the Lanford Wilson Award, and the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award. Gunderson's work spans genres and formats, from her West End musical adaptation of The Time Traveler's Wife to her plays like Silent Sky and The Catastrophist (about her husband, virologist Nathan Wolfe, now housed in The COVID Art Capsule at the Library of Congress).

She is a board member of The Playwrights Foundation and a member of the Aspen Institute's Science & Society Program Advisory Council. Her most recent anthology, Revolutionary Women, featuring five plays, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023.

Get Your Tickets to Silent Sky

Catch the Utah Shakespeare Festival's current production of Silent Sky, running through October 5, 2024. SUU students can take advantage of T-Bird Tuesdays ($10 tickets with a student I.D.), and locals can enjoy half-price tickets by contributing five non-perishable food items to the Festival's Fall Food Drive. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.bard.org or call 800-PLAYTIX, or stop by the Festival Ticket Office.

For more information about the Eccles A.P.E.X. Events, visit the A.P.E.X. webpage or email apex@suu.edu. Additional details on Lauren Gunderson's work can be found at LaurenGunderson.com

Tags: CurStu Campus Resources APEX Theatre Arts and Dance Community Academic College of Performing and Visual Arts English

Contact Information:

Brooke Heath
4355865400
brookeheath1@suu.edu