Rose Buckner

Actress, Playwright, Interviewer & Teacher

Rose Buckner

Actress, Playwright, Interviewer & Teacher

About Rose

Chicago actor, Rose Buckner, has acted professionally in the theater for over 30 years. One of Rose’s favorite comic characters was Helen Wheedle, a passive-aggressive storyteller in Enter the Mollusk, available on Amazon Prime. She is the writer and performer of four solo shows including a comedy, Save the Ducks and Other Stories of Courage, Dignity, Embarrassment and Total Cowardice. Her latest solo play, The Reigning Belle of the Bluegrass Region, is the culmination of 17 years of writing and research about the life of her paternal grandmother. She has interviewed scores of individuals of diverse  backgrounds and life stages. Rose taught arts and humanities to youths who were incarcerated or on probation or parole. For her work with Chicago youth, Rose received a  Peter Lisagor Award for Journalism, the Helen and Martin Schwartz Prize for Public Humanities in the Community, and the Lawrence W. Towner Award for Best Humanities Project

“Rose Buckner is a consummate actress. Her sensitivity, grace, and nuance as a performer are the hallmarks of her brilliance.”

– Luigi Salerni, Theatre Director

The Reigning Belle of the Bluegrass Region

Chicago actress and playwright portrays Olivia Buckner, a Kentucky woman who defied social convention and risked death threats to to marry Yutaka Minakuchi, a Japanese seminary student, in 1903.

Locket Graphic by Robin Emmons
Locket Graphic by Robin Emmons

The Reigning Belle of the Bluegrass Region

Chicago actress and playwright portrays Olivia Buckner, a Kentucky woman who defied social convention and risked death threats to to marry Yutaka Minakuchi, a Japanese seminary student, in 1903.