Dano Madden is a playwright, screenwriter, and director, originally from Boise, Idaho. His plays have been produced throughout the United States and internationally. He was recently a fellow at MacDowell and at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program. Dano’s plays have been produced and/or received development by Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Source Festival, The Artful Conspirators, World At Large Theatre, The National New Play Network, Mile Square Theatre, Burnt Studio Productions, Northwest Playwrights Alliance, Idaho Theatre for Youth, Kitchen Theatre Company, Rutgers University, The University of Tulsa, Bloomsburg University, Lark Play Development Center, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, Boise Contemporary Theater, Fordham University, McGill University, id Theater, Fresh Ground Pepper, Davidson College, Elephant Room Productions, and Boston Theatre Works, among others. He is a five-time Heideman Award finalist. He has won numerous Kennedy Center awards, including the Kennedy Center’s 2007 National Student Playwriting Award.

Published works include: In the Sawtooths and Drop (Samuel French, Inc.), Beautiful American Soldier and Ella (Best American Short Plays 2005-2006 & 2009-2010), The Save (Playscripts, Inc.), The Soft Sand, Survival, and Painting a Room (Northwest Playwrights Alliance), The Raccoon, Leaving IKEA and Third Ward Scandal (Indie Theater Now) and monologues in The Best Men’s Stage Monologues and Scenes 2010 (Smith & Kraus) and Exceptional Monologues 2 (Samuel French, Inc.) In 2007, Dano was named one of “50 Playwrights to Watch” by The Dramatist magazine. He was the recipient of the 2001 Idaho Commission on the Arts Fellowship in playwriting.

Dano is the co-creator, producer, and writer for the 2016 web series Precious Cargo and the 2017 web series Brokers. Precious Cargo was named one of the 10 best web series of 2016 by Paste Magazine. Huffington Post recognized the show as one of the most addictive web series of 2016. The series was an official selection for numerous festivals, including the L.A. Web Fest, NYC Web Fest, Brooklyn Web Fest, and Miami Web Fest.

Dano received his BA in Theatre Arts from Boise State University and his MFA in Playwriting from Rutgers University. He has taught dramatic writing at Stockton University, Rutgers University, and at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in the Playwright’s Horizons Theatre School. He currently teaches at the Marymount School of New York. Dano lives in New York with his wife Lauren and their cats, Buster and Little Boo.