James Ijames
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James Ijames is an American performer and playwright from
Bessemer City, North Carolina Bessemer City is a small suburban city in Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 5,340 (as of the 2010 census). The city is approximately northwest of Gastonia and west of Charlotte. It was settled in 1756 and founded ...
born sometime in the early 1980s. He is currently based in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. He received a B.A. in Drama from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and received his MFA in Acting from
Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. He is an assistant professor of Theater at
Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Penns ...


Plays

* ''Youth'' * ''History of Walking'' – Developed at Theatre Exile in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * ''Matter Out of Place'' – Developed at InterAct Theater Company and Available Light Theater in Columbus, Ohio * ''Kill Move Paradise -'' Premiered at the National Black Theater in 2017 * ''White'' – Developed at the PlayPenn New Play Conference, World Premiered at Theater Horizon in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * ''Moon Man Walk'' – World Premiered at Orbiter 3 Playwrights Collective in 2015 * ''The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington'' – World Premiere at the Flashpoint Theater Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * ''The Threshing Floor'' * '' Fat Ham'' - Film premiered from the Wilma Theater 2021


Awards and accolades

* F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Artist (2011) * Two Barrymores for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play for ''Superior Donuts'' and ''Angels in America'' * One Barrymore for Outstanding Direction of a Play for ''The Brothers Size'' * Terrence McNally New Play Award for ''White'' (2015) * Pew Fellowship in the Arts for Playwriting (2015) * Kesselring Honorable Mention Prize for ''Miz Martha'' * Whiting Award for Drama (2017) *
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 ...
for ''Fat Ham'' (2022)


Critical reviews

"Mr. Ijames's play has no sense of an ending, or of resolution. It takes place in a nightmare of history, in which events are repeated, fugue-like, into eternity. (In this sense, the early work of Suzan-Lori Parks comes to mind.)" – Ben Brantley New York Times in response to ''Kill Move Paradise''. "The ending adds a surreal twist by driving home Ijames' exploration of black women's exploitation by feminism, by contemporary culture and white women." – Jim Rutter Philadelphia Inquirer in response to ''White'' "In short, there's a lot of talk about "new work" in theater and opera in this town, but Moon Man Walk provides the kind of artistic quality that the Philadelphia arts community needs to not only achieve with new works but invest in." – Bryan Buttler for Philadelphia Magazine in response to ''Moon Man Walk''.


Orbiter 3

James Ijames is a founding member of Orbiter 3, Philadelphia's first playwright producing organization which strives to create inclusive local art to further the Philadelphia theatre scene. Their reported goal is to produce six plays over the next three years. Orbiter 3 has been host to developments and productions of Ijames' own work.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ijames, James Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male dramatists and playwrights Temple University alumni Morehouse College alumni People from Bessemer City, North Carolina African-American dramatists and playwrights