Craig Wright (playwright)
Encyclopedia
Craig Wright is an American playwright and Emmy-nominated television writer.
in Collegeville, Minnesota and went on to earn a Masters of Divinity degree from the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
. He lives in Los Angeles and New York City.
in Washington, D.C.. Blind premiered in February 2010 at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre in New York. The Gray Sisters premiered in April 2010 at Third Rail Rep in Portland, Oregon.
Wright has received awards and award nominations for his work, including the Jerome Fellowship at age 21 and apprenticeships in playwriting from the McKnight Foundation
and the National Endowment for the Arts. Wright was the recipient of the 2009 Horton Foote Excellence in American Playwriting Award. He is a member of the ensemble of the Chicago-based A Red Orchid Theatre.
His play The Pavilion, was nominated for a the American Theatre Critics' Association Best New Play Award and a 2005–2006 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and has had over 40 productions since its premiere in 2000; in the 2008 summer season it was produced at the Westport Country Playhouse
. It will also be produced for Boise Contemporary Theater
's 2009–2010 Season. It is one of four Wright plays set in Pine City, Minnesota
. Pine City is also the setting for Molly's Delicious and Orange Flower Water. His Recent Tragic Events won an ATCA Best New Play Citation Award in 2002.
His play The Unseen was performed at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York in March 2009. He also received the Horton Foote American Playwrights Award from Baylor University in Waco, TX.
. In 2004, he was appointed Executive Story Editor with Nancy Oliver. In 2005, he became a producer for the fifth and final season.
In 2005, he signed a 2 year deal with Touchstone Television
. He served as a supervising producer and writer for the second season of ABCs
Lost
in Fall 2005. He left the series midseason after co-writing two episodes. Wright and the Lost writing staff won the Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award for Best Dramatic Series at the February 2006 ceremony
for their work on the first and second seasons.
Wright became a co-executive producer and writer on ABC's Brothers & Sisters in 2006.
During the 2007 season, Wright worked as the creator, head writer
, and executive producer
of ABC's Dirty Sexy Money
, which stars Six Feet Under alumnus Peter Krause
, Donald Sutherland
, Samaire Armstrong
and William Baldwin
. The pilot was produced by Greg Berlanti
and directed by Peter Horton
. The series premiered in the fall of 2007.
Biography
Born in 1965 in Puerto Rico, Wright attended St. John's UniversityCollege of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
The College of Saint Benedict , for women, and Saint John's University , for men, are partnered liberal arts colleges respectively located in St. Joseph and Collegeville, Minnesota, USA. Students attend classes and activities together, and have access to the resources of both campuses...
in Collegeville, Minnesota and went on to earn a Masters of Divinity degree from the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is an ecumenical graduate school of the United Church of Christ located in New Brighton, MN. The school was formed in 1960 with the merger of Mission House Seminary of Plymouth, Wisconsin, and Yankton School of Theology in Yankton, South Dakota.Like...
. He lives in Los Angeles and New York City.
Playwright
Wright is best known for his plays: Mistakes Were Made, The Pavilion, Recent Tragic Events, Orange Flower Water, Melissa Arctic, Main Street, Molly's Delicious and numerous others. Grace premiered in fall 2005 at Woolly Mammoth Theatre CompanyWoolly 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, D.C.. Blind premiered in February 2010 at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre in New York. The Gray Sisters premiered in April 2010 at Third Rail Rep in Portland, Oregon.
Wright has received awards and award nominations for his work, including the Jerome Fellowship at age 21 and apprenticeships in playwriting from the McKnight Foundation
McKnight Foundation
The McKnight Foundation is a philanthropic organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. The foundation's interests lie in the environment, the arts, community development, and other areas....
and the National Endowment for the Arts. Wright was the recipient of the 2009 Horton Foote Excellence in American Playwriting Award. He is a member of the ensemble of the Chicago-based A Red Orchid Theatre.
His play The Pavilion, was nominated for a the American Theatre Critics' Association Best New Play Award and a 2005–2006 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and has had over 40 productions since its premiere in 2000; in the 2008 summer season it was produced at the Westport Country Playhouse
Westport Country Playhouse
Westport Country Playhouse, is a not-for-profit theater in Westport, Connecticut. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos the Playhouse produces new and classic plays for the public....
. It will also be produced for Boise Contemporary Theater
Boise Contemporary Theater
Boise Contemporary Theater is a small professional theater company located in Boise, Idaho. Since 1997, BCT has been the only professional theater company in Boise committed to performing a complete season of contemporary work, thereby filling a long vacant niche in the artistic landscape of Idaho...
's 2009–2010 Season. It is one of four Wright plays set in Pine City, Minnesota
Pine City, Minnesota
Pine City is a city in Pine County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,123 at the 2010 census. Pine City is the county seat of, and the largest city in, Pine County...
. Pine City is also the setting for Molly's Delicious and Orange Flower Water. His Recent Tragic Events won an ATCA Best New Play Citation Award in 2002.
His play The Unseen was performed at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York in March 2009. He also received the Horton Foote American Playwrights Award from Baylor University in Waco, TX.
