Karen Hartman is a Senior Artist in Residence at University of Washington School of Drama in Seattle. She completed her bachelor's degree in Literature at Yale University and received Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting from Yale School of Drama. Hartman held the Playwright Center's McKnight Residency and Commission for a nationally recognized playwright in 2014 and 2015.
Biography
Karen grew up in San Diego, California. After graduating from Yale, she moved to New York City. She lived in Brooklyn until 2014, when she became Senior Artist in Residence at the University of Washington School of Drama. She is married to author and educator Todd London, and she has one son, Grisha.
Hartman's essays and commentary have been published in the New York Times and the Washington Post. She is the co-founder of national program #TogetherForAbortion, which brings people together for conversations about women's reproductive rights.
Hartman's work has been supported by many foundations, including the Rockefeller Foundation at Bellagio, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Helen Merrill Foundation, and Fulbright Scholarship. Also, she was granted with many awards including Daryl Roth “Creative Spirit” Award and New Dramatists Joseph A. Callaway Award. Moreover, she hold Hodder Fellowship and Jerome Fellowship. Hartman's musical book Sea Change was a finalist for O’Neill Musical Theater Conference, scored by AnnMarie Milazzo.[1] She has been a playwright-in-residence at the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain.[2]
Karen Hartman has four productions of three world premieres in the 2016/17 season: Roz and Ray at Victory Gardens and Seattle Repertory Theater, Book of Joseph, and Project Dawn at People's Light in Malvern, PA.[3]
Musical books
The Magic Flute – librettist. Produced by Seattle Meany Theater [4]
MotherBone –librettist. Produced by Salvage Vanguard Theater[5]
Plays
New Golden Age, produced by Primary Stages (2022)[6]
Gum and The Mother of Modern Censorship –author. Published by Dramatists Play Service, Inc.[7]