Robert Litz
Encyclopedia
Robert Joseph Litz is an American playwright, screenwriter, director and critic.
background. He was raised in Cleveland's Mount Pleasant neighborhood and graduated from St. Ignatius High School in 1968 with Classical Honors. He attended college at Boston University
, where he began as a pre-med student only to switch later on to English and History. During his college days, he was the editor of the literary magazine and graduated Magna cum laude in 1972. Afterwards Litz attended Harvard University
, where he received an MTS, American Studies in 1975.
After trying a career as a poet, Litz took a job as press agent for the New England Repertory Theatre, a small theater company in Worcester, Massachusetts
, where he also worked as a stage and production manager. After an actor without understudy had to withdraw from a production one week before opening, the company drafted him to fill in for the actor and he eventually became part of the acting ensemble.
With the New England Repertory, Litz had roles in Dracula
, Chekhov
's The Seagull
, Molière
's The School for Wives
, Kyogen
comedies, and was an understudy in American Buffalo
. After this experience, he shifted from writing poetry to writing plays early in the 1980s, signing with his first and longtime theater agent, Lois Berman, owner of the boutique agency that represented such playwrights as Sam Shepard
, Barbara Fields, Lee Blessing
, and Emily Mann
.
Litz's breakthrough as a playwright came in 1983, when his play Great Divide, was selected for The National Playwright's Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
in Waterford, Connecticut,http://www.oneilltheatercenter.org/prog/artlist.asp where he had August Wilson
and John Patrick Shanley
as roommates. Great Divide was subsequently produced off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop
in 1984.http://www.nytw.org/production_archives.asp.
During the rest of the 1980s, Litz moved to New York City and began working in off-Broadway and regional theater productions. He also wrote, produced and directed movies and TV shows. He also traveled extensively through North America, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and lived briefly in Hong Kong
and Cambridge
, England.
He currently resides between Los Angeles, California
; Princeton, New Jersey
; and Berkeley, California
.
Biography
The only son of William E. Litz (1917–2007) and Mary Millik Litz (1920), Robert Litz is of Hungarian and PolishPoles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
background. He was raised in Cleveland's Mount Pleasant neighborhood and graduated from St. Ignatius High School in 1968 with Classical Honors. He attended college at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, where he began as a pre-med student only to switch later on to English and History. During his college days, he was the editor of the literary magazine and graduated Magna cum laude in 1972. Afterwards Litz attended 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...
, where he received an MTS, American Studies in 1975.
After trying a career as a poet, Litz took a job as press agent for the New England Repertory Theatre, a small theater company in Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
, where he also worked as a stage and production manager. After an actor without understudy had to withdraw from a production one week before opening, the company drafted him to fill in for the actor and he eventually became part of the acting ensemble.
With the New England Repertory, Litz had roles in Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
, Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's The Seagull
The Seagull
The Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
, Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
's The School for Wives
The School for Wives
The School for Wives is a theatrical comedy written by the seventeenth century French playwright Molière and considered by some critics to be one of his finest achievements. It was first staged at the Palais Royal theatre on 26 December 1662 for the brother of the King...
, Kyogen
Kyogen
is a form of traditional Japanese comic theater. It developed alongside Noh, was performed along with Noh as an intermission of sorts between Noh acts, on the same Noh stage, and retains close links to Noh in the modern day; therefore, it is sometimes designated Noh-kyōgen...
comedies, and was an understudy in American Buffalo
American Buffalo (play)
American Buffalo is a 1975 play by American playwright David Mamet which had its premiere in a showcase production at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago. After two more showcase productions, it opened on Broadway on February 16, 1977...
. After this experience, he shifted from writing poetry to writing plays early in the 1980s, signing with his first and longtime theater agent, Lois Berman, owner of the boutique agency that represented such playwrights as Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
, Barbara Fields, Lee Blessing
Lee Blessing
-Biography:Blessing's best-known play is A Walk in the Woods, which depicts the developing relationship between two arms limitation negotiators, one Russian and one American, over years of negotiation...
, and Emily Mann
Emily Mann (director)
Emily Mann, born April 12, 1952, is the multi-award–winning Artistic Director and Resident Playwright of McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey, where she has overseen over 85 productions....
.
