Erica Schmidt

Who Is Erica Schmidt?

Erica Schmidt is an American theatre director, playwright, and screenwriter best known for writing the BAFTA- and Academy Award-nominated 2021 film Cyrano, based on her 2018 stage musical of the same name.

She is a bold creative force. She is a storyteller who reshapes classics. She is a director who gives old tales entirely new life.

Born on June 8, 1975, Schmidt graduated from Vassar College in 1997 and began her career in theater as a costume designer at Juilliard before transitioning to directing and writing.

Today, she stands as one of the most respected voices in American off-Broadway theater. Furthermore, her reach now extends from the stage to the silver screen and the world of digital audio.

Early Life: Vassar, Comedy, and a Calling

College Years at Vassar

Erica Schmidt’s love for theater did not arrive suddenly. It grew steadily — from a stage, a comedy group, and a sharp creative instinct.

Born in 1975, Erica’s passion for theater blossomed during her college years at Vassar College. There, she actively participated in “Laughing Stock,” a comedy group that honed her comedic timing and stage presence.

This early experience in live performance was formative. It taught her rhythm. It taught her timing. Most importantly, it taught her how an audience breathes with a story.

From Vassar to Juilliard

Following graduation in 1997, Erica ventured into the heart of New York City’s theater scene. While working as a costume designer at Juilliard, she continued to explore her theatrical interests. This period proved to be a time of artistic growth.

She got her first break as a deck stage manager at the St. Mark’s Youth and Young Adult Theatre Ministries for the production of Jesus Christ Superstar. She followed that up with her first major directorial venture in As You Like It in 2000.

That first directorial step changed everything. After directing, she realized she had a natural talent for it. She never looked back.

Career: Building an Off-Broadway Legacy

The Princess Grace Award (2001)

Recognition came early. In 2001, Schmidt received a Robert and Gloria Hausman Theater Honor from the Princess Grace Foundation.

This prestigious award signaled to the theater community that Erica Schmidt was not merely a newcomer to watch. She was a force already worth celebrating.

A Diverse Directing Portfolio

Over two decades, Erica Schmidt built one of the most varied and celebrated directing portfolios in off-Broadway theater. Her directing credits include Richard II with Robert Sean Leonard at The Old Globe; All the Fine Boys at The New Group; Turgenev’s A Month in the Country with Peter Dinklage and Taylor Schilling at Classic Stage Company; Dennis Kelly’s Taking Care of Baby at Manhattan Theatre Club; Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s I Call My Brothers and the Obie Award-winning Invasion! for The Play Company; Rent in Tokyo; and Molière’s Imaginary Invalid, Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, and Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Sorcerer at Bard SummerScape.

Each production showed her range. Each showed her ability to move between comedy, tragedy, classic, and contemporary work with equal confidence.

Humor Abuse: A Lucille Lortel Win

She has created and directed a number of off-Broadway plays, including Humor Abuse. Schmidt co-created, wrote, and directed Humor Abuse, which won a Lucille Lortel Award.

This award marked another major milestone. It confirmed her not just as a gifted director — but as an original creative voice in American theater.

Mac Beth: Shakespeare, Reimagined for a New Generation

An All-Female Adaptation

Among all her stage work, Mac Beth became one of her most discussed and celebrated projects.

She directed her adaptation Mac Beth at Seattle Rep and off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre and HTP. She received Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Revival, as well as a Lucille Lortel Award nomination. Mac Beth has since been published by DPS.

In 2020, Schmidt received nominations for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play and Outstanding Revival of a Play for her off-Broadway all-female adaptation of Macbeth.

A Text Tailored for Young Performers

One of her notable contributions is adapting and directing Mac Beth, a reimagining of Shakespeare’s Macbeth tailored for younger performers. It has been staged by companies including Red Bull Theater and is available through Concord Theatricals.

Therefore, Mac Beth was not simply a revival. It was a reimagining. It was a reclamation of Shakespeare’s language for a new and younger audience.

All the Fine Boys: Dark, Daring, and Published

Schmidt directed All the Fine Boys at The New Group, which she both wrote and directed. It is now published by Samuel French.

All the Fine Boys premiered off-Broadway at The New Group in 2017. It is a gritty, unsettling drama that, like Cyrano, received its New York City premiere at The New Group.

The play demonstrated a different side of Schmidt’s artistry. It showed a writer willing to sit in discomfort. It showed a director unafraid to ask hard questions.

Cyrano: From Stage to Screen and Into Awards History

The Stage Musical (2018–2019)

The project that would define Erica Schmidt’s mainstream reputation began on a stage in Connecticut.

She wrote the book and directed the stage musical Cyrano, which premiered at Goodspeed Musicals in 2018 and off-Broadway at The New Group in 2019, with her husband Peter Dinklage in the title role.

She wrote the script and directed the 2018 stage musical Cyrano, which featured music by The National. The collaboration with the beloved indie rock band gave the centuries-old story a completely fresh sonic identity.

As adaptor, Schmidt dismantled Rostand’s 1897 masterpiece and reassembled a few of its elements as a streamlined libretto with a prevailing tone of melancholy.

