Larry Dean Harris began writing and producing his own plays in Toledo, Ohio, where he worked as a creative director in advertising, directed high school theatre and served as the youngest board member of David’s House of Compassion, creating a fundraising event that would ultimately raise nearly $1 million for the AIDS service organization. He moved to Los Angeles in 1997 and joined the Playwrights Kitchen Ensemble before co-founding his own company, Playwrights 6, in 1999. That same year, he joined the board of Celebration Theatre. His first LA production, Bible Stories, earned three LA Weekly Theatre Award nominations. His first musical, Play It Cool, was nominated for Ovation Awards and eventually a New York Outer Critics Circle Award. In 2016, his play Stage Moms was chosen for the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival. But he is most proud of his work as the Southern California regional representative for the Dramatists Guild from 2009 – 2015, coordinating day-long symposiums, workshops and special events in Los Angeles and San Diego, and also conducting interviews and serving as a panelist at the Guild’s first three national conferences. Harris is a staunch advocate of small theatre and self-producing and is currently writing a how-to book based on his adventures as a self-producing playwright. He is also a solo performer/storyteller, curating and producing a monthly arts event in Silver Lake called Strong Words which has grown in scope over the past ten years. Harris is currently representing the Southern California region as a member of the Guild's National Council.