Susan Lieberman

A Resident Playwright Alumnus at Chicago Dramatist, Susan Lieberman is the author of IN THE SHADOWS for BBC Radio 4. She received a Jeff Award for ARRANGEMENT FOR TWO VIOLAS, Jeff Award nomination for PRAIRIE LIGHTS (licensed by Dramatic Publishing) and two regional Emmy nominations. Her plays have been produced at Chicago Dramatists, Stage Left, Visions & Voices Theatre Co., Theatre Building Chicago, Clockwise Theatre, 20% Theatre Co., Skokie Theatre, Bloomington Playwrights Project, Pandora Productions, Gallery Players (Brooklyn), Jewish Theatre Grand Rapids, Jerusalem English Speaking Theatre and elsewhere. In addition, Susan has workshopped A SINGLE SEA at Shattered Globe Theatre, HILDA AND MAE at the Theatre School at DePaul, NETTA AT NINETY at Raven Theatre, WHIRLYBIRDS with...

A Resident Playwright Alumnus at Chicago Dramatist, Susan Lieberman is the author of IN THE SHADOWS for BBC Radio 4. She received a Jeff Award for ARRANGEMENT FOR TWO VIOLAS, Jeff Award nomination for PRAIRIE LIGHTS (licensed by Dramatic Publishing) and two regional Emmy nominations. Her plays have been produced at Chicago Dramatists, Stage Left, Visions & Voices Theatre Co., Theatre Building Chicago, Clockwise Theatre, 20% Theatre Co., Skokie Theatre, Bloomington Playwrights Project, Pandora Productions, Gallery Players (Brooklyn), Jewish Theatre Grand Rapids, Jerusalem English Speaking Theatre and elsewhere. In addition, Susan has workshopped A SINGLE SEA at Shattered Globe Theatre, HILDA AND MAE at the Theatre School at DePaul, NETTA AT NINETY at Raven Theatre, WHIRLYBIRDS with Downstage Left and Stages; CARS AND QUINCEANERAS (now licensed by YouthPLAYS as MI COCHE, MI QUINCE) with American Theatre Company, Northwestern’s Purple Crayon Players and Clockwise Theatre where it received its world premiere; WHITE GLOVES for Northlight Theatre’s “New Voices” series and HILDA AND MAE for Echo Theatre’s International New Play Contest. She has also worked with AdventureStage and Women’s Theatre Alliance. Her docudrama STEAMSHIP QUANZA is in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Collections.

Professionally, Susan has worked with Open Space Theatre and the Round House in London; served as Associate Editor for Theatre Crafts Magazine, Publicity Director for Victory Gardens Theatre and Literary Manager for Raven Theatre. She currently writes about theatre for ThirdCoastReview.com, BuzzCenterStage.com and PictureThisPost.com. She works with Tellin' Tales Theatre on its story project for older adults.

Scripts

Hilda and Mae

by Susan Lieberman

Synopsis

Four years after the 1929 Crash, business is so bad that seamstress Mae has turned to prostitution to pay for dinner. When Arthur – heir to a once-thriving family business – starts to steal housekeeping money to pay for regular visits to Mae, his savvy wife Hilda investigates. Divided by class and neighborhood, the two Chicago women meet – and then form an unconventional partnership.

Four years after the 1929 Crash, business is so bad that seamstress Mae has turned to prostitution to pay for dinner. When Arthur – heir to a once-thriving family business – starts to steal housekeeping money to pay for regular visits to Mae, his savvy wife Hilda investigates. Divided by class and neighborhood, the two Chicago women meet – and then form an unconventional partnership.

Arrangement for Two Violas

by Susan Lieberman

Synopsis

SHORT: In a tiny Wisconsin town in 1938, Peter Chase devotes himself only to his patients -- until he meets a famous specialist, Henry Meegan, and the two men fall in love.

FULL: ARRANGEMENT FOR TWO VIOLAS tells the story of Peter Chase, a country doctor who devotes himself only to his patients in a small Wisconsin town in 1938. Single and without family, he cherishes his many close friendships, especially that...