The 2021 Film: Awards Season Glory

Schmidt made her screenwriting debut with the screenplay for the 2021 musical film Cyrano, directed by Joe Wright. The script adapts Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac, drawing directly from Schmidt’s own stage musical adaptation. She crafted the screenplay to emphasize the central love triangle while incorporating original songs by The National.

The film starred Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. It was visually stunning, emotionally resonant, and widely acclaimed.

She was nominated for the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Sunset Film Circle Award for Best Screenplay.

Because of this remarkable achievement, Erica Schmidt became one of the very few writers to earn simultaneous BAFTA and Academy Award nominations for a screenplay drawn directly from her own stage work.

Lucy (2023) and The Disappear (2026): The Audible Era

Lucy (2023)

The Disappear is the second world premiere Audible has produced with Schmidt, following their 2023 live staging and global audio release of the New York Times Critic’s Pick Lucy, starring Brooke Bloom, Lynn Collins, and Charlotte Surak.

The Disappear (2026)

Most recently, Schmidt returned to the Minetta Lane Theatre with her most ambitious new project yet.

The world-premiere comedy play The Disappear, written and directed by Erica Schmidt, premiered off-Broadway at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre from January 8 to February 15, 2026. Opening night was January 15.

The Disappear sees perfect power couple Benjamin Braxton and Mira Blair go gloriously awry, taking their friends, affairs, and daughter along for the ride. The cast includes Emmy nominee Dylan Baker, Emmy nominee Madeline Brewer, SAG Award winner Kelvin Harrison Jr., Obie Award winner Hamish Linklater, Anna Mirodin, and Tony winner Miriam Silverman.

Schmidt said of the project: “Audible’s inventive approach to theater and audio has allowed me to explore new possibilities for my work. I’m honored to return and collaborate with this dynamic team to present a play that explores relationships and how we pursue creativity.”

Additionally, The Disappear will also be recorded and released as an Audible Original, extending its reach to millions of Audible listeners around the world.

Awards and Recognition: A Career in Honors

Year	Award	Category	Work
2001	Princess Grace Foundation	Robert & Gloria Hausman Theater Honor	Career recognition
2001	NY Fringe Festival	Best Direction	As You Like It
Various	Lucille Lortel Award	Best Revival (Nomination)	Mac Beth
2020	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Director of a Play (Nomination)	Mac Beth
2020	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Revival of a Play (Nomination)	Mac Beth
2022	BAFTA Award	Best Adapted Screenplay (Nomination)	Cyrano (film)
2022	Academy Award	Best Adapted Screenplay (Nomination)	Cyrano (film)
2022	Las Vegas Film Critics Society	Best Adapted Screenplay (Nomination)	Cyrano (film)
2022	Sunset Film Circle Award	Best Screenplay (Nomination)	Cyrano (film)

Stage Works: A Full Catalog

Year	Title	Role	Venue / Notes
2000	As You Like It	Director	Public Theater/NYSF; NY Fringe Winner
2002	Spanish Girl	Director	Second Stage Uptown
Various	Debbie Does Dallas	Bookwriter & Director	Off-Broadway, The Araca Group
Various	The Sorcerer	Director	Bard SummerScape
Various	Uncle Vanya	Director	Bard SummerScape
Various	Imaginary Invalid	Director	Bard SummerScape
Various	The Tender Land	Director	Bard SummerScape
Various	Rent	Director	Tokyo production
Various	I Call My Brothers	Director	The Play Company
Various	Invasion!	Director	The Play Company (Obie Award-winning)
Various	Taking Care of Baby	Director	Manhattan Theatre Club
Various	A Month in the Country	Director	Classic Stage Company
Various	Richard II	Director	The Old Globe (with Robert Sean Leonard)
Various	Humor Abuse	Creator, Writer, Director	Manhattan Theatre Club (Lucille Lortel Award)
2017	All the Fine Boys	Playwright & Director	The New Group (pub. Samuel French)
2018–19	Cyrano (stage musical)	Adaptor & Director	Goodspeed Musicals; The New Group
2019–20	Mac Beth	Adaptor & Director	Seattle Rep; Red Bull Theater; Lortel (pub. DPS)
2023	Lucy	Writer & Director	Audible Theater / Minetta Lane
2026	The Disappear	Writer & Director	Audible Theater / Minetta Lane

Personal Life: A Love Story That Began With Elephants

Meeting Peter Dinklage

Erica Schmidt’s personal life is as quietly cinematic as the stories she tells on stage.

The couple met in New York City around 2003 in a memorable evening when they spotted elephants walking through Manhattan in the snow. It was the kind of moment that could only happen in New York. It was the beginning of one of American entertainment’s most private and enduring love stories.

Peter Dinklage and Erica Schmidt eloped in Las Vegas in 2005. Schmidt has been married to actor Peter Dinklage since 2005.

Family and Privacy

They have two children together. Both Erica and Peter have consciously chosen to keep their family life intensely private. They rarely appear together at public events. They share almost nothing about their children on social media.

Both she and Peter have consciously made the decision to share as little as possible about their lives, even choosing to stay away from social media.

This deliberate boundary between public artistry and private life is itself a kind of statement. It is a declaration that their work — not their celebrity — defines them.