Antoinette Nwandu is an American playwright based in New York.

Background

Antoinette Nwandu was born and raised in Los Angeles. She studied at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, and the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

. She is a member of the Ars Nova Play Group, and was the 2015–2016 Naked Angels Issues Playlab Resident at The New School for Performing Arts. Nwandu was also a 2013–2014

Dramatists Guild The Dramatists Guild of America is a professional organization for playwrights, composers, and lyricists working in the U.S. theatre market. Membership as an Associate Member is open to any person having written at least one stage play. Active Mem ...

Fellow and a Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference Fellow. She frequently performs with the spoken-word ensemble Sister Scribes. Nwandu has worked with the Cherry Lane Mentor Project, Page73, Ars Nova, The Flea,

Naked Angels ''Naked Angels'' is a 1969 American outlaw biker film directed by Bruce D. Clark. Starring Michael Greene as Mother, Jennifer Gan as Marlene, and Richard Rust as Fingers, it provides an insider's perspective at the lifestyle of outlawed bikers. ...

, Fire This Time, The Movement Theater Company, WordBRIDGE, and Dreamscape Theatre. She has received the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award for ''Flat Sam'' in 2009 and the Negro Ensemble Company's Douglas Turner Ward Prize. She has also been a Playwrights of New York Fellowship finalist, a Page73 Fellowship finalist, an NBT (National Black Theatre) I Am Soul Fellowship finalist, and a Princess Grace Award semi-finalist. In 2015, Nwandu's play ''Pass Over'' was a finalist for the Ruby Prize. It was included on the 2016 '' Kilroys' List''. ''Pass Over'' premiered at the

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Unitarian church on Half Day Road in Deerfield, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on ...

in Chicago in May 2017. The play was recorded live at the Steppenwolf Theatre, adapted for film by co-director Danya Taymor and co-director and producer

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

and premiered on

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on April 20, 2018. Its New York debut was at LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater in June 2018. Her play ''Breach: a manifesto on race in america through the eyes of a black girl recovering from self-hate'' was staged at

Victory Gardens Theater Victory Gardens Theater is a theater company in Chicago, Illinois dedicated to the development and production of new plays and playwrights. The theater company was founded in 1974 when eight Chicago artists, Cecil O'Neal, Warren Casey, Stuart Go ...

in 2018 by director

Lisa Portes Lisa Portes (born 1966/1967) is a director, educator, and advocate. She heads of the MFA Directing program at The Theatre School at DePaul University. She serves on the board of the Theatre Communications Group, the Executive Board of the Society ...

Notable works

*''FLAT SAM'' (2013) *''Vanna White Must Die'' (2012) *''Black Boy & the War'' (2011) *''4 Sustenance'' (2012) *''Pass Over'' (2017) *''BREACH: a manifesto on race in America through the eyes of a black girl recovering from self-hate'' (2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nwandu, Antoinette Harvard University alumni Living people Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Tisch School of the Arts alumni African-American dramatists and playwrights American women dramatists and playwrights Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American women writers 21st-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American women writers