The Rev. Robert F. Griffin, C.S.C., Award - 2020: Christina Gorman Telesca ’91

2020: Christina Gorman Telesca ’91

In recognition of her distinguished career as a playwright, and for bringing the vision of Notre Dame’s founder to the stage in Sorin: A Notre Dame Story, Christina Gorman Telesca ’91 was presented with this award.

Telesca’s plays have been produced and/or developed at numerous acclaimed institutions such as The Public Theater, Luna Stage, American Blues Theater, Alley Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Geva Theatre Center, Summer Play Festival, Central Works Theater Company, Hangar Theatre, and Capital Repertory Theatre, among others.

Telesca is a recipient of TCG’s Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award, American Blues Theater’s Blue Ink Playwriting Award, Samuel French Short Play Festival Award, and New York International Fringe Festival Award for Overall Excellence in Playwriting. Her work has been published by both Samuel French and Smith & Krauss.

Telesca was an inaugural member of The Public Theater Emerging Writers Group, and is also recognized as a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow, Ensemble Studio Theatre New Voices Fellow, Stella Adler Studios Harold Clurman Playwright-in-Residence, Women’s Project Playwright Lab member, and Artistic Affiliate at American Blues Theater.

Telesca graduated from Notre Dame in 1991 with a B.A. in American Studies. Her son, Jack, will graduate from Notre Dame in May 2020 with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering.

"My theatre career began on the University of Notre Dame campus my sophomore year, when I worked in the scene shop in the basement of Washington Hall. It is remarkable and stunning for me to receive this award for my writing, which was made possible by Notre Dame, because of a play I wrote for Notre Dame. I am honored and humbled."