About the Author

Ms. Butterfield was born in Manhattan but raised in Minnesota and Massachusetts. She was a skinny kid with miserable allergies, and spent most of her youth indoors reading books. Her two biggest influences at that point were J.D. Salinger and Anne Frank. 

 Later she became an actress, and after a rewarding number of years acting regionally started writing for the stage to provide herself interesting roles to play in New York.  Pretty soon writing became her sole focus, and after some stage success she began writing for TV and film.  But she never stopped writing plays.

She's a recipient of the George E. Oppenheimer/New York Newsday Award for Best First Play in the New York area (JOINED AT THE HEAD), the Kennedy Center-American Express award for Outstanding Promise as a Playwright, the Kaufman & Hart Award for Best New American Comedy (THE SLEEPER), and the Davie Award for Best New Play in Regional Theatre (LIFE IN THE TREES.)  JOINED AT THE HEAD in which she also acted at the Manhattan Theatre Club, was nominated for a Drama Desk award  and has been extensively produced in this country and abroad. She has also received Drama-Logue, LA Weekly and other local awards which don't even exist anymore.

She's excited that TO THE BONE, which had a successful run at the Open Fist Theatre in Los Angeles in Oct. of 2022 transferred to the Theatre 68 Arts Complex in No. Hollywood and played there March 4-26, 2023.

TOP OF THE WORLD was a semi-finalist in the Eugene O'Neill play writing competition and recently won the prestigious Edgerton grant. It found and then lost a slot in the 2021 season of the St. Louis Repertory theatre.  Thanks, pandemic!

BROWNSTONE, which she both wrote and directed, was a commission by the Laguna Playhouse. 

During the pandemic she and her husband RON WEST  created over 60 short films for a series entitled LIFE DURING LOCKDOWN, which can be seen under her name on Youtube.  She also wrote two short films for the Interact Theatre, both of which won Telly Awards for Best Remote Production, 2020 and 2021.

Other produced full length plays include ​LIFE EXPECTANCY, IT HAS TO BE YOU, WHERE THE TRUTH LIES, LIFE IN THE TREES and SNOWING AT DELPHI.  They are published by the Dramatists Play Service, Samuel French, Playscripts, Inc and Smith & Kraus.  JOINED AT THE HEAD appeared in  "Best Plays of 1992."

Ms. Butterfield has recently completed the writing of her first book, a historical novel entitled MARGUERITE, and is seeking representation for it.  It's about Marguerite de Valois, a 16th century princess whose mother was Catherine de Medici.  This led to mother-daughter conflict of historic proportions. 

TV writing/producing credits include Grimm, Ghost Whisperer, Party of Five, Fame LA, and a few best-forgotten TV movies. She directed the short film John’s Hand, which can be found on youtube.com.  She is a member of Actor's Equity, Screen Actors Guild, the Writer's Guild of America, and the Dramatists Guild of America.

Her daughter is the actress Audrey Corsa, who is splendid and destined for great things. She lives in Santa Monica with Ron West and their cat, Pandita.