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Birth
Sarah Ruhl was born on January 24, 1974 in Wilmette Illinois to her mother, Kathleen Ruhl ,who was an english teacher. As well as her father Patrick Ruhl who marketed toys. She also has a sister named Kate Ruhl. -
Piven Theatre Workshop
While in 4th grade, she started learning about theatre at the Piven Theatre Workshop located in Evanston. This is where she began to learn and understand the importance of narration in a theatrical setting. -
Patrick Ruhl Passes Away
Sarah's father passes away. This event later inspires her to write her play Eurydice as a way to honor him. -
Brown University, B.A
She got her Bachelor of Arts in English in 1997. -
Orlando; Piven Theatre Workshop
The play was based off of the original book of the same name by Virginia Woolf. It was first produced in 1998. The play deals with issues on gender equality and identity. Above all, it is a positive representation of a trans character. It was originally commissioned by the Piven Theatre Workshop. -
Brown University, MFA
Despite originally wanting to pursue poetry, she received her Masters of Fine Arts in Playwriting. -
Sundance Theatre Laboratory
She became a Kennedy Center Fellow at the Sundance Theatre Laboratory in 2001. It was a place where she could experiment within her art. -
Passion Play
The play follows three groups in different time periods that are reenacting the resurrection of Jesus. the This play was also given The Pen American award, and The Fourth Freedom Forum Playwriting Award from The Kennedy Center. -
Melancholy Play
The play is about a woman named Tilly. She makes melancholy hot. Apparently from the synopsis online one day she becomes happy, and this turns her hairdresser into an Almond?( I hope I am reading that right) Its also available as a chamber musical. It includes themes of feminism, love, and sexuality. -
Eurydice World Premiere
The play premiered at Madison Repertory Theatre in Wisconsin. The play is a take on the greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. This version is from the point of view of Eurydice instead of her lover. It contains themes of family, love and death common in many of her works -
Late, A Cowboy Song
This play is about a woman named Mary, she meets a female cowboy who teaches her how to ride a horse. Mary and her husband have a baby but they also cant decide what to name it. It includes themes of feminism, love, marriage, family, and friendship. -
Whiting Writing Award
Sarah was given this award in 2003 and got a $50,000 prize. -
Helen Merrill Emerging Playwrights Award
Sarah received this award in 2003 and was given a $25,000 prize. -
The Clean House
This play is a romantic comedy about a woman named Lane who hires a Brazilian maid who hates to clean and longs to be a comedian. Lane's husband leaves her for his mistress Ana who is an older Brazilian woman. This play was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist in 2005. It also received The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize in 2004. -
Sarah Ruhl Marries Tony Charuvastra
In 2005, she married child psychiatrist Tony Charuvastra. They have three kids together, Anna, as well as William and Hope who are twins. -
Demeter in the City
This play was commissioned for Cornerstone Theater Ensemble. Sarah collaborated with many young community members from Los Angeles to write this play. It follows the myth of Persephone and Demeter. However in this rendition Demeter is on drugs and the state takes her child from her. Additionally, this play predominantly features actors of color. It was preformed at REDCAT in June of 2006. -
Dead Man's Cellphone
This play is about how we remember the dead. It follows Jean who has to overcome how she views life and death. This play was also given The Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play in 2007. -
PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award
She was given $7,500 for this award. -
In the Next Room: or the vibrator play
This play is set in 1880, in which a doctor has found a device to cure "female hysteria" this device is a vibrator. When a new patient comes into his home, the doctor and his wife must rethink what love really is. This play was also a Pulitzer Prize Finalist in 2010 as well as a Tony Award Nominee for Best Play in the same year. -
Three Sisters
This play is about three sisters from Moscow who have been moved away from their home.They are all caught between the distance between a dream and a reality. -
Lilly Award
This award is to honor the work of women in American theatre. She received this award along with Annie Baker, Amy Herzog, Melissa James Gibson, Liz Duffy Adams, Deborah Zoe Laufer, Chisa Hutchinson, and Lucy Thurber for the year 2010, -
Diagnosed with Bell's Palsy
Bell's Palsy is a sudden facial paralysis. The onset of this made her unable to smile as seen in the picture bellow. -
Stage Kiss
Two actors with a bit of a past together are cast opposite of each other as romantic leads. Throughout the course of the play the actors fall into a bit of a showmance. -
Dear Elizabeth
This play is based on letters between poets Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop. It showcases their friendship and follows almost thirty years of letters. -
The Oldest Boy Premiere
She wrote this play about the child of an American mother and an Tibetan father. The child is believed to be a reincarnated monk. It encompasses themes of love and the female experience which are very common within her work. -
Scenes from Court Life
This play was commissioned by The Yale Repertory Theatre. The play follows conflict in a political sense as well as on the tennis court -
For Peter Pan On Her 70th Birthday
Ann's father has died, her siblings are all gathered for his final moments, this brings up a memory. Ann played peter pan once and this reminds her of how he used to bring her flowers. It makes the family realize they grew up with a loving family. Sarah's own mother played Ann in the first production of this play. -
Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award
This award is given as in honor of a mid-career playwright. She was given $200,000 for this award as well. -
How To Transcend A Happy Marriage
This play is about a dinner party in which two couples who discuss polyamory due to a new employee in the office, Pip who has two male partners. -
Becky Nurse of Salem
This play is about Becky, the modern day descendant of a witch from the past, Rebecca Nurse. She consistently has a lot of bad luck working at the witchcraft museum. It follows the consistent history of misogyny within witchcraft. -
Professor of Playwriting at Yale
Currently she works as a professor of playwriting at The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University.