(she/they)

Playwright and performer, Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender

Lisa Wolpe was the Producing Artistic Director of the all-female, multi-cultural Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company from 1993–2016, becoming a leader in the movement for gender parity and cultural diversity in the arts. She has played many iconic male roles in Shakespeare including Hamlet, Richard III, Angelo, Leontes,Romeo, Shylock, Henry V, Richard II, and Iago. She has adapted and directed gender-flipped Shakespeare productions for decades, working regionally and internationally as well as running her own company. Credits include: PlayMakers Rep, Indiana Repertory Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory Company, California Shakespeare Festival, Colorado Shakespeare, Sedona Shakespeare, Shakespeare & Company, Prague Shakespeare Company, Bremen Shakespeare, and Verona Shakespeare Fringe Festival. Honors include: The L.A. Drama Critic’s Award for Sustained Excellence; Sidney Berger Award for Excellence from the Shakespeare Theater Association; NBC News’ “Local Hero”; Women in Theater’s “Woman of the Year” Award; “Sustained Excellence” Award from Playwrights Arena; the Key to Harlem; two Congressional Certificates of Merit; Whittier College’s Distinguished Artist Award; University of Colorado “First Scholar” and “Roe Green Visiting Artist” appointments.