Selina Fillinger (born 1994) is an American playwright, TV writer, and screenwriter.

Early life and education

Fillinger was born in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

. She is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. When she was three her family moved to

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, where she grew up. She went to South Eugene High School before attending

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, where she studied acting and playwriting. While at Northwestern she received the first Judith Barlow Prize, an annual student award given to work inspired by a historic female playwright. She was one of three playwrights selected for Northwestern's

Agnes Nixon Agnes Nixon ( Eckhardt; December 10, 1922 – September 28, 2016) was an American television writer and producer, and the creator of the ABC soap operas ''One Life to Live'', ''All My Children'', as well as '' Loving'' and its spin-off '' The ...

Playwriting Festival, two years in a row.

Career

During her senior year at Northwestern, Fillinger was commissioned by two local theaters, Northlight Theatre and Sideshow Theatre. Her play ''Faceless'' was produced at Northlight in January 2017 and was Fillinger's first professional production, opening only six months after she graduated. Her Sideshow commission, ''Something Clean'', premiered at the Roundabout Underground in New York in 2019 and opened in Chicago a few months later. Her play '' POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive'', premiered on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre in 2022, making Fillinger, at 28, one of the youngest playwrights to be produced on Broadway. ''POTUS'' was originally in talks to be staged in the 2020 Broadway season, but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Susan Stroman Susan P. Stroman (born October 17, 1954) is an American theatre director, choreographer, and performer. Her notable theater productions include ''Oklahoma!'', ''The Music Man'', ''Crazy for You (musical), Crazy for You'', ''Contact (musical), Co ...

directed the production, which starred

Julie White Julie K. White (born June 4, 1961) is an American actress. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in '' The Little Dog Laughed'' in 2007. She has also received three other Tony Award nominations for her performan ...

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, model, producer and dancer. She gained recognition as the first Black woman to win the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She would later Vanes ...

Rachel Dratch Rachel Susan Dratch (born February 22, 1966) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. After she graduated from Dartmouth College, she moved to Chicago to study improvisational theatre at The Second City and ImprovOlympic. Dratch's breakthr ...

Lilli Cooper Lilli Cooper (born March 4, 1990) is an American actress and singer. Cooper's acting credits are mostly in the theatre industry; her on-stage debut was in 2006's ''Spring Awakening'' at the age of 15. Currently, her only two on-screen roles wer ...

Lea Delaria Lea DeLaria (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actress, and jazz singer. She portrayed List of Orange Is the New Black characters#Carrie "Big Boo" Black, Carrie "Big Boo" Black on the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Black'' ...

Suzy Nakamura Suzy Nakamura (born December 2, 1968) is an American actress and Improvisational theatre, improv comedian. She is known for her many guest appearances on sitcoms such as ''According to Jim'', ''Half & Half (TV series), Half and Half'', ''8 Simpl ...

, and

Julianne Hough Julianne Alexandra Hough (; born July 20, 1988) is an American dancer, singer, actress and television personality. In 2007, she joined the cast of ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a professional dancer, winning two seasons with her celebrit ...

. ''POTUS'' was the third most produced play of 2023, including productions at

Berkeley Repertory Theatre Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a Regional theater in the United States, regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. It runs seven productions each season from its two stages in Downtown Berkeley, California, Downtown Berkeley. Histor ...

Steppenwolf Theatre Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theater company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Immaculate Conception grade school in Highland Park, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighbo ...

, and Arena Stage. In 2022 Fillinger joined

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

’s '' The Morning Show'' as a staff writer on the third season.

Awards and honors

While still a student, Fillinger won the Agnes Nixon Festival and the Judith Barlow Prize. In 2019, her play ''Something Clean'' received the Laurents/Hatcher Award and her play ''Cinched/Strapped'' won the

Williamstown Theatre Festival The Williamstown Theatre Festival is a resident summer theater on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1954 by Williams College news director Ralph Renzi and drama program chairman David C. Bryant. ...

L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award. ''POTUS'' made the 2019 Kilroys' List and the Broadway production was nominated for three

Tony Awards 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 cere ...

. Fillinger has been a Hawthornden Fellow and a resident of McCarter's Sallie B. Goodman Artist's Retreat.

Works

Theater

* POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive * ''Something Clean'' * ''The Armor Plays: Cinched/Strapped'' * ''Faceless''

Television

* The Morning Show,

, season 3

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fillinger, Selina 1994 births Living people 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights American women dramatists and playwrights American women television writers American television writers American women screenwriters Jewish American dramatists and playwrights