Leslie Gauthier is an actress, playwright, and screenwriter.
Her plays include Elsewhere (2024 Human Brown Award, Semifinalist Rattlestick’s Terrence McNally New Works Incubator, LaMaMa’s Experiments in Playwriting Fellowship, reading at Playwrights Horizons 2024), Cul-de-Sac (Winner* LaMama Experiments in Playwriting Fellowship, Second-rounder, AFF 2024, Rattlestick Semifinalist), Greetings! From the Mojave (performed at BAM in September 2024), and 23 (Theater for the New City). Her first feature, Grand Island, is a quarterfinalist in multiple screenplay competitions and second-rounder at AFF. Her short, Buena Vista, is a semifinalist in Cascadia Women’s International Film Festival. She earned her MFA in playwriting from Brooklyn College in 2024.
As an actor, Leslie has performed in numerous plays, readings and short films including Stop the Virgens (St. Ann’s Warehouse, dir. by Adam Rapp), The Turn of the Screw (Lincoln Center, dir. by Michael Kimmel) and Madame de Sade (Columbia Grad). She has also performed with Target Margin & Clubbed Thumb. She’s appeared in the web series What Next (dir. by Chris Raddatz) and Tales of Toverud (Amsterdam Film Festival & LA Comedy Festival). Her short film, The Astronaut Hour was recognized by the International Independent Film Awards in 2019 and won numerous awards in 2021 including “Best Screenplay” and “Best Actress” from Manhattan Rep’s Stories Film Festival. Leslie majored in Acting & Directing at Fordham, and graduated with honors. Most recently she workshopped TEN GRAND with Woolly Mammoth, and performed in a reading of THE MALTESE FALCON at NY Stage & Film.
You’ve heard Leslie sing backup with indie band, Noble Kids, and jazz singer Allegra Levy. She’s held residencies at SPACE on Ryder Farm (2017, 2019, 2022) and CourCommune in Voulx, Fr. Her prose has appeared in the New York Times. Leslie is a young adult leukemia survivor.
Leslie splits her time between Brooklyn and LA with her partner, C.A. Johnson, rescue dog, and cat.
Hot News
August 2026
made a self-tape reel to show some behind-the-scenes work
July 2026
Thrilled to be joining the stellar cast of Betty Shamieh’s adaptation of THE MALTESE FALCON at NY Stage & Film on July 10th.
June 2026
Cul-de-Sac’s public reading on June 8th was excellent under the direction of Morgan Gould, and with a stellar cast: Erin Anderson, Fina Strazza, Jenna Rose Husli, Jessica Farr, Drew Lewis, Jason Maina, Pat Dooley, Tom Coiner, Stanley Andrew Jackson, Lili Rebelo & Madelyn Monaghan.
May 2026
Excited to act in a workshop of Kate Cortesi’s Ten Grand with Woolly Mammoth
April 2026
Completed the Last Acting Studio’s Creative Lab in Los Angeles
March 2026
Three-day Elsewhere workshop at LaMama with some favorite collaborators new and old, directed by Keenan Tyler Oliphant
November 2025
Honored to be one of LaMama’s 2026 Morgan Jenness Experiments in Playwriting Fellows!
October 2025
Grand Island is a Quarterfinalist in the Big Apple 2025 Screenplay Competition
August 2025
Grand Island is an Austin Film Festival Second-Rounder
July 2025
Filmed an episode of “The Ick” by Alex Berry, Ari Cagan & John Hammond. Many thanks to my scene partner, Samaera!
Buena Vista is a Quarterfinalist in the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards 2025 making it in the top 16% of all projects on Coverfly…(RIP Coverfly!)
Had a great headshot session with Yellowbelly. New headshots can be seen here.
June 2025
Grand Island is a Quarterfinalist in the Filmmatic Drama Screenplay Awards Season 10, making it in the top 8% of all projects on Coverfly.
May 2025
Buena Vista is in the top 17% of Coverfly projects, thanks to a favorable review from the Shore Scripts Short Film Fund.
I’ll be giving virtual playwriting workshops this summer and fall with the Hudson Valley Writer’s Center. Sign up here!
February 2025
Cul-de-Sac is a semifinalist for Rattlestick’s Terrence McNally New Works Festival.
Buena Vista, is one of eight short film script semifinalists in the Cascadia Women’s International Film Festival.
My first feature, Grand Island, is a quarterfinalist in the WeScreenplay Feature Lab.
Began weekly classes with fellow Fordham alum Pat Dooley and Tina Benko, all about finding the joy in self-tapes and scene work.
October 2024
Thank you, Austin Film Festival, for the invite, for choosing Cul-de-Sac as a second-rounder in the playwriting category, for the events, the talks, new friends, and inspiration. Some highlights: Meg LeFauve’s talk–I’m now a Screenwriting Life convert and member; Lauren Schuler-Donner’s talk on the producing perspective, and Robin Swicord’s talk. Also so great to see a big playwright-screenwriter presence. I felt right at home.
September 2024
Greetings! From the Mojave, a one-act inspired by William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell performed at BAM as part of Brooklyn College’s Weasel Festival, directed by Marissa Joyce Stamps.
August 2024
Cul-de-Sac is a second-rounder at Austin Film Festival.
June 2024
Graduated from Brooklyn College’s MFA Playwriting program. Some highlights include: Rona Jaffe Fellowship for Creative Writing, Hawthornden Foundation Writing Award, Kitsch Foundation Writing award.
May 2024
Elsewhere had a reading at Playwrights Horizons (Thank you, PH!) Thank you to Molly Shayna Cohen who directed, Mikey Rosenbaum who collaborated on music, Tatiana Wechsler acted in it as well. Acting in my own work, and sharing this piece with industry, peers, friends and family was one of my all-time favorite days in NYC ever.
February 2024
Elsewhere is a semifinalist for Rattlestick’s Terrence McNally New Works Incubator.
January 2024
I received the Himan Brown Award for Creative Writing at Brooklyn College for my full-length play, Elsewhere.