Lisa Loomer began her career as an actress and comedienne. Her first work for theater was
A Crowd of Two at the
American Place Theatre. This was followed by a one-woman show,
All By Herselves, at the
Westside Arts Theatre. She began writing plays at the
Intar Playwrights Lab, under the direction of
Maria Irene Fornes. Her first play
Birds was produced by
South Coast Rep. Lisa Loomer's play
Roe, about
Roe v. Wade, was originally commissioned through the
Oregon Shakespeare Festival's American Revolutions program. It was first produced at OSF in a production that traveled to Arena Stage and Berkeley Rep. It received the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award and the Pen Award. Her play
Homefree was commissioned and developed at
Denver Center Theater Company before receiving its world premiere in Los Angeles at the Road Theatre.
Café Vida, about female gang members, was presented at the
Los Angeles Theatre Center by the
Cornerstone Theatre Company in partnership with
Homeboy Industries, and was nominated for an
Ovation Award for Best Play. ''Two Things You Don't Talk About at Dinner'' had its world premiere at the
Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
Distracted had its world premiere at the
Mark Taper Forum and was subsequently produced at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The play was produced at the
Roundabout Theatre Company in New York in a production starring
Cynthia Nixon and has subsequently been produced in theatres throughout the U.S.
Living Out had its world premiere at the Mark Taper Forum and was produced at the
Second Stage Theater in New York. It has been produced at such theaters as
Seattle Rep,
Milwaukee Rep, The Denver Center, and
Theatreworks, often in bi-lingual productions, as well as in Israel, Europe, and Mexico. Her play
The Waiting Room went from the
Williamstown Theater Festival to the Mark Taper Forum to highly successful productions at
Arena Stage and
Trinity Rep, and then to the
Vineyard Theatre in New York. It has been widely produced nationally and internationally.
Expecting Isabell had its world premiere at Arena Stage and its west coast premiere at the Mark Taper Forum. It has been produced in New York and nationally.
Bocón!, a political fable for young audiences, began at the Taper and has been seen throughout the country, from the
Kennedy Center, to Seattle's Group Theater and the
La Jolla Playhouse, as well as in Germany, Alaska, and Mexico. For the Cornerstone Theatre Company, she also wrote
Broken Hearts, produced at the
Los Angeles Theatre Center. Other plays by Loomer which have been performed publicly include
Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria! (
Mixed Blood),
Accelerando (
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble), and
Looking for Angels (
The Public Theater). Loomer is an alumna of
New Dramatists and the recipient of two grants from the
National Endowment for the Arts and a grant from the
New York Foundation for the Arts. Awards include the Jane Chambers Award (twice), the
Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award, a
Garland Award, a Lurie Foundation Award, an Ovation Award, and the American Theatre Critics Association Award (twice). She has also received an
Imagen Award for positive portrayals of Latinos in all media. Her plays have been selected for the
Otis Guernsey Jr./
Burns Mantle anthologies
The Best Plays of 1994–1995,
The Best Plays of 1998–1999, and
The Best Plays of 2003-2004. Loomer's works have been published by
Dramatists Play Service,
TCG,
Dramatic Publishing, and
Arte Publico Press.
Roe,
The Waiting Room, and
Living Out are widely taught in university drama programs, Women's Studies programs, and Latino Studies programs. Loomer also writes for film and television, both comedy and drama. She was a supervising producer for the second season of
Love Is… on
OWN. Her films include
Girl, Interrupted, and
Nappily Ever After for
Netflix. Loomer has written TV pilots for
HBO,
CBS,
Fox, and
Showtime. Loomer adapted the play
Real Women Have Curves into a stage musical
of the same name that premiered in 2023. ==Awards==