John Cameron Mitchell
Encyclopedia
John Cameron Mitchell is an American
writer
, actor
, and director
. He is best known for his motion pictures Hedwig and the Angry Inch
, Shortbus
and Rabbit Hole
.
. The son of a retired U.S. Army Major General
, he grew up on army bases in the U.S., Germany
, and Scotland
, and generally attended Catholic schools. His mother is from Glasgow
, Scotland
and emigrated to the United States as a young schoolteacher. His brother Colin is also an actor
, writer
, and filmmaker.
Mitchell's first stage role was the Virgin Mary in a Nativity
musical staged at a Scottish Benedictine
boys boarding school when he was 11 years old. He studied theater at Northwestern University
from 1981 to 1985.
in a 1985 Organic Theater adaptation at Chicago
's Goodman Theatre
. Mitchell's first New York acting role was Huck Finn in the Broadway musical Big River
(1985). He originated the role of Dickon on Broadway in The Secret Garden
, and appeared in the original cast of the Off Broadway musical Hello Again
. He received Drama Desk nominations for both roles, and can be heard on the original cast recordings for each. (His rendition of the original demo version of "Giants in the Sky" can be heard as a bonus track on the 2007 remastered release of Stephen Sondheim
's Into the Woods
.)
He appeared in the original cast of John Guare
's Six Degrees of Separation
(off- and on Broadway) and starred in Larry Kramer
's Off Broadway sequel to The Normal Heart
, The Destiny of Me
, for which he received a Village Voice Obie Award
and a Drama Desk nomination.
Mitchell's early television work includes guest-starring roles in MacGyver
, Head of the Class
, Law & Order
, The New Twilight Zone
, Freddy's Nightmares
, The Equalizer
, Our House, Dreamer of Oz, The Stepford Children
, and the ABC Afterschool Special
"A Desperate Exit" (his single line: "He's dead. Don't you get it? He killed himself"). He was a regular cast member on the 1997 Fox sitcom Party Girl
, and was the long-running voice for "Sydney", an animated kangaroo that appeared in commercials for Dunkaroos.
His first film role was in an improvised drunk-driving educational film called Just Along for the Ride (1983), in which he was killed on Halloween
while wearing a tutu
. This was followed by the lead role in My Father's Son: The Legacy of Alcoholism (1984) and his first feature film role as Drunk Teen ("Hey, dudes, where's the brewskies?") in One More Saturday Night (1986). Starring and co-starring film roles include a homicidal new-waver in Band of the Hand
(1986), a Polish immigrant violin
ist in Misplaced (1990), and a teen Lothario
poet in Book of Love
(1990). Mitchell had a single line ("Delivery!") in Spike Lee
's Girl Six
(1996) as a man auditioning for a pornographic
film.
Mitchell is a founding member of the Drama Department Theater Company, for which he adapted and directed Tennessee Williams
' Kingdom of Earth starring Cynthia Nixon
and Peter Sarsgaard
.
) and starred in Hedwig and the Angry Inch
, an Obie
Award-winning Off Broadway musical about an East German transgender
rock musician chasing after an ex-lover who plagiarized
her songs. Three years later, he directed and starred in the feature film version
of the play for which he won Best Director at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival
. His performance was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. Both the play and the film were critical hits and have spawned cult following
s around the world.
premiered in May 2006 at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival
. The film garnered many awards, at venues such as the Athens, Gijón and Zurich International Film Festivals.
(whom he met when the latter auditioned for Shortbus). In 2005, Mitchell directed music videos for Bright Eyes' "First Day of My Life" and the Scissor Sisters
' "Filthy/Gorgeous
," the latter of which was banned from MTV Europe
for its explicitly sexual content. Mitchell has appeared as a pundit on Politically Incorrect
and various VH1
and Independent Film Channel
programs. He introduced films on a show called Escape From Hollywood on IFC
for two years.
He directed the 2010 film Rabbit Hole
, starring Nicole Kidman (in an Oscar-nominated performance) and Aaron Eckhart, adapted from David Lindsay-Abaire
's Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. The film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival. Together with Shortbus
producer Howard Gertler, he is producing an animated feature The Ruined Cast by graphic novelist Dash Shaw
, and developing for the screen Neil Gaiman
's short story How to Talk to Girls at Parties.
as gay
to his family and friends. Though always open about his sexuality
in his personal life, he came out publicly in a New York Times profile in 1992. His subsequent writing has often explored sexuality and gender
.
