David Auburn (born November 30, 1969) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and theatre director. He is best known for his 2000 play ''

Proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a co ...

'', which won the 2001

Tony Award for Best Play The Tony Award for Best Play (formally, an Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award given to the best new (non-musical) play on Broadway, as determined by Tony Award voters. There was no award in the Tonys' first year ...

and

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

. He also wrote the screenplays for the 2005 film version of ''Proof'', '' The Lake House'' (2006), '' The Girl in the Park'' (2007), and '' Georgetown'' (2019).

Early life

Auburn was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, to parents Mark and Sandy Auburn. He was raised in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

until 1982, when his family moved to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. After graduating from high school in 1987, he attended the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, where he was a member of Off-Off Campus, and received a

bachelor of arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in English literature in 1991. Following a one-year fellowship with

Amblin Entertainment Amblin' Entertainment, Inc., formerly named Amblin Productions, is an American film production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg, and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1980. Its headquarters are lo ...

, he moved to New York City in 1992. Auburn spent two years in the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

's playwriting program, studying under noted dramatists

Marsha Norman Marsha Norman (born September 21, 1947) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. She received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play '' 'night, Mother''. She wrote the book and lyrics for such Broadway musicals as ''The S ...

and

Christopher Durang Christopher Ferdinand Durang (January 2, 1949 – April 2, 2024) was an American playwright known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s, though his career seemed to get a second wind in th ...

Career

Auburn wrote several short plays, collectively grouped as ''Fifth Planet and Other Plays''. The plays, called "cockeyed and engaging little one-act comedies", were presented at Beowulf Alley Theatre Company, Tucson, Arizona, in January and February 2008.Reel, James
"Confronted With Issues"
''Tucson Weekly'', January 24, 2008 The plays are: ''Fifth Planet'', ''Miss You'', ''Are You Ready'', ''Damage Control'', ''Three Monologues'', ''What Do You Believe About The Future?'' and ''We Had A Very Good Time''. ''Fifth Planet'' is a two-person play with 44 short scenes. ''Miss You'' is a "telephone play about love and unfaithfulness" with a two-person cast, with each actor playing 2 roles, named "man" and "woman".Auburn, David. ''Fifth Planet and Other Plays'', Dramatists Play Service Inc, 2002, , pp. 8, 42, 68 ''We Had A Very Good Time'' follows a married couple at the end of a vacation in an unnamed foreign country. ''Damage Control'' concerns a political consultant preparing his political boss for a speech about a scandal the politician is involved in. '' What Do You Believe About The Future?'' appeared in ''

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'' and has since been adapted for the screen. Auburn's first full-length play, ''

Skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

'', ran

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in September – October 1997. It concerns a group attempting to save an historic skyscraper from being demolished. Auburn is best known for his 2000 play ''

'', which won the 2001

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Play, as well as the 2001

. He adapted it into a

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

, which was released in 2005. His play '' The Columnist'' had its world premiere in a production by the Manhattan Theatre Club on Broadway, running from April 3, 2012 through June 3, 2012 and starring

John Lithgow John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. He studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his John Lithgow filmography, diverse work on stage and screen. He has rece ...

with Boyd Gaines, Margaret Colin, Stephen Kunken, Marc Bonan, Grace Gummer, and Brian J. Smith, with direction by Daniel Sullivan. ''Lost Lake'' premiered Off-Broadway in a Manhattan Theatre Club production at New York City Center—Stage 1, running from November 11 to December 21, 2014. Directed by Daniel Sullivan, the two-person cast starred John Hawkes and Tracie Thoms. The play was developed at the Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference and presented at the Sullivan Project at the University of Illinois in February 2014. The first reading of ''Lost Lake'' was done at the O'Neill Center Rose Theater Barn July 26–27, 2013, directed by Wendy C. Goldberg and starring Frank Wood and Elsa Davis. Auburn has been awarded the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award and a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

. He received the Kesselring Prize in 2000 for ''Proof''; the prize is given to a playwright who shows the most promise and comes with a $10,000 monetary award.Ehren, Christine
"Proof's David Auburn Wins Kesselring Prize"
Playbill, October 11, 2000 Following ''Proof'', he wrote the screenplay for the movie '' The Lake House'', released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

in 2006. In 2007, he made his film directorial debut with '' The Girl in the Park'', for which he also wrote the screenplay. He has also directed stage works. He directed the play ''Sick'' by Zayd Dohrn at the Berkshire Theatre Festival from August 18 to September 6, 2009. He directed ''Anna Christie'' by

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

at the Berkshire Theatre Festival in July 2013. He directed the play ''Side Effects'' by Michael Weller in June and July 2011 at the Off-Broadway MCC Theater.

Personal life

Auburn currently resides in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, New York. He has a wife and two daughters.

Plays

* ''Damage Control'' * ''Three Monologues'' * ''We Had A Very Good Time'' * ''Fifth Planet'' (1995) – New York Stage and Film Festival, Poughkeepsie, New York, July 17, 1995 * '' What Do You Believe About The Future?'' (1996) * ''Miss You'' (1997) – HBO Comedy Arts Festival, Aspen, Colorado, January 5, 1997 * ''

'' (1997) * ''

'' (2000) * ''Are You Ready?'' (2001) – Westbank Theatre, New York City, January 29, 2001 * '' tick, tick...BOOM!'' (2001) (Script consultant) * '' The Columnist'' (2012) * ''Lost Lake'' (2014) * '' Summer, 1976'' (2023)

Screenplays

* ''

'' (2005) * '' The Lake House'' (2006) * '' The Girl in the Park'' (2007) (also director) * '' Georgetown'' (2019) * ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...

'' (2019) (story only)

References

External links

* * *
Osserman Interviews David Auburn, author of Proof

Inside the Playwright's Studio: Charles Newell & David Auburn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Auburn, David 1969 births Living people 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights Juilliard School alumni Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners University of Chicago alumni 20th-century American male writers People from Jonesboro, Arkansas Writers from Arkansas