Television career
His television writing debut was on the 2001 HBO series, Six Feet Under, joining the writing staff during the 2003 season. During that season, he wrote "Twilight," for which he was nominated for an Emmy and "Timing and Space"; he penned 3 more episodes of Six Feet Under and co-wrote one with co-executive producer, Jill SolowayJill Soloway
Jill Soloway is an American comedian, playwright, a feminist and an Emmy-nominated television writer.Soloway was an executive producer and show-runner of the Showtime show The United States of Tara created by writer Diablo Cody. Soloway exited the show in November 2009...
. In 2004, he was appointed Executive Story Editor with Nancy Oliver. In 2005, he became a producer for the fifth and final season.
In 2005, he signed a 2 year deal with Touchstone Television
Touchstone Television
ABC Studios is the television production division of Disney-ABC Television Group. ABC Studios was established as Touchstone Television in 1985 and given its current name in May 2007....
. He served as a supervising producer and writer for the second season of ABCs
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
in Fall 2005. He left the series midseason after co-writing two episodes. Wright and the Lost writing staff won the Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award for Best Dramatic Series at the February 2006 ceremony
Writers Guild of America Awards 2005
The 58th Writers Guild of America Awards, given on 4 February 2006, honored the best film and television writers of 2005.-Adapted Screenplay: Brokeback Mountain - Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana*Capote - Dan Futterman...
for their work on the first and second seasons.
Wright became a co-executive producer and writer on ABC's Brothers & Sisters in 2006.
During the 2007 season, Wright worked as the creator, head writer
Head writer
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...
, and executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
of ABC's Dirty Sexy Money
Dirty Sexy Money
Dirty Sexy Money is an American prime time drama series created by Craig Wright, which ran on the ABC from September 26, 2007 to August 8, 2009. The series was produced by ABC Studios, Bad Hat Harry Productions, Berlanti Television and Gross Entertainment...
, which stars Six Feet Under alumnus Peter Krause
Peter Krause
Peter William Krause is an American film and television actor and film producer. He is perhaps best known for his lead roles as Nate Fisher on Six Feet Under, Adam Braverman on Parenthood, and Casey McCall on Sports Night...
, Donald Sutherland
Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
, Samaire Armstrong
Samaire Armstrong
Samaire Rhys Armstrong is an American actress, fashion designer and model. She is best known for her roles in Stay Alive, The O.C. and It's a Boy Girl Thing. Her best known role to date is portraying the role of Juliet Darling in the ABC television series Dirty Sexy Money...
and William Baldwin
William Baldwin
William Joseph "Billy" Baldwin is an American actor, producer, and writer, known for his starring roles in such films as Flatliners , Backdraft , Sliver , Fair Game , Virus , Double Bang , as Johnny 13 in Danny Phantom , Art Heist , The Squid and the Whale , as himself...
. The pilot was produced by Greg Berlanti
Greg Berlanti
Greg Berlanti is an American television writer and producer.- Personal life :Berlanti was born in Rye, New York. His parents are Barbara Moller Berlanti and Eugene Berlanti. Greg has one sister, Dina and is the uncle of two nieces...
and directed by Peter Horton
Peter Horton
Peter Horton is an American actor and director. He played the role of Prof. Gary Shepherd on the popular television series Thirtysomething until 1991.-Early life:...
. The series premiered in the fall of 2007.
Six Feet Under episodes
- Timing and Space, (2003)
- Twilight, (2003)
- Falling into Place, (2004)
- The Black Forest, with Jill SolowayJill SolowayJill Soloway is an American comedian, playwright, a feminist and an Emmy-nominated television writer.Soloway was an executive producer and show-runner of the Showtime show The United States of Tara created by writer Diablo Cody. Soloway exited the show in November 2009...
, (2004) - Time Flies, (2005)
- Static (2005)
Lost episodes
- OrientationOrientation (Lost)"Orientation" is the third episode of the second season of Lost and the 28th episode overall. The episode was directed by Jack Bender, and written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Craig Wright...
(2005) with Javier Grillo-MarxuachJavier Grillo-MarxuachJavier "Javi" Grillo-Marxuach , born October 28, 1969 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a television screenwriter and producer, known for his work as writer and producer on the first two seasons of the ABC television series Lost, as well as other series including Charmed and Law and Order: Special... - What Kate Did (2005) with Steven MaedaSteven MaedaSteven Maeda is an American television writer and producer. He has written episodes of television series such as Harsh Realm, The X-Files, CSI: Miami, Lost, and Day Break. He has also served as a supervising producer on Lost and CSI: Miami...
Brothers & Sisters episodes
- "Affairs of State", with Jon Robin BaitzJon Robin BaitzJon Robin Baitz is an American playwright, screenwriter, television producer and sometime actor.-Life and career:Baitz was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Edward Baitz, an executive of the Carnation Company. Baitz was raised in Brazil and South Africa before the family returned to...
(2006) - "Family Portrait", with Jon Robin Baitz & Emily Whitesell (2006)
- "Mistakes Were Made, Part One", with Jon Robin Baitz (2006)