Mitchell lives in New York City
. He is a Radical Faerie, which was influential in Mitchell's making of Shortbus.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, 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...
, and director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
. He is best known for his motion pictures Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (film)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a 2001 American musical comedy-drama film based on the stage musical of the same title about a fictional rock band fronted by an East German transgender singer. The film was adapted and directed by John Cameron Mitchell, who also portrayed the title role...
, Shortbus
Shortbus
Shortbus is a 2006 comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in New York City. The characters converge in a weekly Brooklyn artistic/sexual salon loosely inspired by...
and Rabbit Hole
Rabbit Hole (film)
Rabbit Hole is a 2010 drama film starring Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, and Dianne Wiest, and directed by John Cameron Mitchell; the screenplay is an adaptation by David Lindsay-Abaire of his 2005 play of the same name. Kidman produced the project via her company, Blossom Films. The film premiered...
.
Early life
Mitchell was born in El Paso, TexasEl Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
. The son of a retired U.S. Army Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
, he grew up on army bases in the U.S., Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and generally attended Catholic schools. His mother is from Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and emigrated to the United States as a young schoolteacher. His brother Colin is also an 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...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, and filmmaker.
Mitchell's first stage role was the Virgin Mary in a Nativity
Nativity play
A Nativity play or Christmas pageant is a play which recounts the story of the Nativity of Jesus. It is usually performed at Christmas, the feast of the Nativity.-Liturgical:...
musical staged at a Scottish Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
boys boarding school when he was 11 years old. He studied theater at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
from 1981 to 1985.
Career
Mitchell's first professional stage role was Huckleberry FinnHuckleberry Finn (character)
Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain, who first appeared in the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He is 12 or 13 years old during the former and a year older at the time of the latter...
in a 1985 Organic Theater adaptation at Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's 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...
. Mitchell's first New York acting role was Huck Finn in the Broadway musical Big River
Big River (musical)
Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a musical with a book by William Hauptman and music and lyrics by Roger Miller.Based on Mark Twain's classic 1884 novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it features music in the bluegrass and country styles in keeping with the setting of the novel...
(1985). He originated the role of Dickon on Broadway in The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden (musical)
The Secret Garden is a musical based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The musical's book and lyrics are by Marsha Norman, with music by Lucy Simon...
, and appeared in the original cast of the Off Broadway musical Hello Again
Hello Again (musical)
Hello Again is musical with music, lyrics and book by Michael John LaChiusa. It is based on the 1897 play La Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler...
. He received Drama Desk nominations for both roles, and can be heard on the original cast recordings for each. (His rendition of the original demo version of "Giants in the Sky" can be heard as a bonus track on the 2007 remastered release of Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
's Into the Woods
Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...
.)
He appeared in the original cast of John Guare
John Guare
John Guare is an American playwright. He is best known as the author of The House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation, and Landscape of the Body...
's Six Degrees of Separation
Six Degrees of Separation (film)
Six Degrees of Separation is a 1990 play written by John Guare that premiered at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Lincoln Center on May 16, 1990, directed by Jerry Zaks and starring Stockard Channing...
(off- and on Broadway) and starred in Larry Kramer
Larry Kramer
Larry Kramer is an American playwright, author, public health advocate, and LGBT rights activist. He began his career rewriting scripts while working for Columbia Pictures, which led him to London where he worked with United Artists. There he wrote the screenplay for Women in Love in 1969, earning...
's Off Broadway sequel to The Normal Heart
The Normal Heart
The Normal Heart is a largely autobiographical play by Larry Kramer. It focuses on the rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks, the gay Jewish-American founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group...
, The Destiny of Me
The Destiny of Me
The Destiny of Me is a play by Larry Kramer. It focuses on Ned Weeks, a character introduced in The Normal Heart, as he checks into the National Institutes of Health to undergo an experimental treatment for AIDS...
, for which he received a Village Voice 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 nomination.
Mitchell's early television work includes guest-starring roles in MacGyver
MacGyver
MacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles...
, Head of the Class
Head of the Class
Head of the Class is an American sitcom that ran from 1986 to 1991 on the ABC television network. The series follows a group of gifted students in the Individualized Honors Program at the fictional Monroe High School in Manhattan, and their history teacher Charlie Moore...
, Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
, The New Twilight Zone
The New Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is the first of two revivals of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1950/60s television series of the same name. It ran for two seasons on CBS before producing a final season for syndication.-Series history:...
, Freddy's Nightmares
Freddy's Nightmares
Freddy's Nightmares is an American horror anthology series, which aired in syndication from October 1988 until March 1990. A spin-off from the Nightmare on Elm Street series, each story was introduced by Freddy Krueger...
