Tanya Barfield
Encyclopedia
Tanya Barfield is an African-American playwright
and actress whose works have been presented both nationally and internationally with such festivals and companies as the Arena Stage
, The Royal Court Theatre
, the New York Theatre Workshop
, Seattle Repertory Theatre
and the Hartford Stage
.
Her plays include: 121° West, Blue Door,
Defacing Patriotic Property, Dent, Foul Play,
The Houdini Act, Medallion, Of Girl & Wolf and Wanting North, Pecan Tan, The Quick, Snapshot and
Without Skin or Breathlessness
. She authored a book for a children's musical entitled Civil War: The First Black Regiment.
Before becoming a playwright, Ms. Barfield was a solo performer, appearing in her one-woman show Without Skin or Breathlessness
. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School
's Playwriting Program and a recipient of the Helen Merrill Emerging Playwrights Award.
She received a 2005 Honorable Mention for the Kesselring Prize for Drama, a 2006 Lark Play Development
/NYSCA grant and she has been twice been a Finalist for the Princess Grace Award. She has been commissioned by Playwrights Horizons, Center Theatre Group, South Coast Repertory
, Primary Stages and Geva Theatre Center.
In the 2006-2007 season, her play, Blue Door, was produced at Playwrights Horizons, South Coast Repertory; Seattle Repertory, Berkeley Repertory, Harare International Festival of the Arts, Zimbabwe (HIFA). Blue Door is published by Dramatists Play Service. Blue Door was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize
.
On June 29, 2008, her play Of Equal Measure, NAACP Theatre Awards nominee, premiered at the Kirk Douglas Theatre
in Culver City, California
through the sponsorship of the National Endowment for the 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...
and actress whose works have been presented both nationally and internationally with such festivals and companies as the Arena Stage
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
, The Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
, 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...
, Seattle Repertory Theatre
Seattle Repertory Theatre
Seattle Repertory Theatre is a major regional theatre located in Seattle, Washington, at the Seattle Center. It is a member of Theatre Puget Sound and Theatre Communications Group. Founded in 1963, it is led by Artistic Director Jerry Manning and Managing Director Benjamin Moore...
and the Hartford Stage
Hartford Stage
Hartford Stage, located in Hartford, Connecticut, is one of the leading resident theatres in the United States, known internationally for entertaining and enlightening audiences with a wide range of the best of world drama, from classics to provocative new plays and musicals and neglected works...
.
Her plays include: 121° West, Blue Door,
Defacing Patriotic Property, Dent, Foul Play,
The Houdini Act, Medallion, Of Girl & Wolf and Wanting North, Pecan Tan, The Quick, Snapshot and
Without Skin or Breathlessness
Without Skin or Breathlessness
Without Skin or Breathlessness is playwright Tanya Barfield's widely anthologized solo performance about a white mother looking back on the childhood of her biracial child. The performance was chronicled in the solo performance anthology "O Solo Homo."...
. She authored a book for a children's musical entitled Civil War: The First Black Regiment.
Before becoming a playwright, Ms. Barfield was a solo performer, appearing in her one-woman show Without Skin or Breathlessness
Without Skin or Breathlessness
Without Skin or Breathlessness is playwright Tanya Barfield's widely anthologized solo performance about a white mother looking back on the childhood of her biracial child. The performance was chronicled in the solo performance anthology "O Solo Homo."...
. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
's Playwriting Program and a recipient of the Helen Merrill Emerging Playwrights Award.
She received a 2005 Honorable Mention for the Kesselring Prize for Drama, a 2006 Lark Play Development
Lark Play Development Center
The Lark Play Development Center is a non-profit organization that seeks to help playwrights improve and produce their plays. Headquartered in Manhattan, New York they function in countries throughout the world.- History :...
/NYSCA grant and she has been twice been a Finalist for the Princess Grace Award. She has been commissioned by Playwrights Horizons, Center Theatre Group, South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely...
, Primary Stages and Geva Theatre Center.
In the 2006-2007 season, her play, Blue Door, was produced at Playwrights Horizons, South Coast Repertory; Seattle Repertory, Berkeley Repertory, Harare International Festival of the Arts, Zimbabwe (HIFA). Blue Door is published by Dramatists Play Service. Blue Door was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
.
On June 29, 2008, her play Of Equal Measure, NAACP Theatre Awards nominee, premiered at the Kirk Douglas Theatre
Kirk Douglas Theatre
The Kirk Douglas Theatre is located in Culver City, California and in 2004, was acquired by the famed Center Theatre Group. The theatre is the most intimate of the group's three stages and seats 317 patrons at max occupancy.- History :...
in Culver City, California
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
through the sponsorship of the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
.