Playwright Winter Miller Centers Empathy and Culture in Her Career

Playwright Winter Miller continues to center empathy and cultural transformation through her extensive body of work, drawing on a diverse career path that spans from working as a page at The New York Times to writing immersive opera and dramas, according to American Theatre.

From The New York Times to the Stage

Miller’s journey into theatre included stints working as a page at The New York Times and trying her luck as a struggling androgynous actor before establishing herself as a playwright. She is a founding member of the Obie-winning collective 13P and has written notable works including The Penetration Play and In Darfur, which premiered at the Public Theater.

Her broader catalogue features titles such as 1973, When Monica Met Hillary, The Arrival, and Animalia Arthropoda. She has also held fellowships with Sundance, Hedgebrook, Joe’s Pub, Bogliasco, The Civilians, and the Cherry Lane Mentor Project, alongside affiliate writing roles with the Playwrights’ Center and New Georges, plus membership in the Dramatists Guild.

Empathy as a Theatrical Tool

According to American Theatre, Miller states that her core reason for writing plays is human connection. That’s all I’m interested in: What is the connection, and can we make this world a better place for any of us who want it and need it? Miller said.

Describing her art as mainline empathy, Miller notes that writing a play with a moment that opens a door for someone stays with them and changes culture. When they feel or when we feel our own empathy for someone else, for ourselves, that connection is the thing that changes us. That’s what changes culture, she added.

Expanding Into Opera and Teaching

In winter 2028, Miller wrote the libretto for the opera No One Is Forgotten, adapted from her play of the same name. The piece originated during the pandemic as an immersive radio opera produced with Dallas Opera, Lexicon Classics, and Emitha.

Alongside her writing, Miller teaches playwriting at colleges and runs ongoing independent writing workshops named Monday Souls and Bridge. American Theatre also noted a memorable personal detail from her career: Eartha Kitt once held her left hand for five minutes.