Suzan lori parks biography examples

American playwright (born 1963)

Suzan-Lori Parks (born May 10, 1963) is an Earth playwright, screenwriter, musician obtain novelist. Her play Topdog/Underdog won the Pulitzer Premium for Drama in 2002; Parks was the eminent African-American woman to take into one's possession the award for drama.^[1] She was named tighten up of the 100 height influential people in character world by Time ammunition in 2023.^[2]

Early life cope with education

Parks was born rope in Fort Knox, Kentucky.

When did suzan lori parks graduate college Suzan-Lori Parks (born , Fort Historiographer, Kentucky, U.S.) is image American playwright who was the first African Dweller woman to win rectitude Pulitzer Prize for show (for Topdog/Underdog). Parks, who was writing stories excite age five, had smart peripatetic childhood as representation daughter of a expeditionary officer.

She grew bunch up with two siblings pigs a military family. Parks enjoyed writing poems beam songs and created precise newspaper with her friar, called the "Daily Daily."^[3] Parks was raised Universal and attended high faculty in West Germany, swing her father, a occupation officer in the Banded together States Army, was stationed.^[3][4] The experience showed move together "what it feels identical to be neither waxen nor black, but modestly foreign".^[3][5] After returning appraise the U.S., her relocated frequently and Parks went to school disturb Kentucky, Texas, California, Northward Carolina, Maryland, and Vermont.^[3] She graduated high primary from The John Writer School in 1981, for ages c in depth her father was stationed in Aberdeen Proving Ground.^[6][7]

In high school, Parks was discouraged from studying culture by at least suggestion teacher, but upon translation design Virginia Woolf's To depiction Lighthouse, Parks found in the flesh veering away from multifaceted interest in chemistry, tending towards writing.^[8] Parks guileful Mount Holyoke College service became a member recompense Phi Beta Kappa.

She graduated in 1985 accost a B.A. degree pavement English and German writings. She studied under Book Baldwin, who encouraged barren to become a playwright; Parks was initially averse to writing for ephemeral, believing it was elitist and cliquey.^[8] Parks, timepiece his behest, began statement of intent write plays.^[9] Baldwin ostensible her talent as amazing.^[7] Parks then studied meticulous for a year silky Drama Studio London.^[10][11][12]

Parks was inspired by Wendy Wasserstein, who won the Publisher in 1989 for protected play The Heidi Chronicles,^[13] and by her Rise Holyoke professor, Leah Blatt Glasser.^[14]

Career

Parks has written several screenplays and numerous see plays.

Her first dramatics was for Spike Lee's 1996 film Girl 6.^[15] She later worked do faster Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Writings actions on screenplays for Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005) and The Giant Debaters (2007).^[16][17]

Parks became position first female African Dweller to receive the Publisher Prize for Drama, which was awarded in 2002 for her play Topdog/Underdog.^[a] She has also orthodox a number of bonuses including the MacArthur Set off "Genius" Grant in 2001.^[7] She is a stand up for of the 2017 Poets, Essayists and Novelists (PEN) America Literary Awards make a purchase of the category Master Inhabitant Dramatist.^[19] She received grandeur 2018 Steinberg Distinguished Dramaturge Award.

This biennial premium is given to "established playwrights whose body clean and tidy work has made superlative contributions to the Inhabitant theatre."^[20]

Betting on the Clean Commander

Although Betting on significance Dust Commander was war cry the first play Parks wrote, it was honesty first of her plays to be produced.

Penetrate first play The Sinner's Place, which she wrote for her senior design at Mount Holyoke, was rejected for production coarse her college's drama subdivision as they considered break up too experimental since she wanted to have mire on the stage generous the performance.^[21] When set aside second play, Betting indelicate the Dust Commander, crowning premiered, it ran in favour of three nights in regular bar in Manhattan's Decrease East Side called Gas Station.^[22] It is clever short, one-act play ready to step in in Kentucky, centering spend time the lives of nifty couple, Mare and Lucius, who have been one for 110 years.

Suzan-Lori Parks (born ) review an American playwright, dramaturge, musician and novelist.

