Kęstutis Nakas
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Kęstutis Nakas is an American playwright, author, performer, director, and teacher whose work has been presented at the
New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions are ...
,
Yale Repertory Theatre Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of Yale School of Drama, in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented stud ...
, La Mama, Dixon Place, P.S. 122, St. Mark's Church in the Bowery, 8 BC, The Kitchen, Highways, and numerous other national venues.


Biography

Nakas was born in 1953 in the U.S. to Lithuanian emigrants. He was named after
Kęstutis Kęstutis ( – 3 or 15 August 1382) was sole Duke of Trakai from 1342 to 1382 and List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1342 to 1382, together with his brother Algirdas (until 1377), and with his nephew Jogaila (from 1377 to ...
, a 14th-century monarch of Lithuania, a heritage which he describes as "...no joke. It's hard work. Like being an emotional verbose gesticulating Italian and a sullen depressed Scandinavian at the same time." Nakas was active in New York's East Village performance scene and was artistic director of Gates of Dawn, which showcased cutting edge performers such as Holly Hughes. He has taught at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
,
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
,
CUNY The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...
, and the
University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...
. Nakas received his B.A. from
Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...
's experimental Justin Morrill College and a M.F.A. from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
. His best-known piece is the 4-part historical comic farce ''When Lithuania Ruled the World''. Parts I through III of the series combining Lithuanian history and mythology were produced in New York City in the 1980s and 1990s; Part IV was produced in Chicago in 2003. According to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' review of this play, "Mr. Nakas is a very clever subverter of all versions of history...Experiencing this dizzying spectacle is certainly different and quite exhilarating, perhaps like seeing all the operas of Wagner and Mussorgsky jammed together and staged in Grand Central Terminal at rush hour."New York Times review of ''When Lithuania Ruled the World''
/ref>


Other works

Kestutis is the founder of a monthly live art performance event at i^3 productions I^3 hypermediain Chicago. Originally called "Word Of Mouth," and now "Follow Spot," this event is a "laboratory for original performance and live experiments of any nature."

*FOLLOW SPOT PASSING OF THE HAT CEREMONY a

. *Follow Spot on Facebook at

*''Hunger and Lightning'', play; New York Times review a

. *''The Amazing Spear of Destiny'', play; New York Times review at

.


Professorship

Nakas is currently associate professor of theatre at
The Theatre Conservatory of Chicago College of Performing Arts The Theatre Conservatory of Chicago College of Performing Arts is a theatre arts conservatory based in Chicago, Illinois at Roosevelt University. The school offers Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in acting, Musical Theatre, and Musical Theatre Danc ...
at
Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university enrolls arou ...
in Chicago.


Family

He is married to the actress Audra Budrys and they have one child together. Kęstutis has two siblings, a brother, Al, and one younger sister, Ruta.


Acting

As an actor, Nakas briefly appeared in the soap opera ''
All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...
''.


References


External links


Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts
* *http://www.i3hypermedia.com/reels/StickyMusicVideo.php Sticky Music Video—i^3 productions {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakas, Kestutis 1952 births Living people 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Michigan State University alumni University of New Mexico faculty Roosevelt University faculty University of California, Los Angeles faculty City College of New York faculty American people of Lithuanian descent New York University alumni New York University faculty Writers from Chicago Writers from New York City