Steven Dietz

Steven Dietz (born June 23, 1958) is an American playwright and theatre director. Called "the most ubiquitous American playwright whose name you may never have heard",[1] Dietz has long been one of America's most prolific and widely produced playwrights.[2] In 2019, Dietz was again named one of the 20 most-produced playwrights in America.[3]

Though several of his plays have been seen Off-Broadway (including "Fiction", "Lonely Planet", "God's Country"), the vast majority of Dietz's plays are produced in American regional theaters.[4] Seattle WA and Chicago IL are among the cities that have proved to be enduring homes for his work.[5][2] Seattle's ACT Theatre has produced 12 plays by Dietz, including 7 world premieres. This includes a recent new variation on his own adaptation of "Dracula" (the most widely produced adaptation of that title in the U.S.) entitled "Dracula: Mina's Quest".[6][7] Dietz's psychological thriller, "How a Boy Falls", premiered at Northlight Theatre, Chicago, in early 2020.[8] It received a Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for Best New Work.[9]

During the 2018–19 season, Dietz premiered two interlocking plays for adult and youth audiences, entitled "The Great Beyond" and "The Ghost of Splinter Cove." [10]

During the 2015–16 season, Dietz premiered three new plays: "Bloomsday" (American Theatre Critics Association Steinberg New Play Award Citation),[11] "This Random World" (Humana Festival of New American Plays),[12][13] and the thriller "On Clover Road" (National New Play Network rolling world premiere).[14][15][16][17][18]

Other recent plays include an intimate thriller, "The Shimmering"; the black comedy, "Rancho Mirage";[19] and a contemporary riff on Arthur Schnitzler's "Reigen" entitled "American la Ronde".

Dietz's plays have been seen at Steppenwolf Theatre (Chicago IL), Old Globe Theatre (San Diego CA), Actor's Theatre of Louisville (KY), Seattle Repertory Theatre (WA), Berkeley Repertory Theatre (CA), Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Ashland), McCarter Theatre Center (Princeton, NJ), Alliance Theatre (Atlanta GA), Trinity Repertory Company (RI), the Dallas Theatre Center (TX), and the Denver Center Theatre Company, among others. In 2010, Dietz was named one of the most produced playwrights in America (excluding Shakespeare), placing eighth on the list, tied with Tennessee Williams and Edward Albee for number of productions.[20] Dietz's plays have been produced internationally in over twenty countries, and translated into a dozen languages.

His work as a director has been seen Off-Broadway (Westside Arts), at major regional theaters (Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT Theatre - Seattle, Northlight Theatre - Chicago, Denver Center Theatre Company), as well as at the Sundance Institute and the Playwrights' Center - Minneapolis. In addition to teaching master classes in playwriting, story-making and collaboration around the United States, Dietz has taught in the MFA Playwriting and Directing programs at the University of Texas at Austin since 2006.[21][22]