Dana Hall (she/her) is an award-winning playwright, actor, author, and licensed mental health therapist whose work explores the messy, beautiful intersections of trauma, resilience, humor, family, and healing. Based in the Chicago area, she has built a reputation for creating stories that are emotionally honest, deeply human, and often unexpectedly funny.
Dana's work has earned recognition from some of the most respected organizations in American theatre. She is a multiple-time finalist for the prestigious Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival, where several of her plays have been selected among the nation's most promising new works. Most recently, her play What the Bones Remember was named a Semi-Finalist for the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, one of the most competitive and respected development opportunities for playwrights in the United States.
Her work has also been recognized by the AACT NewPlayFest, the Morecambe Fringe John Clarke Memorial Prize for Scriptwriting, the Hear Me Out Monologue Competition, the Dramatists Guild Foundation National Fellows Program, and numerous festivals and competitions throughout the United States and internationally.
Among her honors, Dana's adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's Under the Floorboards received the award for Outstanding Theatrical Adaptation. She is also the recipient of the New York Metropolitan Screenwriting Competition & Film Awards, New Works of Merit's Best Stage Play Award, the Her Vision International Festival Best Stage Play Award, and the Chicago Scripts Award for Best Psychological Screenplay. Her work has appeared in Smith & Kraus's acclaimed monologue collections and has been published and licensed by Next Stage Press, Heuer Publishing, Tiny Scripted, Stage Plays, and Smith & Kraus.
Dana's body of work ranges from historical dramas and magical realism to dark comedies and family-centered stories. Whether writing about grief, memory, addiction, motherhood, disability, or love, she is drawn to characters who are struggling to find connection and meaning in a complicated world.
Outside of theatre, Dana is the author of the award-winning children's book Beyond Words, a celebration of inclusion, empathy, and kindness that received the Mother's Choice Award. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was recognized by the New York Journal as one of its "50 Under 50 Most Influential Creators" for her contributions to the arts and community.
As a licensed mental health therapist with more than twenty years of experience, Dana brings a unique perspective to her writing. Her clinical background informs her understanding of character, relationships, trauma, and transformation, resulting in stories that resonate with authenticity and emotional depth.
Dana is currently in residence with the Dramatists Guild Institute's Certificate of Dramatic Writing Program and is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild, Honor Roll!, the League of Professional Theatre Women, and the International Centre for Female Playwrights. She is passionate about expanding opportunities for women, advocating for playwrights' rights, creating meaningful roles for actors over forty, and fostering community among emerging writers.
At the heart of everything Dana creates is a simple belief: stories have the power to help us laugh, heal, remember, and feel a little less alone.
Learn more at DanaHallCreates.com
Instagram: @DanaHallCreates