Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance

Lauren Diesch is originally from Pittsburgh, but lived in Minneapolis for 11 years. Prior to coming to Bloomington, Lauren worked at the award-winning CLIMB theatre in the Twin Cities from 2011-2021—first as an actor and teaching arts, then eventually rising to the role of Director of Education and Associate Artistic Director. In her ten years at CLIMB, she taught, designed, and supervised arts integrated curriculum for children, teens, and adults that used theatre to create positive community change. She also directed three shows a year that toured to schools throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and North Dakota. In the Twin Cites she has worked with The Children's Theatre Company, Park Square Theatre, Theatre Coup d’Etat (Company Member), Gadfly Theatre, Theatre in the Round, Open Window Theatre, Chameleon Theatre Circle, Umbrella Collective (Company Member), and Theatre Unbound. She studied Improv at the Brave New Workshop and performed internationally in Augsburg, Germany as part of Yinzerspielen, a bi-lingual production. Lauren received her B.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of Pittsburgh and recently received her M.F.A. in Directing.