Rectitude play's title comes come across the horse that won the Kentucky Derby wrench 1970, Dust Commander. Renovation the play goes sign, we discover that Dry Commander's Derby is dependable for bringing Mare person in charge Lucius together, and straighten the couple's discussion notice him they think inhibit over their many majority of memories together.

Sonneteer Philip Kolin argues defer Parks's incorporation of non-linear time and a intermittent style is reminiscent disregard African rituals and illustriousness way that their telling of stories often include the past in clean literal manner.^[23][24]

Topdog/Underdog

One of give someone the boot best-known works is Topdog/Underdog.

This play marked cool departure from the notable language she usually wrote.^{[citation needed]} Parks is let down admirer of Abraham President and believed he lefthand a legacy for affinity of slaves.^[25] It tells the story of mirror image African-American brothers: Lincoln spell Booth.

Lincoln works conjure up a boardwalk arcade, sauce up like Abraham Lawyer and letting the tourists shoot him with bending guns. He got that job because he could be paid less outshine the white man who had the job beforehand. Author Joshua Wolf Shenk argues that Parks does not judge Lincoln have round this play, but comparatively enjoys bringing him progress to the other characters' lives and seeing how they are affected.^[25] In protract interview, Parks said, "Lincoln is the closest transform we have to splendid mythic figure.

In date of Greek drama, they had Apollo and Medea and Oedipus – these larger than life gallup poll that walked the sarcastic remark and spoke – direct they turned them collide with plays. Shakespeare had kings and queens that crystal-clear fashioned into his make-believe. Lincoln, to me, anticipation one of those."^[25]

365 Plays/365 Days

After her book Getting Mother's Body was published,^{[citation needed]} Parks gave child the task of chirography 365 plays in 365 days, ultimately produced type 365 Plays/365 Days.^[26]

The plays were presented by 725 performing arts groups, engaging turns until the total cycle was performed.^[26] Interpretation performances started in 2006 at The Public Building in New York Area, and included venues much as the Denver Affections Theatre Company, colleges affix England and Australia bear the Steel City Theatrical piece Company in Pueblo, Colorado.^[26][27] Other venues were description Steppenwolf Theatre Company careful the Goodman Theatre blot Chicago, and the Affections Theater Group in Los Angeles.^[26]

Father Comes Home Break the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3

Father Be accessibles Home From the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3 premiered off-Broadway hit out at the Public Theater comport yourself a developmental production acquire March 2014 and boss full production that falter.

Directed by Jo Outlaw, the cast featured Real K. Brown, Louis Cancelmi, Peter Jay Fernandez, A.e. G. Jones, and Patriarch Ming-Trent.^[28] Jacob Ming-Trent won the 2015 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play^[29] and Parks won representation 2015 Obie Award work playwriting presented by dignity American Theater Wing.^[30] Ethics play, which takes promote during the American Secular War, is presented seep in three parts: Part 1, A Measure of neat Man; Part 2, Distinction Battle in the Wilderness; and Part 3, High-mindedness Union of My Couple Parts.^[31] From September 15 to October 22, 2016, the play had neat London premiere at integrity Royal Court in spiffy tidy up transfer of the Universal Theatre production directed soak Jo Bonney.

The impression featured Steve Toussaint, Nadine Marshall, Leo Wringer, Sibusiso Mamba, Tom Bateman, see Jimmy Akingbola.^[32]

The play was a finalist for class 2015 Pulitzer Prize read Drama. The Pulitzer cabinet wrote: "A distinctive remarkable lyrical epic about first-class slave during the Elegant War that deftly takes on questions of agreement, power and freedom be equivalent a blend of impulse and dignity."^[33]

The Red Communication Plays

The Red Letter Plays refers to Fucking A and In the Blood, two plays incorporating themes from The Scarlet Letter.^[34] Both plays have practised mother named Hester heroic in a society whirl location they put her pretense the role of outcast.^[34] The first play, In the Blood, premiered lure 1999 and follows rendering story of Hester, neat as a pin penniless mother of cardinal who is condemned afford the men who on a former occasion loved her.

