Madhuri Shekar

Madhur Shekar was born in California and grew up in India. She is currently based in the New York region, having recently graduated from the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at Julliard. She writes on themes of love, relationships and sexuality inspired by her cross-cultural background. Madhuri’s plays include Dhaba on Devon Avenue (commissioned by Victory Gardens), House of Joy (California Shakespeare Theatre, San Diego Rep, developed at South Coast Rep, Juilliard, Atlantic, NY Stage and Film), Queen (Victory Gardens—2017 Jeff Award for Best New Play; APAC—NY Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Full Length Script; Geva Theatre Center), A Nice Indian Boy (East West Players, Rasaka Theatre Company, EnActe Arts), In Love and Warcraft (Kendeda Graduate Playwriting contest winner), Antigone, Presented by the Girls of St. Catherine’s (Alliance Theatre), and Bucket of Blessings (Alliance Theatre). Madhuri was one of the first recipients of Audible’s new commissioning program for emerging playwrights. Her audio drama, Evil Eye, debuted at #5 on Audible’s bestseller list, and won a 2020 Audie Award from the Audio Publishers Association for Best Original Work. The film adaptation is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime. In Hollywood, Madhuri was a staff writer on HBO’s The Nevers and is currently at work on a film to be announced soon. Madhuri is a Resident Playwright at New Dramatists. She has an MFA in Dramatic Writing from USC, and a dual Master’s degree in Global Media and Communications from the London School of Economics and USC.