Leigh Fondakowski is a playwright, screenwriter, author and director.  Leigh was the head writer of The Laramie Project, a co-writer of Laramie: Ten Years Later, and an Emmy nominated co-screenwriter for the film adaptation of Laramie with HBO Films.

Leigh’s other original plays include I Think I Like Girls, The People’s Temple, and Spill.  Leigh is the author of the non-fiction book, Stories from Jonestown, and is currently adapting the book to television with Margo Hall.

Leigh’s work has been developed and produced around the country, including American Theater Company, Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Denver Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Guthrie, Hartford Stage,  HERE Arts Center, New Georges, Perseverance Theatre, Swine Palace and TimeLine Theatre.

As a director, Leigh has worked with playwrights Stephen Belber, Colman Domingo, Laura Eason, Julia Jordan, Moises Kaufman, Lisa Ramirez, Ellen Gordon Reeves and Bennett Singer.

In the audio world, Leigh is the creator / host of Feminist Files, starring Jodie Foster, a multi-part series that tells the hidden history of Title IX.

Leigh is the recipient of the NEA/TCG Theatre Residency Program for Playwrights, a MacDowell Fellow, a Sundance Theatre Lab alum, A New Georges Audrey resident, A Drama League Fellow, a recipient of The National Endowment of the Arts Residency for Collaborative Teams at Yaddo, and the 2010 Distinguished Visiting Chair at the University of Minnesota. 

Leigh teaches and lectures nationally and internationally, and is a Teaching Artist at Louisiana State University and New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.  Leigh is a member of Tectonic Theater Project and is the current Chair of Tectonic’s Moment Work Institute.

Leigh’s latest play in development is Casa Cushman based on the life of 19^th century American actress, Charlotte Cushman and her circle of female friends and lovers, including Emma Stebbins, the sculptor who created the Central Park Angel.