, The Equalizer
The Equalizer
The Equalizer is an American television series that ran for four seasons, initially on CBS, between 1985 and 1989. It starred Edward Woodward as an aging New York vigilante with a mysterious past...
, Our House, Dreamer of Oz, The Stepford Children
The Stepford Children
The Stepford Children is the second of three made-for-television sequels to the 1975 cult film The Stepford Wives. The film premiered on the NBC network on March 15, 1987. The film was directed by Alan J...
, and the ABC Afterschool Special
ABC Afterschool Special
The ABC Afterschool Special is an American television anthology series that aired on ABC from 1972 to 1996, usually in the late afternoon on week days. Most of the episodes were dramatic presentations of situations, often controversial, of interest to children and teenagers. Several episodes were...
"A Desperate Exit" (his single line: "He's dead. Don't you get it? He killed himself"). He was a regular cast member on the 1997 Fox sitcom Party Girl
Party Girl (1995 film)
Party Girl is a 1995 film directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer. It is notable as being the first commercial comedy-drama feature film shown in its entirety on the Internet....
, and was the long-running voice for "Sydney", an animated kangaroo that appeared in commercials for Dunkaroos.
His first film role was in an improvised drunk-driving educational film called Just Along for the Ride (1983), in which he was killed on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
while wearing a tutu
Ballet tutu
A tutu is a skirt worn as a costume in a ballet performance, often with attached bodice. It might be single layer, hanging down, or multiple layers starched and jutting out.There are several types of ballet tutu:...
. This was followed by the lead role in My Father's Son: The Legacy of Alcoholism (1984) and his first feature film role as Drunk Teen ("Hey, dudes, where's the brewskies?") in One More Saturday Night (1986). Starring and co-starring film roles include a homicidal new-waver in Band of the Hand
Band of the Hand
Band of the Hand is an American 1986 crime film directed by Paul Michael Glaser.The film turned into a theatrical release after it failed as a television pilot....
(1986), a Polish immigrant violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist in Misplaced (1990), and a teen Lothario
Lothario
Lothario is a male first name which came to connote an unscrupulous seducer of women.In The Impertinent Curiosity, a story-within-the-story in Don Quixote , by Miguel de Cervantes, a man named Anselmo coerces Lothario, his faithful friend, to test the virtue of Anselmo's wife, Camila...
poet in Book of Love
Book of Love (1990 film)
Book of Love is a 1990 romantic comedy film directed by New Line Cinema producer Robert Shaye. It is based on the autobiographical novel Jack in the Box by William Kotzwinkle .The film was originally PG-13, but subsequent DVD releases have been the R-rated Director's Cut Book of Love is a 1990...
(1990). Mitchell had a single line ("Delivery!") in Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
's Girl Six
Girl 6 (film)
Girl 6 is a 1996 American film by director Spike Lee about a phone sex operator. Theresa Randle played the title character, and playwright Suzan-Lori Parks wrote the screenplay. The soundtrack is composed entirely of songs written by Prince. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section...
(1996) as a man auditioning for a pornographic
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
film.
Mitchell is a founding member of the Drama Department Theater Company, for which he adapted and directed Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
' Kingdom of Earth starring Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Ellen Nixon is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series Sex and the City . She has received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award....
and Peter Sarsgaard
Peter Sarsgaard
John Peter Sarsgaard is an American film and stage actor. He landed his first feature role in the movie Dead Man Walking in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films Another Day in Paradise and Desert Blue. That same year, Sarsgaard received a substantial role in The Man in the Iron...
.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
In 1998, Mitchell wrote (along with composer Stephen TraskStephen Trask
Stephen Trask is an American musician and composer, who graduated from Wesleyan University.He was the music director and house band member at the New York club Squeezebox, where he performed with stars such as Debbie Harry, Lene Lovich and Joey Ramone.Trask composed the music and lyrics for the...
) and starred in Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (musical)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a rock musical about a fictional rock and roll band fronted by an East German transgender singer. The text is by John Cameron Mitchell, and the music and lyrics are by Stephen Trask. The musical premiered in 1998 and has been performed throughout the world in hundreds...
, an Obie
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...
