Bio

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At my favorite spot, a desk, dreaming of a future writing stories. (Here, with an uncharacteristic slide rule. Math?!)
AARON COLEMAN is a New York City-based playwright, lyricist, and bookwriter from Los Angeles. He is currently commissioned to write a play for The Old Globe in San Diego, and is a Second Year Member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. He was recently a '22-23 Dramatists Guild Foundation Playwriting Fellow. His plays include TELL ME I’M GORGEOUS AT THE END OF THE WORLD: THE LAST GAY PLAY (2023 O’Neill Finalist, 2022 Yale Drama Series Prize Shortlist, 2023 Blue Ink Award Semi-Finalist), UNCLE REMUS, HIS LIFE AND TIMES, AS TOLD TO AARON COLEMAN (The Old Globe’s 2023 Powers New Voices Festival), and WHERE HAVE ALL THE FAIRIES GONE? (2022 Reading with Brave New World Repertory Theatre). His original short YA musical LEO’S BIG DAY OUT (music by Chuck Pelletier) was commissioned and virtually staged by Circle in the Square Theatre School.

Over the past couple years, Aaron has been a Semi-Finalist for the O’Neill and the Princess Grace Award, a two-time Finalist for the Jerome Fellowship at the Playwrights’ Center, a Finalist for New York Theater Workshop's 2050 Fellowship, a Finalist for The Civilians’ R&D Group (both in 2020 and 2021), and a 2020 Finalist for Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellowship, and a Finalist for the 2019 Playwrights' Week at The Lark. Essentially, he's been a finalist for everything.

Select works include lyricist for the Off-Broadway musical IMELDA written with East West Players and New Musicals Inc. (Pan Asian Rep, David Henry Hwang Theatre), and co-book writer for STAY FOREVER: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF DUSTY SPRINGFIELD (Renberg Theatre), produced at New World Stages as FOREVER DUSTY. As a lyricist with New Musicals, Inc. in Los Angeles, Aaron has developed musicals for McCoy Rigby Entertainment, the Celebration Theatre, and American Folklore Theatre.

Aaron is also an accomplished director with shows presented with New Musicals, Inc., New York’s Prospect Theater Company and the Hudson Theatre Los Angeles. Aaron is an MFA graduate in Writing for Screen and Television from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and earned his B.A. in Drama from the University of California, Irvine. He is also a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.