Deanie Vallone

Deanie Vallone is a freelance writer and dramaturg based in Wisconsin. She spent five years working in new play development at Milwaukee Rep, the last two as Literary Director overseeing the John "Jack" D. Lewis New Play Development Program. She's also worked with Baltimore Center Stage, Asolo Rep, the Kennedy Center, Forward Theater, and other organizations.

In addition to extant dramaturgical work, she has worked on several dozen new plays over the past decade, including plays by Ayad Akhtar, Lauren Gunderson, Lloyd Suh, Nambi Kelly, Kimberly Belflower, Kira Rockwell, Andrew Bovell, KJ Sanchez, Idris Goodwin, and Eleanor Burgess. For two years she served on the reading committee for the Yale Drama Prize with Judge Ayad Akhtar, and has been a reader for the O'Neill, Great Plains Theater...

Deanie Vallone is a freelance writer and dramaturg based in Wisconsin. She spent five years working in new play development at Milwaukee Rep, the last two as Literary Director overseeing the John "Jack" D. Lewis New Play Development Program. She's also worked with Baltimore Center Stage, Asolo Rep, the Kennedy Center, Forward Theater, and other organizations.

In addition to extant dramaturgical work, she has worked on several dozen new plays over the past decade, including plays by Ayad Akhtar, Lauren Gunderson, Lloyd Suh, Nambi Kelly, Kimberly Belflower, Kira Rockwell, Andrew Bovell, KJ Sanchez, Idris Goodwin, and Eleanor Burgess. For two years she served on the reading committee for the Yale Drama Prize with Judge Ayad Akhtar, and has been a reader for the O'Neill, Great Plains Theater Conference, the Playwrights Center, and other organizations. Her writing has been published in HowlRound, The Wisconsin Review, Booth, Jumeirah Magazine, The Independent, American Theater Magazine, and other outlets. Her first play, THE CRAIC, will have its world premiere at Milwaukee Rep in January 2025.

Deanie is also on the founding and leadership team for World Premiere Wisconsin, a first-of-its-kind state-wide new play festival that premiered in 2023. The next iteration is in the works for 2026.

She received her MA in English literature from the University of Cambridge, England. When not in theater she enjoys cooking Italian food to make her family proud, playing D&D, and training birds of prey.

Deanie is currently open for remote or in-person dramaturgical opportunities--everything from script reading and advising to production dramaturgy to research and writing.

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    I had the pleasure of dramaturging this play at the Kennedy Center and I was continually struck by the piece's honest, thoughtful, and complex exploration of young women navigating faith, love, friendship, and identity. Never preachy or judgmental, this show was equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking. We need more dynamic, messy young women onstage and this play gives us so many to admire.

  • Gosh, this play is just so fun, so spooky, so thoughtful. I'm a big fan of horror plays that engage with profound and complex topics, and this one hits all the nails. The social commentary wrapped up in humor and horror finds a successful balance in this piece, and I'm dying to see a full production of it!

    Gosh, this play is just so fun, so spooky, so thoughtful. I'm a big fan of horror plays that engage with profound and complex topics, and this one hits all the nails. The social commentary wrapped up in humor and horror finds a successful balance in this piece, and I'm dying to see a full production of it!

  • Playful, visceral, wholly engaging. I had the pleasure of seeing this play twice--once at UCSD and once at the Goodman Festival--and both times I was blown away. Its exploration of generational violence and trauma in a Black family was resonant, complex, and unexpected in a way that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

    Playful, visceral, wholly engaging. I had the pleasure of seeing this play twice--once at UCSD and once at the Goodman Festival--and both times I was blown away. Its exploration of generational violence and trauma in a Black family was resonant, complex, and unexpected in a way that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

  • I don't have enough words to describe how much I love this play. Its profound exploration of love and mourning in a young woman is something we rarely get to see handled with so much empathy, grace, and honesty onstage. There are many retellings of the Peter Pan story, but this one brings the tale into an entirely new light. So many opportunities for playful design and a wonderfully flexible casting set-up -- great for college, high school, and professional theaters.

    I don't have enough words to describe how much I love this play. Its profound exploration of love and mourning in a young woman is something we rarely get to see handled with so much empathy, grace, and honesty onstage. There are many retellings of the Peter Pan story, but this one brings the tale into an entirely new light. So many opportunities for playful design and a wonderfully flexible casting set-up -- great for college, high school, and professional theaters.