Litz's breakthrough as a playwright came in 1983, when his play Great Divide, was selected for The National Playwright's Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
The Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut is a 501 not-for-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. The O'Neill is the recipient of the . The O'Neill is home to the National Theater Institute , and several major theater conferences including the...
in Waterford, Connecticut,http://www.oneilltheatercenter.org/prog/artlist.asp where he had August Wilson
August Wilson
August Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama...
and John Patrick Shanley
John Patrick Shanley
John Patrick Shanley is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He also contributed articles on the performing arts to The New York Times among other publications.-Life and career:...
as roommates. Great Divide was subsequently produced off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop
New 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...
in 1984.http://www.nytw.org/production_archives.asp.
During the rest of the 1980s, Litz moved to New York City and began working in off-Broadway and regional theater productions. He also wrote, produced and directed movies and TV shows. He also traveled extensively through North America, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and lived briefly in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, England.
He currently resides between Los Angeles, 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...
; Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
; and Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
.
Some of Robert Litz's plays
- 2007 - One Fell Swoop. The Elephant Theatre CompanyElephant Theatre CompanyThe is a 5013 Non-Profit Theatre located in Los Angeles' Theatre Row District. It has over 75 members including actors, designers, directors, and stage managers....
, Hollywood, California. - 2006 - Pilgrims in Vienna. Montreal Festival Baroque (Canada) and the Brugges Festival (Belgium).
- 2004 - One World. The Elephant Theatre CompanyElephant Theatre CompanyThe is a 5013 Non-Profit Theatre located in Los Angeles' Theatre Row District. It has over 75 members including actors, designers, directors, and stage managers....
, Hollywood, California. (2004 NAACP nominee for Best Original Play and Ensemble - 1997 - Mobile Hymn - Santa Monica Playhouse, Santa Monica, California. (1997 Drama-Logue AwardDrama-Logue AwardThe Drama-Logue Award was a theater award established in 1977, given by the publishers of Drama-Logue newspaper, a weekly west-coast theater trade publication. Winners were selected by the publication's theater critics, and would receive a certificate at an annual awards ceremony...
for Best Play and Ensemble) - 1997 - Douglas - Northlight Repertory Theatre, Chicago, Illinois. (1991 Portland's Critics Circle Best Play; 1989 Gavel Award nominee)
- 1989 - Domino - 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...
, New York. - 1983 - Great Divide - New York Theatre Workshop (after opening at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center).
- 1981 - Tangles - Pittsburgh Public TheaterPittsburgh Public TheaterPittsburgh Public Theater is a professional theater company based in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Cultural District.Established in 1974, it was housed in the Hazlett Theatre at the Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall on Pittsburgh’s North Side...
, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. http://www.ppt.org/content/productionhistory.cfm
Robert Litz's partial filmography
- 2007 - Alta California - Writer (Pre-production).
- 2006 - Ten Tricks - Producer.
- 2004 - A&EA&E NetworkThe A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
BiographyBiography (TV series)Biography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987...
: George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, Founding Father - Writer. (TV) - 2004 - A&E Biography: Benjamin FranklinBenjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, Citizen of the World - Writer. (TV) - 2003 - A&E Biography: Andrew JacksonAndrew JacksonAndrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
, A Man for the People - Writer. (TV) - 2000 - A&E Biography: John TravoltaJohn TravoltaJohn Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
- Writer. (TV) - 2000 - Maxine's Christmas Carol - Co-writer. (TV)
- 2000 - Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists - Producer.
- 1998 - A&E: In Pursuit of Space - Writer. (TV)http://voyager.db.erau.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=98957
- 1998 - World War II: The race to rule the skies - Writer. (TV) http://voyager.db.erau.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=2&ti=1,2&SC=Author&SA=Litz%2C%20Robert%20Jay%2E&PID=dFxmg7irjvnCbKS5OEEFJtQ4aO&SEQ=20080214065059&SID=2
- 1996 - America's Flying Aces: The Blue AngelsBlue AngelsThe United States Navy's Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, popularly known as the Blue Angels, was formed in 1946 and is currently the oldest formal flying aerobatic team...
50th Anniversary - Writer. (TV) - 1993 - House of CardsHouse of Cards (1993 film)House of Cards is a 1993 drama film directed by Michael Lessac and starring Kathleen Turner and Tommy Lee Jones. It follows the struggle of a mother to reconnect with her daughter who has been traumatized by the death of her father. The film premiered at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival before being...
- Writer. - 1989 - Medium Straight - Writer.
- 1985 - Rappin'Rappin'Rappin is a 1985 film directed by Joel Silberg, written by Adam Friedman and Robert J. Litz and starring Mario Van Peebles. Van Peebles plays "Rappin' John Hood", an ex-convict, who attempts to save his neighborhood from developers and hoodlums...
- Writer.