November 30, 1969

David Auburn was born in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in Ohio and moved with his family to Arkansas in 1982. Auburn is a Tony Award– and Pulitzer Prize–winning American playwright, screenwriter, and director best known for his 2000 play Proof, which he also adapted for the screen, and for the screenplay for the film The Lake House. In high school in Arkansas, Auburn worked for local professional companies in such jobs as stagehand or assistant to the lighting designer. Auburn has been awarded the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship, as well as a New York Critic’s Circle Award.