RICHARD HELLESEN is the author of over forty produced plays and musicals for adults and young audiences. His solo show EISENHOWER: THIS PIECE OF GROUND premiered off-Broadway in 2023 and has since been produced throughout the country. His work has been seen at numerous theatres including South Coast Repertory, Denver Center Theatre Company, Los Angeles Repertory, Olney Theatre Center, Barrington Stage, North Coast Repertory, Florida Stage, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Geva, Syracuse Stage, Florida Studio Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, Gretna Theatre, Sundance Children’s Theatre, Imagination Stage, People’s Light & Theatre, Sundance Children’s Theatre, B Street Theatre, Majestic Theatre, Stage West in Ft. Worth, City Theatre in Miami, and Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC, where he is an Associate Artist. Twice playwright-in-residence at the William Inge Center for the Arts, he has received playwriting awards from the National Theatre Conference, Beverly Hills Theatre Guild, Philadelphia Festival Theatre for New Plays, and PEN USA-West; among his two dozen short plays are five finalists for the National Award for Short Playwriting. A member of the Dramatists Guild and the National Theatre Conference, he also frequently works as a dramaturg and script consultant in new play development.
