Heidi Schreck (born September 26, 1971)
is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actress from
Wenatchee, Washington
Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...
. Her play ''
What the Constitution Means to Me
''What the Constitution Means to Me'' is a 2017 American play by Heidi Schreck. The play premiered on Broadway on March 31, 2019 at the Hayes Theater, with Schreck herself in the leading role. Over the course of the play, Schreck addresses themes s ...
'', which she also performs in, was a finalist for the 2019
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...
and
Tony Awards
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
for 2019 Best Play and Best Actress in a Play.
Career
Schreck attended the
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
and upon graduation worked in
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
, teaching English. She then was a journalist in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Russia. She next moved to
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
where she started working as an actress and writer.
Schreck's first play, titled ''Creature'', debuted in New York and was directed by Leigh Silverman and produced by New Georges and Page 73.
Her following plays include ''There Are No More Big Secrets'' (directed by Kip Fagan at
Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre), ''The Consultant'' (produced by The Long Wharf), and ''Grand Concourse'' (at Playwrights Horizons).
Schreck has also written episodes of the TV series ''
I Love Dick
''I Love Dick'' is a novel by American artist and author Chris Kraus. Published by Semiotext(e) in 1997, ''I Love Dick'' merges fiction and memoir formats to explore the writer's psycho-sexual obsession with the eponymous "Dick", a media theoris ...
'', ''
Nurse Jackie
''Nurse Jackie'' is an American medical comedy-drama television series. It premiered on Showtime on June 8, 2009, and its seventh and final season premiered on April 12, 2015. The series finale aired on June 28, 2015.
The show stars Edie Fal ...
'', and ''
Billions''.
She is the writer and star of ''
What the Constitution Means to Me
''What the Constitution Means to Me'' is a 2017 American play by Heidi Schreck. The play premiered on Broadway on March 31, 2019 at the Hayes Theater, with Schreck herself in the leading role. Over the course of the play, Schreck addresses themes s ...
'', which opened on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
on March 31, 2019. This play is partially
autobiographical
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
, relating her real-life experience in participating in debates as a teen.
The play was picked up as a movie directed by
Marielle Heller
Marielle Stiles Heller (born October 1, 1979) is an American writer, director, and actress. She is best known for directing the films '' The Diary of a Teenage Girl'' (2015), ''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' (2018), and ''A Beautiful Day in the Nei ...
for streaming by Amazon and released in time for the
2020 Presidential elections. The play challenges America's understanding of values and protections as they are outlined in the U.S. Constitution. In particular, Shcreck points out how the document does little to ensure the freedoms and wellbeing of women and minority groupings.
Schreck has performed
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
in, among others, ''Drum of the Waves of Horikawa'' (
HERE Arts Center
HERE Arts Center is a New York City off-off-Broadway presenting house, founded in 1993. Their location includes two stages specializing in hybrid performance, dance, theater, multi-media and puppetry in addition to art exhibition space and a cafe ...
, 2007) and ''
Circle Mirror Transformation
''Circle Mirror Transformation'' is a play by Annie Baker, centered on drama classes at a community center in Vermont. The play opened Off-Broadway in 2009 and received the Obie Award for Best New American Play.
Productions
''Circle Mirror Trans ...
'' (2009) and ''How the World Began'' (Women's Project, 2011) at
Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work.
Under the ...
.
Schreck is married to director Kip Fagan. , they live in
Park Slope, Brooklyn.
[
]
Honors and awards
She won the 2008 Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...
for Distinguished Performance by an Actress for ''Drum of the Waves of Horikawa''. She won the 2010 Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress for ''Circle Mirror Transformation''. Schreck and the cast of ''Circle Mirror Transformation'' received a 2010 Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...
, Outstanding Ensemble Performance.
Her play ''Grand Concourse'', performed in 2014–2015 at Playwrights Horizons and Steppenwolf Theatres, received the Lilly Awards
The Lilly Awards are an American awards ceremony recognizing extraordinary women in theatre. An annual celebration is held in New York to honor female writers, composers, directors, designers, producers and advocates. Some men have also been award ...
, the Stacey Mindich "Go Write A Play" Award for best new play in 2015, and was a finalist for the 2014–2015 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women+ writing for English-speaking theatre. Named for Susan Smith Blackburn (1935–1977), alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer.
W ...
.[ Schreck was a Playwrights Horizons Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence in 2014.] ''Grand Concourse'' received an Edgerton Foundation New American Plays award.
She received a commission from the Atlantic Theatre Company
Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater, whose mission is to produce great plays "simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble." The company was founded in 1985 by David Mamet, William H. Macy, and 30 of their ac ...
in conjunction with the Kenyon Institute at Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is se ...
in June 2016. She appeared at the Kenyon Playwrights Conference and taught a master class.
Schreck was a finalist for the 2018–2019 Susan Smith Blackburn prize for her play ''What the Constitution Means to Me''.[ ''What the Constitution Means to Me'' was a finalist for the 2019 ]Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
for Drama. The play was nominated for the 2019 Tony Award for Best Play
The Tony Award for Best Play (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award given to the best new (non- musical) play on Broadway, as determined by Tony Award voters. There was no award in the Tonys' first year ...
and Schreck was nominated for the 2019 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre. The award is given to actresses for quality leadi ...
.
Schreck is the co-winner, with Amy Herzog
Amy Herzog is an American playwright. Her play ''4000 Miles'', which ran Off-Broadway in 2011, was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Her play ''Mary Jane'', which ran Off-Broadway in 2017, won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Aw ...
, of the 2019 Horton Foote Playwriting Award, which includes a $12,500 monetary award.
She is the recipient of the 2018 Hull-Warriner Award The Hull-Warriner Award is an award bestowed by the Dramatists Guild of America. The award is unique in that it is given by dramatists to dramatists. It is presented annually by the Dramatists Guild Council to an author, or team of authors, in reco ...
, presented by the Dramatists Guild of America Council for ''What the Constitution Means to Me''. The award is presented to an American author honoring a work "dealing with social, political or religious mores of the time".
In 2019, Schreck won the Smithsonian magazine
''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970.
History
The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' mag ...
's American Ingenuity award.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schreck, Heidi
1971 births
21st-century American dramatists and playwrights
21st-century American screenwriters
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from Washington (state)
American expatriates in Russia
American stage actresses
American television writers
American women dramatists and playwrights
Living people
Obie Award recipients
People from Wenatchee, Washington
Place of birth missing (living people)
Theatre World Award winners
University of Oregon alumni
Writers from Washington (state)