Oren Safdie
Encyclopedia
Oren Safdie is a Canadian
-American
-Israel
i playwright and screenwriter, and the son of architect Moshe Safdie
.
Prior to embarking on a career in writing, he graduated with a Master's in Architecture from Columbia University. He also received an MFA from Columbia University in Fiction Writing. While at Columbia he studied with playwright Romulus Linney.
His plays include The Bilbao Effect, West Bank, UK, The Last Word..., Jews & Jesus, Fiddler Sub-Terrain, Hyper-Allergenic, Broken Places, Laughing Dogs, La Compagnie and Private Jokes, Public Places which debuted at the Malibu Stage Co. and went on to play in New York at La MaMa ETC, before transferring to the Center of Architecture for a 5 month run. It also received productions at Tarragon Theatre
in Toronto, Welfleet Harbor Actor's Theatre in Boston, the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley, California, The New End Theatre
in London, England, and the National Theatre of Romania in Timisoara.
He currently holds the position of the Artistic Director of the Malibu Stage Co. and is married to actress/playwright M. J. Kang
. They have a daughter born in 2008, and divide their time between Santa Monica and Montreal where he is originally from.
The Last Word..., debuted Off-Broadway
in 2007 in New York City
, starring Daniel J. Travanti
in the title role. Ed Asner
did the first reading at The Malibu Stage Co.
West Bank, UK - a musical comedy about a Palestinian and Israeli forced to share a rundown rent-controlled apartment - debuted at La MaMa in 2007/08, and was a co-production with the Malibu Stage Co. http://theater.nytimes.com/2007/12/12/theater/reviews/12west.html
The Bilbao Effect - the second in a trilogy on contemporary architecture - played at the Center for Architecture in New York in May/June 2010.
Private Jokes, Public Places, The Last Word... and "The Bilbao Effect" are published by Dramatists Play Service
. Private Jokes, Public Places is also published by Playwrights Canada Press along with excerpts that appear in several books about design, and is also translated into Romanian and Japanese.
La Compagnie was later turned into Fashion Avenue, a pilot for Castle Rock and CBS.
Safdie wrote the 1998 film You Can Thank Me Later
, based on his play Hyper-Allergenic. It stars Ellen Burstyn
, Amanda Plummer, Ted Levine
, Mark Blum
, Mary McDonnell
and Geneviève Bujold
. It won the Grand Jury Prize at the Newport Film Festival. It was subsequently premiered on Showtime in the United States.
Safdie also co-wrote the 2007 Israeli film Bittersweet, directed by Doron Benvenisti, which played at the Jerusalem and Montreal World Film Festivals.
He is also a contributor to Metropolis Magazine
, and has also written for Dwell
, The Forward
http://forward.com/articles/140871/, and The New Republic
.
, The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts
, and the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i playwright and screenwriter, and the son of architect Moshe Safdie
Moshe Safdie
Moshe Safdie, CC, FAIA is an architect, urban designer, educator, theorist, and author. Born in the city of Haifa, then Palestine and now Israel, he moved with his family to Montreal, Canada, when he was 15 years old.-Career:...
.
Prior to embarking on a career in writing, he graduated with a Master's in Architecture from Columbia University. He also received an MFA from Columbia University in Fiction Writing. While at Columbia he studied with playwright Romulus Linney.
His plays include The Bilbao Effect, West Bank, UK, The Last Word..., Jews & Jesus, Fiddler Sub-Terrain, Hyper-Allergenic, Broken Places, Laughing Dogs, La Compagnie and Private Jokes, Public Places which debuted at the Malibu Stage Co. and went on to play in New York at La MaMa ETC, before transferring to the Center of Architecture for a 5 month run. It also received productions at Tarragon Theatre
Tarragon Theatre
The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country. Located near Casa Loma, the theatre was founded by Bill and Jane Glassco in 1970. Bill was the Artistic Director from 1971 to 1982. In 1982, Urjo Kareda took over as...
in Toronto, Welfleet Harbor Actor's Theatre in Boston, the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley, California, The New End Theatre
New End Theatre
The New End Theatre, Hampstead, was a 80-seat fringe theatre venue in London, England, located in the London Borough of Camden which operated from 1974 until 2011. It was listed widely on the internet, including with the New York Times....
in London, England, and the National Theatre of Romania in Timisoara.
He currently holds the position of the Artistic Director of the Malibu Stage Co. and is married to actress/playwright M. J. Kang
M. J. Kang
M.J. Kang is a playwright and actress. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she later immigrated to Toronto, Canada.Her plays include Noran Bang: The Yellow Room , Blessings and dreams of blonde & blue....
. They have a daughter born in 2008, and divide their time between Santa Monica and Montreal where he is originally from.
