CAA Signs ‘The Last Showgirl’ Scribe Kate Gersten

EXCLUSIVE: CAA has signed veteran writer-producer Kate Gersten for representation, Deadline has learned.

Recently, Gersten made her feature debut with The Last Showgirl, a film whose screenplay she adapted from her original play Body of Work. Directed by Gia Coppola, the film follows a seasoned showgirl who must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run. As a dancer in her 50s, she struggles with what to do next. As a mother, she strives to repair a strained relationship with her daughter, who often took a backseat to her showgirl family.

Set to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September, The Last Showgirl features CAA clients Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Billie Lourd and Brenda Song.

Gersten has written for numerous award-winning series including Prime Video’s Mozart in the Jungle, NBC’s The Good Place, Apple TV+’s Schmigadoon!, Netflix’s Lost Ollie and Hulu’s Up Here. She also served as co-producer on The Good Place and was credited as consulting producer on Schmigadoon!, producer on Lost Ollie, and supervising producer on Up Here.

Gersten’s play Benefit of the Doubt was produced at Juilliard and was further developed at the Roundabout Theater in New York, where she currently is under commission. Her play Be Your Best Friend was a finalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and was developed at both Roundabout and The Old Globe.

A three-time recipient of the Lincoln Center Le Comte de Noüy Prize, who’s currently writing a stage musical with the band Train, Gersten graduated from the Lila Acheson Wallace Playwrights Program at The Juilliard School. Prior to that, she completed her undergraduate studies at the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television.

Gersten continues to be represented by Gregg Gellman at Yorn, Levine, Barnes.