Shauna Vartanian (composer and writer) was born in Germany into a family of Displaced Persons during World War II. Her mother, a stage actress, performed at the DP Camp; her father, a businessman, relocated the family to the United States in 1949. A classically trained musician, Shauna studied under composer Peter Racine Fricker and Pianist Brigita Lielausis. She studied art at the Chouinard Art Institute and completed a degree in Music at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Displacement is her first play and a labor of love for Vartanian. In 2012 director Kappy Kilburn inspired Shauna to write her family’s story; with the help of writing coach Che’Rae Adams  she wrote her first draft.  It received a reading with the LAWC in 2013 with director Kappy Kilburn and dramaturg Che'Rae Adams at the helm. ​