Spotlight On: Laura Lorusso
From Volunteer to World Premiere
Playwright Credits Naples Players for Possibilities
Torn between doing what she had to do
and doing what she loved, Laura Lorusso
was at a loss. She loved writing and theatre
but lacked formal arts education.
She felt inadequate against the Players’
professionally-trained theatre company.
Then she received some sage advice
from then-Artistic Director, Dallas Dunnagan.
“Everything you need to know about theatre
you will learn volunteering at The
Naples Players,” Dunnagan told her.
It took nearly a decade of theatre work
for Lorusso to understand. “I didn’t believe
it at the time—and there’s still more
to learn—but premiering my show at The
Naples Players has brought everything
full circle.”
However, learning from the theatre didn’t
immediately pay off. “If anything, I sacrificed
my friends, family, and relationships.
But this play is the result of that
sacrifice.”
Lorusso credits Dunnagan and The
Naples Players for the journey she embarked
on. “Without the encouragement,
I couldn’t have done it. I didn’t feel like I
was good enough. I didn’t think I could
do it. I never thought this was possible.”
Lorusso left The Naples Players’ stage in
2011. By 2013, Lorusso made her playwriting
debut at The Studio Players with
Afterlife of the Rich and Famous. She
upgraded her playwriting cachet by winning
a 24-hour playwriting contest and
premiering another play, Scrooge TV, for
The Lab Theatre in Fort Myers.
That’s when The Naples Players’ Associate
Artistic Director, Jessica Walck
reached out to see what else Lorusso
was working on.
Laura Lorusso (center) works with actors and staff in
crafting June & Jason’s Survival Guide to Divorce”
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Spotlight On: Laura Lorusso