Works
Private Jokes, Public Places was a critical off-Broadway hit and was singled out as one of the top 6 new plays of the decade 2000/10 by the Wall Street Journal., The play is regularly performed by students at architecture schools to mark the beginning of the year.The Last Word..., debuted Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
in 2007 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, starring Daniel J. Travanti
Daniel J. Travanti
Danielo Giovanni "Daniel J." Travanti is an American actor best known for his starring role as Captain Frank Furillo in the 1980s television drama Hill Street Blues.-Biography:...
in the title role. Ed Asner
Ed Asner
Edward Asner , commonly known as Ed Asner, is an American film, television, stage, and voice actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild, primarily known for his Emmy Award-winning role as Lou Grant on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off series, Lou Grant...
did the first reading at The Malibu Stage Co.
West Bank, UK - a musical comedy about a Palestinian and Israeli forced to share a rundown rent-controlled apartment - debuted at La MaMa in 2007/08, and was a co-production with the Malibu Stage Co. http://theater.nytimes.com/2007/12/12/theater/reviews/12west.html
The Bilbao Effect - the second in a trilogy on contemporary architecture - played at the Center for Architecture in New York in May/June 2010.
Private Jokes, Public Places, The Last Word... and "The Bilbao Effect" are published by Dramatists Play Service
Dramatists Play Service
Established in 1936 by members of the Dramatists Guild and the Society for Authors' Representatives, Dramatists Play Service, Inc. is a theatrical publishing and licensing house...
. Private Jokes, Public Places is also published by Playwrights Canada Press along with excerpts that appear in several books about design, and is also translated into Romanian and Japanese.
La Compagnie was later turned into Fashion Avenue, a pilot for Castle Rock and CBS.
Safdie wrote the 1998 film You Can Thank Me Later
You Can Thank Me Later
You Can Thank Me Later is a 1998 Canadian comedy drama film directed by Shimon Dotan. The film is based on a play titled Hyper-Allergenic written and adapted for the screen by Oren Safdie.-Overview:...
, based on his play Hyper-Allergenic. It stars Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn is a leading American actress of film, stage, and television. Burstyn's career began in theatre during the late 1950s, and over the next ten years she appeared in several films and television series before joining the Actors Studio in 1967...
, Amanda Plummer, Ted Levine
Ted Levine
Frank Theodore "Ted" Levine is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs and Captain Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series Monk.-Early life and career:...
, Mark Blum
Mark Blum
Mark Blum is an American actor in movies, on television and stage.-Career:Blum started acting on stage in the 1970s. Beginning in the 1980s as an actor in movies like Lovesick, Desperately Seeking Susan and Crocodile Dundee, he later appeared in television series as guest, with the failed show...
, Mary McDonnell
Mary McDonnell
Mary Eileen McDonnell is an American film, stage, and television actress. She received an Academy Award nomination for her role as Stands With A Fist in Dances with Wolves, and she is also very well known for her performance as President Laura Roslin in Battlestar Galactica, the President's wife...
and Geneviève Bujold
Geneviève Bujold
Geneviève Bujold is a Canadian actress best known for her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the 1969 film Anne of the Thousand Days, for which she won a Golden Globe Award for best actress and was nominated for an Academy Award....
. It won the Grand Jury Prize at the Newport Film Festival. It was subsequently premiered on Showtime in the United States.
Safdie also co-wrote the 2007 Israeli film Bittersweet, directed by Doron Benvenisti, which played at the Jerusalem and Montreal World Film Festivals.
He is also a contributor to Metropolis Magazine
Metropolis Magazine
Metropolis is an 80-page free weekly city guide, news and classified ads glossy magazine published by Crisscross KK targeting English-speaking foreigners in Tokyo, Japan. As of April 2011, its circulation was about 30,000.-History:...
, and has also written for Dwell
Dwell (magazine)
Dwell is an American magazine devoted to modern architecture and design. It was launched in September 2000 by mail-order heiress Lara Hedberg Deam with architecture and design critic Karrie Jacobs as its editor-in-chief. In August 2002 Jacobs left the magazine and was replaced by senior editor...
, The Forward
The Forward
The Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
http://forward.com/articles/140871/, and The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
.
Reception
Safdie is the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships including The Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du QuébecConseil des arts et des lettres du Québec
The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec is a public agency founded in 1994 by the government of Quebec .- Mission :The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec offers support and funding for art projects that exhibit artistic excellence...
, The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts
The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, based in Chicago, supports the arts, architecture, and institutions through public programs, and grants for projects....
, and the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles
Société de développement des entreprises culturelles
The Société de développement des entreprises culturelles is a Quebec government agency founded in 1983 under the name of Société générale du cinéma du Québec , responsible to the Ministry of Culture and Communications....
.