David Auburn's play Proof premiered at the Manhattan Theatre Club in May 2000, and opened at Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre on October 24, 2000. He is the recipient of the Guggenheim Foundation Grant, Helen Merrill Playwrighting Award, and Joseph Kesselring Prize for Drama.

His other plays include: Skyscraper, performed at the Greenwich House and published by DPS; Fifth Planet, New York Stage and Film; Miss You, HBO Comedy Arts Festival; and The Next Life, Juilliard School. His work has been published in Harpers Magazine and The New England Review. He was a member of the Juilliard playwrighting program.