Rob Urbinati
Encyclopedia
Rob Urbinati is a freelance playwright
, screenwriter
and director based in New York City
. He is also Director of New Play Development at Queens Theatre in the Park (QTP).
. He subsequently directed over forty plays at theatres across the United States
before moving to New York in 1995.
’s Border/Clash for the Culture Project; the premiere of Eric Bogosian
’s Griller for the Lincoln Center Director's Lab; Villa Diodati as an official selection of the 2008 New York Music Theatre Festival at the 45th Street Theatre, Patrick Hamilton’s Angel Street at Pearl Theatre Company; Max Sparber’s Minstrel Show, or the Lynching of William Brown in New York, Nebraska
, Pennsylvania
, New Jersey
and Colorado
; Jeff Whitty
’s Suicide Weather at NYU; Lucas and Sondheim’s Marry Me a Little
with Brent Barrett
and Sally Mayes
at QTP, and Kiss Me, Kate
with Robert Westenberg
and Kim Crosby
at Theatreworks in Colorado
.
Plays written by Rob Urbinati include Hazelwood Jr. High, directed by Scott Elliott for the New Group, with Chloe Sevigny
; Karaoke Night at the Suicide Shack and Shangri La at QTP; Rebel Voices, an adaptation of Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove’s Voices of a People’s History of the United States at the Culture Project with a rotating cast including Staceyann Chin
, Wallace Shawn
, Danny Glover
, Steve Earle
, Lili Taylor
, Lenelle Moise
and Rich Robinson
; and West Moon Street, based on a novella by Oscar Wilde
, which was presented as part of The Acting Company Salon Series, with Dana Ivey, and by the Prospect Theatre Company, directed by Davis McCallum.
Rob Urbinati is a member of the Dramatists Guild, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers
. Three productions directed by Rob Urbinati, Lost, Syndrome, and Border/Clash, and one that he wrote, Hazelwood Jr. High, were selected to be videotaped for the prestigious Billy Rose Theatre on Film and Tape Archive at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
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...
, 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 director based 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 also Director of New Play Development at Queens Theatre in the Park (QTP).
Background and education
Rob Urbinati received an M.A. from the University of Nebraska and his Ph.D. from the University of OregonUniversity of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
. He subsequently directed over forty plays at theatres across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
before moving to New York in 1995.
Career overview
Rob Urbinati has directed Staceyann ChinStaceyann Chin
Staceyann Chin is a spoken word poet, performing artist and LGBT rights political activist. Her work has been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Pittsburgh Daily, and has been featured on 60 Minutes...
’s Border/Clash for the Culture Project; the premiere of Eric Bogosian
Eric Bogosian
Eric Bogosian is an American actor, playwright, monologist, and novelist of Armenian descent.-Personal life:Bogosian, an Armenian-American, was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, the son of Edwina, a hairdresser and instructor, and Henry Bogosian, an accountant. After graduating from Oberlin College,...
’s Griller for the Lincoln Center Director's Lab; Villa Diodati as an official selection of the 2008 New York Music Theatre Festival at the 45th Street Theatre, Patrick Hamilton’s Angel Street at Pearl Theatre Company; Max Sparber’s Minstrel Show, or the Lynching of William Brown in New York, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
; Jeff Whitty
Jeff Whitty
Jeff Whitty is an American playwright. His works for the stage include the musical Avenue Q, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Book of a musical.-Career:...
’s Suicide Weather at NYU; Lucas and Sondheim’s Marry Me a Little
Marry Me A Little (musical)
Marry Me A Little is a musical with lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim, conceived by Craig Lucas and Norman René. The revue sets songs cut from Sondheim's better-known musicals to a dialogue-free plot about the relationship between two lonely New York single people, who are in emotional conflict...
with Brent Barrett
Brent Barrett
Brent Barrett is an American actor and tenor who is mostly known for his work within American theatre. Barrett has performed in musicals and in concerts with theatres, symphony orchestras, opera houses, and concert halls internationally...
and Sally Mayes
Sally Mayes
-Biography:Born in Livingston, Texas, Mayes began her career as a rock and jazz singer in Houston. She made her Broadway debut in April 1989 as Winona Shook in Cy Coleman's Welcome to the Club. For her performance she won a Theatre World Award. This was followed by her appearance in the original...
at QTP, and Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
with Robert Westenberg
Robert Westenberg
Robert Westenberg is an American musical theatre actor and acting teacher. He married actress and singer Kim Crosby on June 19, 1991, and the couple now have three children.-Early Life:...
and Kim Crosby
Kim Crosby
Kim Crosby is a NASCAR Busch Series driver and professional driving instructor. Before she became a NASCAR driver, she served as a middle school principal, resigning in December 2004 to focus full-time on her racing career.Crosby originally was a drag racer, competing in the NHRA and IHRA for...
at Theatreworks in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.
Plays written by Rob Urbinati include Hazelwood Jr. High, directed by Scott Elliott for the New Group, with Chloe Sevigny
Chloë Sevigny
Chloë Stevens Sevigny is an American film actress, fashion designer and former model. Sevigny gained reputation for her eclectic fashion sense and developed a broad career in the fashion industry in the mid 1990s, both for modeling and for her work at New York's Sassy magazine, which labeled her...
; Karaoke Night at the Suicide Shack and Shangri La at QTP; Rebel Voices, an adaptation of Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove’s Voices of a People’s History of the United States at the Culture Project with a rotating cast including Staceyann Chin
Staceyann Chin
Staceyann Chin is a spoken word poet, performing artist and LGBT rights political activist. Her work has been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Pittsburgh Daily, and has been featured on 60 Minutes...
, Wallace Shawn
Wallace Shawn
Wallace Michael Shawn , sometimes credited as Wally Shawn, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, author, voice artist, and intellectual. His best-known film roles include Wally Shawn in My Dinner with Andre , Vizzini in The Princess Bride , and debate teacher Mr...
, Danny Glover
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
, Steve Earle
Steve Earle
Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
, Lili Taylor
Lili Taylor
Lili Anne Taylor is an American actress notable for her appearances in such award-winning indie films as Mystic Pizza, Say Anything..., Short Cuts and I Shot Andy Warhol, and the acclaimed TV show Six Feet Under....
, Lenelle Moise
Lenelle Moise
Lenelle Moise is a poet, actress and playwright born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Currently based in the United States, she performs at colleges throughout the country, presenting work about race, gender, class, immigration and sexuality. Her spoken word CD Madivinez won the 2007 Patchwork Majority...
and Rich Robinson
Rich Robinson
Rich Robinson is an American musician and founding member of the rock and roll band The Black Crowes. Along with older brother Chris Robinson, Rich formed the band in 1984 while the two were in high school...
; and West Moon Street, based on a novella by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, which was presented as part of The Acting Company Salon Series, with Dana Ivey, and by the Prospect Theatre Company, directed by Davis McCallum.
Rob Urbinati is a member of the Dramatists Guild, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers
Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers
The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society , formerly known as Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers , is an independent national labor union established in 1959, representing theatrical directors and choreographers, working on Broadway and on National tours, Off-Broadway, and in...
. Three productions directed by Rob Urbinati, Lost, Syndrome, and Border/Clash, and one that he wrote, Hazelwood Jr. High, were selected to be videotaped for the prestigious Billy Rose Theatre on Film and Tape Archive at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.