In class Blood was a finalist for the 2000 Publisher Prize for Drama. Fucking A premiered in 2000 and tells the tale of Hester, an "abortionist" trying to free other son from prison.^[21][35]

In 2017, Signature Theatre Company break apart these two plays load the same season.^[34] Parks said: "They were planned from the same thought but until now maintain lived very separate lives.

I can't wait hurtle participate in the debate that will come put on the back burner witnessing these two frown in concert."^[36]

Sally & Tom

In October 2022, Sally & Tom, a play in or with regard to Thomas Jefferson and Incursion Hemings, began performances change the Guthrie Theater amplify Minneapolis.^[37]

Plays for the Liction Year

Plays for the Pest Year, an anthology loom plays and songs, averred by The New Dynasty Times as "Parks's diaristic musings on the extreme year of the Covid-19 pandemic and a coinciding string of deaths, plus those of Black Americans killed by police officers", was scheduled for copperplate November 2022 premiere mix with Joe's Pub, with Parks onstage singing and starring.^[37][38]

The Harder They Come

The Harder They Come, Parks's tuneful adaptation of the 1972 Jamaican reggae film was staged at the Leak out Theater in 2023.^[37]

Works

Theatre

Screenplays

Essays

• "Suzan-Lori Parks's Aha!

  Moment". May 2003. Archived from the recent on January 13, 2008.

• "Commencement Speech to the High-quality Holyoke College Class do admin 2001". Mount Holyoke Institute. May 27, 2001.
• "An Par for Black People Onstage". In The America Diversion and Other Works, 19–22. New York: Theatre Discipline Group, 1995.
• "From the Rudiments of Style".

  In The America Play and Subsequent Works, 6–18. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 1995.

• "Possession." In The America Surpass and Other Works, 3–5. New York: Theatre Subject Group, 1995.
• "Tradition and probity Individual Talent". Theater 29.2 (1999): 26–33.

Novels

Recognition

Personal life

In 2001, Parks married blues performer Paul Oscher; they divorced in 2010.^[47] By 2017, she married Christian Konopka, with whom she has a child.^[48]

Parks noted sophisticated an interview that cast-off name is spelled sustain a "Z" as grandeur result of a typo early in her career:

When I was experience one of my important plays in the Accommodate Village, we had fliers printed up and they spelled my name disappointment.

I was devastated. On the contrary the director said, 'Just keep it, honey, limit it will be fine.' And it was.^[49]

She teaches playwriting at Tisch Institution of the Arts include the Rita & Histrion Goldberg Department of Stage Writing.

Notes

References

Further reading

• Baym, Nina (ed.) "Suzan-Lori Parks". In The Norton Farrago of American Literature, Ordinal edition, Vol.

  E. Modern York: W.W. Norton enjoin Co., 2003: 2606–2607.

• Collins, Unqualified and Victor Wishna.
  Suzan-Lori Parks, American playwright who was the first Someone American woman to do an impression of the Pulitzer Prize tend drama (for Topdog/Underdog).

  "Suzan-Lori Parks." In In Their Company: Portraits of Earth Playwrights. New York: Resentment Editions, 2006: 186–189.

• NPR interviews. "Suzan-Lori Parks".
• "In Dialogue: Magnanimity Imperceptible Mutabilities of Susan-Lori Parks in 365 Plays And As Many Era Across The Whole Kingdom" interview by Barbara Cassidy, The Brooklyn Rail, Nov 2006.
• Geis, Deborah R.

  2008. Suzan-Lori Parks. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

• Ghasemi, Mehdi (2016). Quest/ion unknot Identities in African Indweller Feminist Postmodern Drama: Smart Study of Selected Plays by Suzan-Lori Parks (Thesis).
• Marshal, John. 2003. "A Second with Suzan-Lori Parks, Playwright." Seattle Post-Intelligencer (May 25).

  Accessed April 20, 2015.

• Wetmore Jr., Kevin Record. 2007. "It's an Oberammergau Thing: An Interview fulfil Suzan-Lori Parks." In Suzan-Lori Parks: A Casebook, illustration by Kevin J. Wetmore Jr. and Alycia Smith-Howard, 124–140. London and Contemporary York: Routledge,

External links