Claudia Shear
Encyclopedia
Claudia Shear is an American
actress and playwright
.
The Brooklyn
-born Shear first came to prominence with her 1994 self-penned solo performance piece Blown Sideways Through Life, which enjoyed a run of 221 performances at the off-Broadway
Cherry Lane Theatre
and won her an Obie Award
and a Drama Desk Award
nomination. Shear's employment experiences as a member of the American work force - sixty-four jobs in all, including pastry chef
, nude model, waitress, whorehouse
receptionist
, proofreader, and Italian
translator
- provided her with a wealth of material for her piece. She adapted it for a 1995 presentation on the PBS
series American Playhouse
.
Shear hit her stride in 2000 with Dirty Blonde
, her exploration of the life and career of Mae West
, which earned her Tony
and Drama Desk Award
nominations for both Best Play and Best Actress and won her the Theatre World Award
.
Shear's acting credits include the films It Could Happen to You
(1994) and Living Out Loud
(1998) and a memorable guest appearance as the "fake Monica" on the NBC
sitcom
Friends. Ms. Shear has also written for such publications as The New York Times
, Vogue
, Glamour
and Travel & Leisure, among others.
Restoration, a new play written by Ms. Shear, premiered in June 2009 at La Jolla Playhouse
in La Jolla, California
, commissioned by La Jolla Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley
, after an idea by Ms. Shear, and directed by Mr. Ashley. In Restoration, Shear plays "Giulia, a down-on-her-luck art restorer from Brooklyn
who receives what could possibly be a career-reviving job of 'refreshing' Michelangelo
’s David
in time for its quincentennial celebration in Florence
."
Christopher Ashley, who staged the world premiere of the new work at La Jolla Playhouse, directed the work for its New York debut. Previews began April 30, 2010 and opening night was May 19, 2010 at the New York Theatre Workshop in Manhattan
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress and 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...
.
The Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
-born Shear first came to prominence with her 1994 self-penned solo performance piece Blown Sideways Through Life, which enjoyed a run of 221 performances at the 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...
Cherry Lane Theatre
Cherry Lane Theatre
The Cherry Lane Theatre , located at 38 Commerce Street in the borough of Manhattan, was New York City's oldest, continuously running off-Broadway theater...
and won her an Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
and a Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
nomination. Shear's employment experiences as a member of the American work force - sixty-four jobs in all, including pastry chef
Pastry chef
A pastry chef or pâtissier is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods...
, nude model, waitress, whorehouse
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
receptionist
Receptionist
A receptionist is an employee taking an office/administrative support position. The work is usually performed in a waiting area such as a lobby or front office desk of an organization or business...
, proofreader, and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
- provided her with a wealth of material for her piece. She adapted it for a 1995 presentation on the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series American Playhouse
American Playhouse
American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.It premiered on January 12, 1982 with The Shady Hill Kidnapping, written and narrated by John Cheever and directed by Paul Bogart...
.
Shear hit her stride in 2000 with Dirty Blonde
Dirty Blonde (play)
Dirty Blonde is a play by Claudia Shear.Conceived by Shear and James Lapine and featuring songs from I'm No Angel and She Done Him Wrong, it explores the phenomenon of the legendary Mae West, one of America's most enduring and controversial pop culture icons...
, her exploration of the life and career of Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
, which earned her 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...
and Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
nominations for both Best Play and Best Actress and won her the Theatre World Award
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
.
Shear's acting credits include the films It Could Happen to You
It Could Happen to You (film)
It Could Happen to You is a 1994 romantic comedy-drama film starring Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda. It is the story of New York City police officer who wins the lottery and splits his winnings with a waitress . The movie bears a striking resemblance to an actual event as documented by Snopes...
(1994) and Living Out Loud
Living Out Loud
The film, set in New York City, stars Holly Hunter, Danny DeVito, Queen Latifah, Martin Donovan, and Claudia Shear.-Plot:Judith Moore had what she thought was a perfect marriage, both she and her husband studying to be doctors...
(1998) and a memorable guest appearance as the "fake Monica" on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Friends. Ms. Shear has also written for such publications as The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
and Travel & Leisure, among others.
Restoration, a new play written by Ms. Shear, premiered in June 2009 at La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. -Background:...
in La Jolla, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, commissioned by La Jolla Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley
Christopher Ashley
Christopher Ashley is a stage director. Since 2007, he has been the artistic director of the La Jolla Playhouse.In 1997, he completed The Drama League program for directors....
, after an idea by Ms. Shear, and directed by Mr. Ashley. In Restoration, Shear plays "Giulia, a down-on-her-luck art restorer from Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
who receives what could possibly be a career-reviving job of 'refreshing' Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
’s David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
in time for its quincentennial celebration in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
."
Christopher Ashley, who staged the world premiere of the new work at La Jolla Playhouse, directed the work for its New York debut. Previews began April 30, 2010 and opening night was May 19, 2010 at the New York Theatre Workshop in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.