Olivia Lilley

Adjunct Faculty // Directing, Screenwriting, Cinematography
School of Cinematic Arts
Olivia Lilley

Bio and Research Information

Olivia Lilley is a screenwriter, director, theatremaker, and producer who came up in Chicago's DIY and Storefront Theatre scenes as well as Downtown NY's Avant Garde. Olivia is the Artistic Director of Prop Thtr and a Board Member at The National New Play Network. She was the founding Artistic Director of The Runaways Lab Theatre (Voted Best New Theatre Company in the Chicago Reader's Best of 2014). Olivia’s feature screenplay “The Snowpeople” was selected for Full Spectrum Features Producers’ Lab 2020. She was selected for Broadway for All's Theatre Producers of Color: Commercial Producing 101 Inaugural cohort. She teaches at DePaul's Theatre School & School of Cinematic Arts, The Playwright's Center, Chicago Dramatists, Phoenix Theatre, and School for the Blind in Indianapolis. 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

Directing, Screenwriting, Cinematography

Specific Research Area

Independent Film in Chicago, Community Building through Project Development, Story Development in Hollywood TV and Feature Writing, Devising Film, Physically Adventurous Worlds on Screen

Schedule for Fall 2023-2024

Courses Taught at DePaul

Course Evaluations