Amy Freed
Encyclopedia
Amy Freed is an American
playwright
. She was nominated as a finalist in the drama category
of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize
s for her play Freedomland. In addition to Freedomland, she is the author of The Beard of Avon
(both commissioned and premiered by South Coast Repertory
), The Psychic Life of Savages, and other plays. Her work has also been produced at New York Theatre Workshop
, Seattle Repertory, American Conservatory Theater
, Goodman Theatre
, Playwrights Horizons
, Woolly Mammoth
and other theaters around the country. Her play Safe in Hell, another South Coast Repertory commission, received its premiere production in April 2004 followed by a production at Yale Repertory Theatre
. She has been the recipient of the Joseph Kesselring Prize, the Charles MacArthur
Award and is a several times winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award
. She currently teaches acting and playwriting at Stanford University
, and is married to San Francisco Chronicle
film critic Mick LaSalle
.
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...
. She was nominated as a finalist in the drama category
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize
1998 Pulitzer Prize
-Journalism:-Letters:* Biography or Autobiography** Personal History by Katharine Graham * Fiction** American Pastoral by Philip Roth * History...
s for her play Freedomland. In addition to Freedomland, she is the author of The Beard of Avon
The Beard of Avon
The Beard of Avon is a play by Amy Freed, originally commissioned and produced by South Coast Repertory in 2001.In the play, Shakspere abandons his wife Anne Hathaway in Stratford-on-Avon after a visit from a touring company of players. He makes his way to London, determined to be an actor, and...
(both commissioned and premiered by South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely...
), The Psychic Life of Savages, and other plays. Her work has also been produced at New York Theatre Workshop
New York Theatre Workshop
__notoc__New York Theatre Workshop is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it houses a 198-seat theatre for its mainstage productions, and a...
, Seattle Repertory, American Conservatory Theater
American Conservatory Theater
American Conservatory Theater is a large non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. A.C.T. was founded in 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Playhouse and Carnegie Tech by theatre and...
, Goodman Theatre
Goodman Theatre
The Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...
, Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work....
, Woolly Mammoth
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...
and other theaters around the country. Her play Safe in Hell, another South Coast Repertory commission, received its premiere production in April 2004 followed by a production at 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...
. She has been the recipient of the Joseph Kesselring Prize, the Charles MacArthur
Charles MacArthur
Charles Gordon MacArthur was an American playwright and screenwriter.-Biography:Charles MacArthur was the second youngest of seven children born to stern evangelist William Telfer MacArthur and Georgiana Welsted MacArthur. He early developed a passion for reading...
Award and is a several times winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award
Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award
The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards is an annual awards program presented by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle . Established in 1969, the awards recognize excellence in theatre in the Greater Los Angeles Area....
. She currently teaches acting and playwriting at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, and is married to San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
film critic Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle is an American Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] [[film reviewer] and the author of two books on pre-[[Motion Picture Production Code|Hays Code]] Hollywood...
.
Additional plays
- Claustrophilia.
- Psychic Life of Savages. About the lives of poets Ted HughesTed HughesEdward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
and Sylvia PlathSylvia PlathSylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...
. - The Ghoul of Amherst. A short comic vignette about the poet Emily DickinsonEmily DickinsonEmily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
visiting the death bed of a classmate. - Still Warm. 1991. About the life of the television journalist Jessica SavitchJessica SavitchJessica Beth Savitch was an American television broadcaster and news reporter, host of PBS' Frontline and New York weekend anchor of NBC Nightly News during the short-lived Roger Mudd/Tom Brokaw era....
. - Safe in Hell. 2004.
- Restoration Comedy. 2005. A reworking of classic Restoration-era comedies by Cibber and Vanbrugh.
- You, Nero. 2009. A comedy about the Roman emperor Nero, co-commissioned by South Coast RepertorySouth Coast RepertorySouth Coast Repertory is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely...
and Berkeley Rep.