Rosary Hartel O'Neill

Rosary Hartel O’Neill is the author of 25 plays, 18 published by Samuel French, Inc., and four books of nonfiction. The fourth edition of her text The Actor’s Checklist is used in schools nationwide.

Her book New Orleans Voodoo: A Cultural History (co-written with Rory Schmitt) was published in January 2019. New Orleans Carnival Krewes: The History, Spirit and Secrets of Mardi Gras by the History Press (2014) had signings at the Arthur Seelen Theatre in NYC and the Faulkner Festival, New Orleans.

Rosary was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Germany in October of 2019. Recently, she received fellowships to the American Academy in Rome, the Irish Cultural Center in Paris, the University of Cologne Germany, Tyrone Guthrie Center in Ireland, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. A Senior Fulbright Drama Specialist: 2013-2019, appointed to the Peer Review Committee of the Fulbright Commission, Rosary completed an invitation with Philippe Adrien, Artistic Director of the Theatre de la Tempete at the Cartoucherie in Paris, to develop her play Marie LaVeau and the Vampire. The musical of her play Degas in New Orleans debuted at Bard College in 2014, and at the Arthur Seelen Theatre in New York City. Her play PlaneLove was invited into the 2016 International Fringe Festival. Marilyn/God opened to acclaimed reviews in Kansas City this past year. Degas in New Orleans is being developed in Paris in September for a French production hosted by the Sorbonne.

Rosary is a member of the Playwright Director’s Workshop at the Actors Studio in NYC, where James Dean and the Highway of Death was recently developed. On the faculty of the Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY, she regularly teaches courses in script writing.

From 1983-2001 Rosary was a tenured professor of drama and Speech at Loyola University, New Orleans. From 1986-2001 she served as the Founding Artistic Director of Southern Repertory Theatre, the leading equity theatre in New Orleans. Author photo by D.C. Larue.