Betty Shamieh
Encyclopedia
Betty Shamieh is a Palestinian-American playwright
(15 plays to date), author
, screenwriter
, and actor
.
. She holds degrees from Harvard University
and the Yale School of Drama
.
In 2004, she was a Clifton Visiting Artist at Harvard University and was selected as Playwriting fellow at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies in 2005.
She has been awarded a Sundance Theatre Institute residency, New York Foundation for the Arts
fellowship, New Dramatists Van Lier fellowship, Ford Foundation
grant, Yaddo
residency, Arts International grant, and Rockefeller Foundation
residency in Bellagio, Italy. She was awarded a playwriting grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
and Theatre Communications Group
to spend 2008 as a playwright-in-residence at the Magic Theatre.
Currently, Shamieh is a professor at Marymount Manhattan College
in New York City
. She also serves on the Screenwriting/Playwriting Advisory Board for the New York Foundation for the Arts
and is working on a commission from Time Warner
/Second Stage Theatre
plus a first novel.
in August 2001. The play has run twice off-off-Broadway and at more than 20 university theatres and venues.
with the 2004 premiere of Roar, a drama about a Palestinian
family. Tony
-nominated Marion McClinton
directed, and Annabella Sciorra
and Sarita Choudhury
starred. The play was New York Times Critics Pick for four consecutive weeks. Roar is currently being taught in multicultural theatre courses at universities throughout the United States.
. The Theatre Fournos of Athens, Greece, has produced it in Greek translation.
in January 2007.
and directed by Marisa Tomei
in 2007.
.
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...
(15 plays to date), author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Background
Shamieh was born in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. She holds degrees from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and the Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
.
Career
To date, Shamieh has authored 15 plays.In 2004, she was a Clifton Visiting Artist at Harvard University and was selected as Playwriting fellow at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies in 2005.
She has been awarded a Sundance Theatre Institute residency, New York Foundation for the Arts
New York Foundation for the Arts
The New York Foundation for the Arts was created in conjunction the in 1971. The organization gives grants to individual artists and writers and developing arts organizations with a mission to '.'-NYFA's Programs:...
fellowship, New Dramatists Van Lier fellowship, Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
grant, Yaddo
Yaddo
Yaddo is an artists' community located on a 400 acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment."...
residency, Arts International grant, and Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
residency in Bellagio, Italy. She was awarded a playwriting grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
and Theatre Communications Group
Theatre Communications Group
Theatre Communications Group is an organization dedicated to the promotion of non-profit professional theatre in the United States. TCG has over 450 member theatres located in 47 states; 17,000 individual members; and a growing number of University, Funder, Business and Trustee Affiliates...
to spend 2008 as a playwright-in-residence at the Magic Theatre.
Currently, Shamieh is a professor at Marymount Manhattan College
Marymount Manhattan College
Marymount Manhattan College is an urban, coeducational, independent, private, liberal arts college located in Manhattan, New York City, New York with a focus in performing arts. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse student body by fostering intellectual...
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...
. She also serves on the Screenwriting/Playwriting Advisory Board for the New York Foundation for the Arts
New York Foundation for the Arts
The New York Foundation for the Arts was created in conjunction the in 1971. The organization gives grants to individual artists and writers and developing arts organizations with a mission to '.'-NYFA's Programs:...
and is working on a commission from Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
/Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theatre is an award-winning contemporary Off-Broadway theater company.-Mission:The theatre's mission is to give new life to contemporary American plays and to produce the world premiers of new plays by both established and emerging playwrights...
plus a first novel.
Chocolate in Heat
Shamieh performed in her play of monologues entitled Chocolate in Heat - Growing up Arab in America at its sold-out premiere at the New York International Fringe FestivalNew York International Fringe Festival
The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, is a Fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It takes place over the course of two weeks every August, spread across several neighborhoods in downtown Manhattan, notably the Lower East Side, the...
in August 2001. The play has run twice off-off-Broadway and at more than 20 university theatres and venues.
Roar
Shamieh became the first Palestinian-American to have a play premiereoff-BroadwayOff-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...
with the 2004 premiere of Roar, a drama about a Palestinian
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
family. Tony
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-nominated Marion McClinton
Marion McClinton
Marion McClinton is a theatre director and playwright. He was nominated for the Tony Award for King Hedley II. He won the 2000 Vivian Robinson Audelco Black Theatre Awards, Director/Dramatic Production and the 1999–2000 Obie Awards, Direction, for Jitney, and was nominated for the Drama Desk...
directed, and Annabella Sciorra
Annabella Sciorra
Annabella Sciorra is an American film, television, and stage actress. Sciorra received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead for the 1989 film True Love, and came to widespread attention in her co-lead role in Spike Lee's 1991 film Jungle Fever...
and Sarita Choudhury
Sarita Choudhury
Sarita Catherine Louise Choudhury is an English actress.-Biography:Choudhury was born in Blackheath, London, England, of half Bengali-Indian and half English descent. Her parents, Prabhas Chandra Choudhury, a scientist, and Julia Patricia Spring, married in 1964 in Lucea, Jamaica...
starred. The play was New York Times Critics Pick for four consecutive weeks. Roar is currently being taught in multicultural theatre courses at universities throughout the United States.
The Black Eyed
Shamieh's play The Black Eyed had its off-Broadway premiere at New York Theatre WorkshopNew 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...
. The Theatre Fournos of Athens, Greece, has produced it in Greek translation.
Again and Against
Shamieh's play Again and Against was read during the New Work Now festival at the Public Theatre in November 2006 and at the Royal Court TheatreRoyal 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 January 2007.
The Machine
Shamieh's one-act play The Machine was produced by Naked AngelsNaked Angels (theater company)
Naked Angels is an American theater company founded in 1986 and based in New York City. It was named after John Tytell’s book about the Beat Generation, Naked Angels...
and directed by Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
in 2007.
Territories
Shamieh's play Territories had its European premiere at the European Union Capital of Culture Festival and its world premiere at the Magic TheatreMagic Theatre
The Magic Theatre is a theatre company founded in 1967, presently based at the historic Fort Mason Center on San Francisco's northern waterfront...
.
Anonymous
Shamieh received Honorable Mention for her screenplay Anonymous from the Third Annual Writers Network competition.Free Radicals
Shamieh's play Free Radicals was commissioned by Het Zuidelijk Toneel in the Netherlands.Selected works
- 2001: Chocolate in Heat: Growing Up Arab in America (New York International Fringe FestivalNew York International Fringe FestivalThe New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, is a Fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It takes place over the course of two weeks every August, spread across several neighborhoods in downtown Manhattan, notably the Lower East Side, the...
) - 2004: Roar (off-Broadway at the New Group)
- 2005: The Black Eyed (New York Theatre Workshop, New York. Magic Theater, San Francisco. Theatre Fournos, Athens)
- 2006: Again and Against read at New Work Now festival and Royal Court TheatreRoyal Court TheatreThe 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...
- 2008: Territories (European Union Capital of Culture Festival (Austria), Magic TheatreMagic TheatreThe Magic Theatre is a theatre company founded in 1967, presently based at the historic Fort Mason Center on San Francisco's northern waterfront...
(San Francisco))