mission

 

Earlie Bird Productions (EBP) is a Philadelphia-based theatre company rooted in the belief that everyone has a story to tell, and that every story has the potential to effect change.

Our mission is to give voice and venue to local writers, visual artists, movers, makers, and shakers, all working collaboratively to mount productions that reflect and sustain our community.

We seek an impassioned and intrepid audience that is eager to support storytelling that entertains, inspires, and instigates.

 

 
 

COMMUNITY

 

EBP is committed to giving back to the greater Philadelphia community, who has given us so much and inspires us daily.

A portion of proceeds from our productions is invested in organizations, programs, and causes that improve quality of life in the region and those that encourage and support storytelling.

 

 

founder

 
 

Lauren Earline Leonard is a Philadelphia-based writer, director, educator, and producer. Her work is collaborative in nature, inspired and informed by community and the universalities of the human condition.

For EBP, Lauren co-wrote and directed V2: Creation Myth (February 2018) and Mother/Daughter (September 2018). Her original work DREDx, an evening of TED-like talks set in future Philadelphia, premiered in September 2019. Her collaboratively devised project on the topic of loneliness, The Loneliness Project, was presented in Philadelphia in May 2022.

Lauren is the Managing Editor and a contributor at Root Quarterly, a subscription-only printed journal of art and ideas from Philadelphia and beyond. For RQ, she has written about cancel culture, sought answers among wolves, profiled legendary theatre director Blanka Zizka, and shined a light on the regional arts scene , the building trades, and education.

A recipient of the Lindy Urban Innovation Scholarship, Lauren is pursuing a maser’s of science in urban strategy at Drexel University.