Joe Gulla (born July 23, 1964) is an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

participant. He is best known for the autobiographical

monologue In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

s that he writes and performs for the theater. He is a regular performer at Feinstein's/

54 Below 54 Below is a cabaret and restaurant in the basement of Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Owned by Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel, 54 Below has hosted shows by such performers as Patt ...

and

Joe's Pub Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette St ...

The Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

. An award-winning

, his plays have been 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 ...

, nationally and internationally.

Biography

Early life

Gulla is a native of

Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York. It is south of Westchester County, New York, Westchester County; north and east of the ...

. He is a 1982 graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School. Upon graduation, he attended the State University at Albany, but eventually transferred to

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

at Rose Hill. His post-graduate work includes study at

and Circle Repertory in New York City.

Career

Gulla is a regular performer at Feinstein's/

and

. His play, “My Darling Love” won the 2019

Christopher Hewitt Award The Christopher Hewitt Award is an annual literary award given each June by ''A&U'' magazine for writing that addresses or relates to HIV/AIDS. One award is given in each of four categories: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and drama. Awards w ...

for Drama. His plays, "The Bronx Queen”, “Garbo” and “Gay.Porn.Mafia” won the 2016, 2017 and 2018 NYC Downtown Urban Arts Festival "Audience Award”, respectively. As an actor, Joe performed in San Francisco's “Tony & Tina's Wedding” for many years and Off-Broadway's “My Big Gay Italian Wedding”. He also starred on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

LOST Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

, one of television's first adventure reality series. His best known work, ''Bronx Queen Trilogy'' is based on his experience growing up as a gay boy in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

.''The Bronx Queen'', first in the series, won the 2016 Downtown Urban Arts Festival "Audience Award" for Gulla's sold-out performance at

."The Bronx Queen" was also awarded Best Comedic Script and Most Popular Show at NYC Theater Row's 2012 and 2013

United Solo Theatre Festival United Solo Theatre Festival is the world's largest solo theatre festival. It takes place at Theatre Row on 42nd Street in New York City. Its founder and artistic director is Omar Sangare. The festival presents many categories of solo shows, incl ...

, respectively.''Faggy at 50'', second in the series, was awarded Best One-Man Show at NYC Theater Row's 2014

.''Daddy'', the series' final installment had its World Premiere at NYC Theater Row's 2015

. Gulla won the 2015 United Solo Award for Best Comedian for his performance. ''REEL WOOD'', a short play written by Gulla, had its World Premiere at the

Hollywood Fringe Festival The Hollywood Fringe Festival is an annual fringe theatre festival in Hollywood, California. Most indoor venues for the festival are in and around Hollywood Theatre Row, a stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. Founder Ben Hill s ...

in June 2015. It was also selected by NYC's Village Playwrights to be performed in their "Re-Inventing Family" series commemorating Gay Pride. Gulla's play, ''Knock Off!'', had its world premiere in Houston, TX at Theatre Southwest. ''Christmas Caroline'' had its World Premiere at Studio C Theatre, Hollywood, CA in November 2015. His play, ''Gayfever'' had its World Premiere at the Funky Little Theatre Company in March 2016. "Sleeping With The Fish" by Joe Gulla opened the Village Playwrights' "Gay Pride and Prejudice" series in June 2016. In June 2016, Gulla's play, ''Fall and Rise'' had its World Premiere at the Carrolwood Player's "One Act Weekend" in Tampa, Florida. Later that month, Gulla's ''Fall and Rise'' premiered at the 2016

. ''Fall and Rise'' was awarded "Best Play" in 2016 at the Acadia University Mini Fest in Nova Scotia, CN. Gulla was a contestant on the NBC adventure reality series ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

'' in 2001. The show followed three teams of two as they made their way from the

Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (Chinese: 戈壁 (沙漠), Mongolian: Говь (ᠭᠣᠪᠢ)) () is a large desert or brushland region in East Asia, and is the sixth largest desert in the world. Geography The Gobi measures from southwest to northeast an ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

back to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He played the role of "Frankie" in Off-Broadway's long-running hit, ''

My Big Gay Italian Wedding ''My Big Gay Italian Wedding'' is a play written by Anthony J. Wilkinson that premiered off-Broadway in 2003, at the Actor's Playhouse in New York City. In September 2009, an updated version co-starring Scott Evans and with choreography by J. Au ...

''. '' The Advocate'' named Gulla its "Anti-Bullying Hero" in 2012. Gulla is a member of the

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 ...

