About Hollie

Hi! I’m Hollie.

I grew up in South Florida, after high school I moved to windy Chicago for college. Since then I have lived and worked in Chicago, L.A., NYC, and London! I have always had a deep wanderlust. Currently, I have set down roots in New England. I have two human kids and three fur babies. 

Before the pandemic, I was a High School Theater Teacher, Theater Director, and Freelance Writer. But when everything shut down, I had to stay home, which gave me time to reflect on my life and focus on what I wanted to do. Even adults still learn and grow each day.

As someone who is neurodiverse, I see the world differently. It took some time to notice that I love to create stories for young people. More importantly, I had been doing it my entire life without realizing it.

(If you read to the bottom, click on the link to my short film Piggy, which I wrote and directed back in the early 2000s when I was in school.)

When I write plays, I often write for youth theater. As a playwright, I’ve had various plays performed in and around New York City. But my most well-known play is Children of Hooverville, published with YouthPLAYS. It continues to have performances at middle schools around the country. You can see one of those performances (here). 

When I taught theater, I was creating stories with and for young people every day! But my favorite part, besides teaching kids from kindergarten to twelfth grade, was putting on the fall and spring production, because I got to work on the visual aspects of storytelling. I have always done visual arts, photography, sketching, and creating comics, but I rarely shared them with anyone. When I did large productions I got to stretch my skills, in those areas. It honestly never occurred to me that I could combine my secret art skill, with my love of storytelling off-stage and on to the page!

I loved all the jobs that I have done but found my favorite is creating books for young people. When I illustrate I combine all my skills and past work experiences. 

Whether I write the story or not, when I illustrate, I need to draw a cast of characters, which is just like casting! Those characters need costumes that reflect who they are, and they have to stand in a set/world that enhances the story. There needs to be lighting design to highlight other aspects of the narrative, like tone and theme. The characters have to move through the world, showing their emotions, and interact with everything in their world, thats where my directing theater and film comes into play! 

Making a picture book, a graphic novel, and a chapter book is a lot like putting on a play. That’s where my voice as a director, producer, writer, designer, and artist shines bright. All the many hats I wore in working in theater and film, with kids have merged to create the artists I am today. 

PETS

Let’s be honest, this is what you came here for. These three will not disappoint.

This is Oberon. We call him Obbie. (If you want to know more about his personality, look up the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. He’s named after one of the characters.)

New to our family is Puck! Also named after a character from the same play. Obbie has some big feelings about Puck joining our family. But together we are working with him.

Now we have Benny. He’s a Corgi!

He’s a… wind in his fur… big stick don’t care… I’m the cutest and you know it… kind of a dog.

A Tiny Bit More:

I have lived/worked in theater, film, and TV in Chicago, L.A., London, and NYC. My other works are under my maiden name Hollie Rosenberg. (My IMDB for that time I worked on a gameshow. )

Scraps, a full-length play has had a reading at Urban Stages (Off B’way) and a workshop at City University of London.

Spoiled Cherries has had a production at the Manhattan Repertory Theater, and Narrows Community Theater.

10 Going On 30 had a production at Adaptive Arts,

Dirty Laundry On The Crazy Girl’s Line has had a production Riant Theater’s Strawberry One-Act Festival (as a Semi-Finalist), and is published in Best of The Strawberry One-Act Festival Vol. 4.

Bedpan Palace had a production at The Brooklyn Heights Players.

As a Director, I have had productions at The Producers Club, The Brooklyn Lyceum, TSI/PlayTime Series, Brooklyn One, Hudson Shakespeare Company of NJ, Manhattan Repertory Theater Company, The Heights Players Theater, and The Public Theater as part of a night of US / UK exchange Cabaret produced by Old Vic New Voices Network.