Award-winning Off Broadway musical about an East German transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
rock musician chasing after an ex-lover who plagiarized
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
her songs. Three years later, he directed and starred in the feature film version
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (film)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a 2001 American musical comedy-drama film based on the stage musical of the same title about a fictional rock band fronted by an East German transgender singer. The film was adapted and directed by John Cameron Mitchell, who also portrayed the title role...
of the play for which he won Best Director at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
. His performance was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. Both the play and the film were critical hits and have spawned cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
s around the world.
Shortbus
After the success of Hedwig, Mitchell expressed an interest in writing, directing and producing a film that incorporated explicit sex in a naturalistic and thoughtful way, without using "stars". After three years of talent searches, improv workshops and production, ShortbusShortbus
Shortbus is a 2006 comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in New York City. The characters converge in a weekly Brooklyn artistic/sexual salon loosely inspired by...
premiered in May 2006 at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival
2006 Cannes Film Festival
The 2006 Cannes Film Festival ran from May 17, 2006 to May 28, 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the jury....
. The film garnered many awards, at venues such as the Athens, Gijón and Zurich International Film Festivals.
Other work
Mitchell was the executive producer of the 2004 film Tarnation, an award-winning documentary about the life of Jonathan CaouetteJonathan Caouette
Jonathan Caouette is an American film director, writer, editor and actor. Caouette is the director and editor of Tarnation , an autobiographical documentary, and director of All Tomorrow's Parties about a cult music festival.-Films:...
(whom he met when the latter auditioned for Shortbus). In 2005, Mitchell directed music videos for Bright Eyes' "First Day of My Life" and the Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters are an American band "spawned by the scuzzy, gay nightlife scene of New York" who took their name from a sexual position between two women also known as tribadism...
' "Filthy/Gorgeous
Filthy/Gorgeous
"Filthy/Gorgeous" is a song by American disco group Scissor Sisters and is the seventh track on their self-titled debut album . It was released as the last single from that album in the UK and despite this, it was surprisingly successful commercially, peaking at #5 in the UK Singles Chart in...
," the latter of which was banned from MTV Europe
MTV Europe
MTV Europe is a pan-European 24-hour entertainment cable and digital television network launched on August 1, 1987. Initially, the channel served all regions within Europe being one of the very few channels that targeted the entire European continent...
for its explicitly sexual content. Mitchell has appeared as a pundit on Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect
Politically Incorrect is a late-night, half-hour political talk show hosted by Bill Maher that ran from 1993 to 2002. It premiered on Comedy Central from 1993 to 1997, and later on ABC in 1997, which cancelled it in 2002....
and various VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
and Independent Film Channel
Independent Film Channel
The Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...
programs. He introduced films on a show called Escape From Hollywood on IFC
Independent Film Channel
The Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...
for two years.
He directed the 2010 film Rabbit Hole
Rabbit Hole (film)
Rabbit Hole is a 2010 drama film starring Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, and Dianne Wiest, and directed by John Cameron Mitchell; the screenplay is an adaptation by David Lindsay-Abaire of his 2005 play of the same name. Kidman produced the project via her company, Blossom Films. The film premiered...
, starring Nicole Kidman (in an Oscar-nominated performance) and Aaron Eckhart, adapted from David Lindsay-Abaire
David Lindsay-Abaire
David Lindsay-Abaire is an American playwright and lyricist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play Rabbit Hole, which also earned several Tony Award nominations.-Early life and education:...
's Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. The film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival. Together with Shortbus
Shortbus
Shortbus is a 2006 comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in New York City. The characters converge in a weekly Brooklyn artistic/sexual salon loosely inspired by...
producer Howard Gertler, he is producing an animated feature The Ruined Cast by graphic novelist Dash Shaw
Dash Shaw
Dash Shaw is a U.S. comic book writer/artist and animator. He is the author of the graphic novels Love Eats Brains published by Odd God Press, GardenHead published by Meathaus, The Mother's Mouth published by Alternative Comics, Bottomless Belly Button published by Fantagraphics, and BodyWorld...
, and developing for the screen Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
's short story How to Talk to Girls at Parties.
Personal life
In 1985, Mitchell came outComing out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
as gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
to his family and friends. Though always open about his sexuality
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
in his personal life, he came out publicly in a New York Times profile in 1992. His subsequent writing has often explored sexuality and gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
.
Mitchell lives 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...
. He is a Radical Faerie, which was influential in Mitchell's making of Shortbus.
External links
- Mitchell Live at Amoeba Music "Origin of Love"
- Mitchell's video for Bright Eyes' "First Day of My Life"
- BBC Collective Shortbus feature including John Cameron Mitchell video interview
- John Cameron Mitchell interview at Eros-Zine.com (March 2007)