SHORT: In a tiny Wisconsin town in 1938, Peter Chase devotes himself only to his patients -- until he meets a famous specialist, Henry Meegan, and the two men fall in love.

FULL: ARRANGEMENT FOR TWO VIOLAS tells the story of Peter Chase, a country doctor who devotes himself only to his patients in a small Wisconsin town in 1938. Single and without family, he cherishes his many close friendships, especially that of Nan and Karl Schuler, publishers of the local newspaper. Karl is stricken both with emphysema and a tendency to speak out on controversial social topics that alienate the town's more conservative population.

When Karl's longtime emphysema brings Peter into contact with Henry Meegan, a nationally-known specialist in Milwaukee, Peter discovers love for the first time. Henry is not only the charismatic director of his own medical institution, he is, like Peter, an avid amateur violist.

The Schulers come under attack when Karl writes openly about birth control; at the same time, Peter and Henry conduct a passionate affair in secret. When the two men's intimacy is accidentally revealed, the consequences are immense, exacting an emotional price that challenges the loyalties of all four people.

Mi Coche, Mi Quince

by Susan Lieberman

Synopsis

Luis, a high school senior and the pillar of his fractured Mexican-American family, is set to play a key role in his sister Ana's upcoming 15th birthday quinceañera celebration. But when his girlfriend Miriam discovers that she is pregnant, Luis' future plans and Ana's quince dreams are derailed. As Miriam explores adoption for the unborn baby, further challenging the cultural conventions of their community and...

Luis, a high school senior and the pillar of his fractured Mexican-American family, is set to play a key role in his sister Ana's upcoming 15th birthday quinceañera celebration. But when his girlfriend Miriam discovers that she is pregnant, Luis' future plans and Ana's quince dreams are derailed. As Miriam explores adoption for the unborn baby, further challenging the cultural conventions of their community and testing Luis' commitment to the relationship, Ana's traditional rite of passage may just become a time of unexpected transformation for everyone.

Steamship Quanza

by Susan Lieberman

Synopsis

[Co-Author: Stephen J Morewitz] Inspired by a true World War II incident, STEAMSHIP QUANZA interweaves the lives of passengers aboard a ship fleeing Hitler's Europe; the husband and wife lawyer team in Virginia who battle to save them; and key Roosevelt Administration personalities whose clashing views on war refugees threaten to doom the passengers. 1940 - pre-WWII USA.

[Co-Author: Stephen J Morewitz] Inspired by a true World War II incident, STEAMSHIP QUANZA interweaves the lives of passengers aboard a ship fleeing Hitler's Europe; the husband and wife lawyer team in Virginia who battle to save them; and key Roosevelt Administration personalities whose clashing views on war refugees threaten to doom the passengers. 1940 - pre-WWII USA.

The Freshman Bed

by Susan Lieberman

Synopsis

Lizzie is a biracial, bisexual college freshman with strong views on gender equality. But when her first week on campus becomes a crash course in sex and power, she learns that all things are not equal. A portrait of dorm life and sexual assault in the age of limitless options.

Lizzie is a biracial, bisexual college freshman with strong views on gender equality. But when her first week on campus becomes a crash course in sex and power, she learns that all things are not equal. A portrait of dorm life and sexual assault in the age of limitless options.

Netta at Ninety

by Susan Lieberman

Synopsis

Netta is turning 90. Her niece Louise can't wait to celebrate the legendary Chicago banker's birthday. But when Louise and her daughter Caitlin arrive for the party, they uncover secrets about Netta's legacy of investing in women entrepreneurs that they'd rather not know. A full-length drama.

Netta is turning 90. Her niece Louise can't wait to celebrate the legendary Chicago banker's birthday. But when Louise and her daughter Caitlin arrive for the party, they uncover secrets about Netta's legacy of investing in women entrepreneurs that they'd rather not know. A full-length drama.