Penelope Lowder's Biography

Los Angeles native exploring this side of the universe through art, song and words.

My first phase of life steeped in formal education at several learning institutions resulted in my receiving a BA degree in theater from the University of Southern California. A writing course at USC peaked my interest in becoming a writer. My writing interest was also nudged while working as an assistant to the producer/writer of a tv show at Warner Bros.  My years at Warner Bros. made me very comfortable and that's why I decided to walk away from it and experience life that was not as comfortable, acting.

Years spent on this journey forced me to interact with many people, engage in worlds that others would shy away from, test my mettle and provide me with an education that chipped away my ego exposing the core of my true self. This experience has left me with skin where every nerve cell sits at the top of the epidermis. My skin is like liquid soaking in every human experience I encounter.  So, I write... 

My first dip in the pool as a writer was some years ago when a ten minute play, "And So We Supped" about a middle age couple on the brink of divorce who rediscover their love through their palate was performed at the McCadden Place theater in Hollywood. "Honest Sam"  soon followed and was a finalist at the Short Play Festival in New York and my first full length play "Reaching Autonomy" a dark gothic play about complex relationships in the South had a reading at the Ron Arias studios in New York.

My writing influences are many from Gwendolyn Brooks, Anne Rice, Tennessee Williams, John Patrick Shanley, Arne Bontemps,Jean Paul Sartre, Anais Nin,Walter Mosley, Octavia Butler...

I love writing because it challenges me to discover other worlds, step from behind the veil,open my heart to merge with minds and souls of unspoken voices.