Jan Tranen Biography

Jan Tranen

At Writers Theatre: A Minister's Wife

Jan Tranen makes her Writers Theatre debut. Previously she has written the lyrics for Night in Sarajevo, a one- act opera by Jay Schwandt which was staged at the Theatre Building Chicago in 1997 under the direction of Warner Crocker. With Schwandt she went on to co-write the book and write lyrics for Crazy Mary, a full length musical drama based upon Mary Todd Lincoln's life after her husband's assassination. The first reading of Crazy Mary was staged by Michael Halberstam in 1999. It was given a subsequent skeletal staging directed by Lara Teeter at Theatre Building Chicago and a full production in 2000 at the Hartt School, University of Connecticut in Hartford, directed by Henry Fonte. She also co-wrote the book and wrote lyrics for Steadfast the One Legged Tin Soldier, a family holiday musical with music by Elizabeth Doyle. She studied lyric writing in New York City with Sheila Davis, musical theatre writing at Theatre Building Chicago and playwriting at Chicago Dramatists. She is a member of The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and the Dramatists' Guild.

[Bio as of August 2009]