Rome Years

Gulla lived in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

from 2007 to 2010, his play ''Garbo'' was based on an unrequited love affair experienced while living there. ''Garbo'' was selected to be part of the New York City's

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

International Theater Festival in 2012. ''Garbo'' was also produced at New York's

Cherry Lane Theater The Cherry Lane Theatre is the oldest continuously running off-Broadway theater in New York City. The theater is located at 38 Commerce Street between Barrow and Bedford Streets in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, N ...

as part of the 2017 Downtown Urban Arts Festival. It won the "Audience Award" for that performance.

Original Plays (select)

* ''Garbo'' - 2011 (Barrow Group Theatre); 2017 (

) * ''The Bronx Queen'' - 2012 (Theatre Row); 2016 (

); 2019 (Feinstein's/

) * ''Faggy at 50'' - 2014 (Theatre Row); 2017 (

); 2018 (

Tabard Theatre The Tabard Theatre is a small 96-seat theatre in Chiswick in the London Borough of Hounslow. Close to Turnham Green Underground station, it is situated above the Tabard public house on Bath Road. The Tabard Theatre was licensed and opened for t ...

) * ''Daddy'' - 2015 (Theatre Row); 2018 (

) * ''Reel Wood'' - 2015 (Studio C Artists); 2018 (Eclectic Theatre) * ''Christmas Caroline'' - 2015 (Studio C Artists) * ''Knock Off!'' - 2016 (Theatre Southwest) * ''Fall and Rise'' - 2016 (

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadia ...

); 2016 (Carrollwood Players Theatre); 2016 (Studio C Artists) * ''Gayfever'' - 2016 (Funky Little Theatre Company) * ''Sleeping With The Fish'' - 2016 (Emerald Theatre Company); 2017 (Darkhorse Dramatists); 2017 (Vermont Pride Theater); 2019 (KIT Playwright Series); 2018 (Island City Stage) * ''The Voice'' - 2017 (Darkhorse Dramatists) * ''GAY.PORN.MAFIA'' - 2018 (New York Live Arts Theater) * ''My Darling Love'' - 2019 (Emerald Theatre Company) * ''Members Only'' - 2020 (Almost Adults Productions)

Critical Analysis

Joe's solo performances are presented in the tradition of (and homage to) monologist,

Spalding Gray Spalding Gray (June 5, 1941 – January 11, 2004) was an American actor, novelist, playwright, screenwriter and performance artist. He is best known for the autobiographical monologues that he wrote and performed for the theater in the 1980s and ...

. This artistic choice is explained in the Bistro Awards review of "The Bronx Queen". "Gulla delivered the entire show in

fashion: seated at a desk, reading the script aloud from a binder. At first I wondered whether this was such a great idea. Clearly Gulla knows (or nearly knows) the text by heart. But it turned out to be the right tack. There is a literary quality to Gulla’s storytelling. Were he to stand center stage or wander about—speaking his “writerly” text in stream-of-consciousness, off-the-cuff fashion—the effect might seem stilted. Gulla's strengths as a performer were evident even within the limited acting sphere he allowed himself, perched behind that table. His hand gestures were simple but emphatic, giving him an authoritative quality. He modulated his somewhat raspy voice subtly to take on the roles of the various characters in the monologue, but also to give his story shape and his sentiments depth."

Awards and honors

* 2019 - ''My Darling Love'' -

for Drama * 2019 - ''Sleeping With The Fish'' - Carlo Annoni Award/Special Mention * 2019 - ''Reel Wood'' -

Last Frontier Theatre Conference Renamed in 2021, the Valdez Theatre Conference is an annual conference on Theatre, American Theatre held in Valdez, Alaska, Valdez, Alaska that focuses on playwrighting. Continually held each year since 1993, the conference puts out a call for play ...

Selectee * 2018 - ''GAY.PORN.MAFIA'' - Downtown Urban Arts Festival Audience Award * 2017 - ''Garbo'' - Downtown Urban Arts Festival Audience Award * 2016 - ''The Bronx Queen'' - Downtown Urban Arts Festival Audience Award * 2016 - ''Daddy'' -

Award for Best Comedian * 2016 - ''Fall and Rise'' -

(

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

) Award for Best Play * 2015 - ''Faggy at 50'' -

Award for Best One Man Show Script * 2014 - ''The Bronx Queen'' -

Award for Most Popular Show Script * 2013 - ''The Bronx Queen'' -

Award for Best Comedic Script

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gulla, Joe 1964 births Living people American male actors American dramatists and playwrights American gay actors American gay writers Participants in American reality television series LGBT dramatists and playwrights LGBT people from New York (state)