David Adjmi
Encyclopedia
David Adjmi is an American
playwright
. He is the recipient of a 2011 Guggenheim Fellowship
, the 2010 Whiting Writers' Award
, the inaugural Steinberg Playwright Award, a Bush Artists Fellowship, and the Kesselring Fellowship for Drama.
, the Iowa Playwrights Workshop and the Juilliard School
's American Playwrights Program
He lives in Brooklyn Heights.
and the Royal Court Theatre
in London
. It premiered in January 2008 at the Yale Repertory Theatre
. Variety
called it "an anxiety attack of a play" and, of Adjmi, noted that he is "clearly a writer with a distinct voice, ambition and style." His play Stunning opened a month later at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
in Washington DC where it was selected as one of the top ten plays of the year by The Washington Post
and was published in American Theatre magazine. Stunning premiered in New York at Lincoln Center Theatre in June 2009 where it played an extended run to sold-out houses. Adjmi's play Marie Antoinette was developed at the Goodman Theatre's New Stages Series and the Sundance Institute's Residency at the Public Theatre. It will premiere in a coproduction between A.R.T. and Yale Repertory Theatre in Fall 2012. His monologue Elective Affinities was commissioned by the Royal Court Theatre and later premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company
in the United Kingdom
. In November, 2011 it will have its U.S. Premiere at Soho Repertory Theatre, featuring Tony Award winning actress Zoe Caldwell, and directed by OBIE winner Sarah Benson. The New Yorker
recently identified Adjmi as an as an "up-and-coming" playwright who is part of "a new trend in the American theatre."
Other Plays include Strange Attractors, Caligula and 3C. Adjmi is the recipient of numerous awards for his work, including the Helen Merrill Award, the Marian Seldes-Garson Kanin Fellowship, and McKnight and Jerome Fellowships from The Playwrights' Center
. A collection of his work, Stunning and Other Plays, will be published by Theatre Communications Group in 2011, and Adjmi is currently at work on a "viral" memoir for HarperCollins. His play "3C" premieres at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre in June 2012.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. He is the recipient of a 2011 Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, the 2010 Whiting Writers' Award
Whiting Writers' Award
The Whiting Writers' Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation and has been presented since 1985. As of 2007, winners receive US $50,000.-External links:**...
, the inaugural Steinberg Playwright Award, a Bush Artists Fellowship, and the Kesselring Fellowship for Drama.
Life
He studied at Sarah Lawrence CollegeSarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
, the Iowa Playwrights Workshop and the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
's American Playwrights Program
He lives in Brooklyn Heights.
Career
Adjmi's play The Evildoers was developed at the Sundance InstituteSundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981 that actively advances the work of filmmakers and storytellers worldwide...
and the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It premiered in January 2008 at the Yale Repertory Theatre
Yale Repertory Theatre
The Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of the Yale School of Drama in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented students. In the process it has become one of the...
. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called it "an anxiety attack of a play" and, of Adjmi, noted that he is "clearly a writer with a distinct voice, ambition and style." His play Stunning opened a month later at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is a non-profit theatre company located at 641 D Street NW in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It produces new plays which it believes to be edgy, challenging, and thought-provoking...
in Washington DC where it was selected as one of the top ten plays of the year by The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
and was published in American Theatre magazine. Stunning premiered in New York at Lincoln Center Theatre in June 2009 where it played an extended run to sold-out houses. Adjmi's play Marie Antoinette was developed at the Goodman Theatre's New Stages Series and the Sundance Institute's Residency at the Public Theatre. It will premiere in a coproduction between A.R.T. and Yale Repertory Theatre in Fall 2012. His monologue Elective Affinities was commissioned by the Royal Court Theatre and later premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In November, 2011 it will have its U.S. Premiere at Soho Repertory Theatre, featuring Tony Award winning actress Zoe Caldwell, and directed by OBIE winner Sarah Benson. The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
recently identified Adjmi as an as an "up-and-coming" playwright who is part of "a new trend in the American theatre."
Other Plays include Strange Attractors, Caligula and 3C. Adjmi is the recipient of numerous awards for his work, including the Helen Merrill Award, the Marian Seldes-Garson Kanin Fellowship, and McKnight and Jerome Fellowships from The Playwrights' Center
The Playwrights' Center
The Playwrights' Center is a theater organization established in 1971 in Minneapolis, Minnesota with the aim of furthering the careers of both new and established individuals in the field. Five playwrights formed the organization in the hopes of providing/obtaining support for new play development...
. A collection of his work, Stunning and Other Plays, will be published by Theatre Communications Group in 2011, and Adjmi is currently at work on a "viral" memoir for HarperCollins. His play "3C" premieres at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre in June 2012.
Works
- Strange Attractors (Empty Space Theatre) 15 January 2003
- The Evildoers (Yale Rep)
- Elective Affinities (Royal Court Theatre, London, RSC/Stratford and Soho Theatre, Soho Rep)
- Marie Antoinette (American Repertory Theatre and Yale Repertory Theatre) 2012
- 3C (Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre) 2012
- Caligula (Soho Rep)
- Stunning (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Duke on 42nd Street), 2009
Reviews
- "Domestic Politics", The New Yorker, Hilton Als, June 29, 2009
- "David Adjmi", Time Out New York, David Cote, June 10, 2009
External links
- "I interview playwrights part 5: David Adjmi", adamszymkowicz, June 06, 2009
- http://www.newhavenadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=5326
- http://www.woollymammoth.net/performances/show_stunning.php