Olivia Lilley is a screenwriter, director, and arts entrepreneur who came up in Chicago's DIY and Storefront Theatre scenes. She was also a child prodigy in music composition. Olivia was the Artistic Director of Prop Thtr (2018 - 2023), and the founding Artistic Director of The Runaways Lab Theatre (2013- 2015; Voted Best New Theatre Company in the Chicago Reader's Best of 2014). She has been at the helm as a writer/director and director on 13 full length productions of new plays and musicals in 6 week+ runs. She has produced six world premieres by other creators and numerous developmental workshops and readings. Olivia is in financing for her first two features: "This Is The Place" and "The Winter & The Whiskey" with producers Tiffany Weisberg and Brittany DeVries. She has a 3rd feature in development. Olivia attended Carnegie Mellon School of Drama for Directing and Interlochen Arts Academy for Music Composition. She has an MFA in Screenwriting from The University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Research Area
Screenwriting, Directing
Specific Research Area
Independent Film, Arts Entrepreneurship, Community Building through Project Development, Story Development in Hollywood TV and Feature Writing, Story Development In Independent Film, Devising Film, Physically Adventurous Worlds on Screen