BIO

Shar Steiman (he/him/his) is a queer transgender poet, playwright, screenwriter, performer, and producer from Indianapolis, IN who currently resides in Denver, CO. He graduated in 2021 from the University of Colorado Boulder with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Women and Gender Studies. During his senior year, his poem “Holding Cell” received both the WGST Creative Activism Award and the Evan Wolfson Prize in LGBTQ studies. In 2019, Shar performed in a staged reading of his play, “Homegrown”, at the Pull Up A Chair: Storytelling Variety Show at Playground Productions Studio. He was also invited to be a resident poet for the Houselife Project of Indianapolis, a community of artists that use abandoned homes to create art inspired by the needs of the neighborhood. Shar enjoys participating in poetry slams and open mics all over the country.

Shar’s approach to playwriting merges rhythmic poetry, prose, dialogue, and storytelling. Since 2011, Shar’s work has been challenging audiences to witness captivating and thought-provoking LGBTQ+ stories and has gained some of the highest-attended audiences at the IndyFringe, with “Aquarium” (2012), “Invitations” (2013), “Ants” (2014) and the best-selling “SLAMMED” (2011). In 2013, he won DivaFest at the IndyFringe Theatre for “Invitations”. In 2012, Shar won the Young Playwrights in Process Award at the Indiana Repertory Theatre for “SLAMMED”. He wrote, produced, and starred in his most recent play, “Bed Play” which premiered at The District Theatre in Indianapolis in July 2022. It was a huge success with full audiences and rave reviews. “Bed Play” was nominated by the public and swept the 2022 BroadwayWorld Indianapolis Regional Awards, winning “Best New Play”, “Best Direction of a Play” and “Best Play”.