About Lauren
Lauren is a writer, director, dramaturg, and actor based in Auckland. She holds degrees from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School and the University of Auckland. Lauren got her start played the lead in the 90s feature film Alex, and has worked extensively in film, television, and theatre ever since.
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Lauren has had two short films and 13 plays professionally produced by the Young and Hungry Arts Trust, Auckland Theatre Company, Duffy Theatre, and Life Education.
She won the Chapman Tripp Most Outstanding New Playwright of the Year Award (2005) for her play Exchange, and the SWANZ Best Short Film Script (2013) for I'm Going to Mum's, which won awards at local and international festivals.
Lauren was on the writing teams for Pukeko Pictures TV shows The Kiddets and Book Hungry Bears and is regularly commissioned to write funny, educational shows that tour 500 New Zealand schools annually for Duffy Books in Homes and Life Education Trust.
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Lauren has written and directed two NZFC-funded short films: I’m Going to Mum’s (in competition at the 2013 Berlinale) and Tree. Both films had long festival runs in Aotearoa and overseas and have been bought for television. Lauren wrote the 2020 graduation film for Unitec's acting students.
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Lauren has directed several theatre productions and works as a professional theatre dramaturg through Playmarket and for theatre companies such as LIMA Productions, Sharu Loves Hats, and Auckland Theatre Company.
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Lauren has worked consistently as a drama tutor since 2005, most notably at The Pacific Institute for Performing Arts for ten years as both Drama Tutor and Head of Acting. Lauren has gone on to work with many of her graduate students in professional productions, most recently as "Liz" in Auckland Theatre Company's "Red, White and Brass".
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Lauren co-founded and co-directs Brickworks Drama School with her colleague Natascha Diaz, where they have written and directed five original plays (and counting) for their students. Their lockdown achievement was producing, writing, and directing the short film Search for the Selfish Elves with 50 of their young students.
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Lauren is a regular contributor to Shepherdess magazine, profiling the rural women in Aotearoa. She’s currently working with Natascha Diaz on two new plays: one set in 1972, inspired by the legendary Te AtatÅ« Ladies’ Klub, and one for the kids called "Brickworks Backstage".