Liza Jessie Peterson is a playwright, actor, activist, and educator. She is known for her one-woman show, ''The Peculiar Patriot'' and her appearances in Ava DuVernay's film ''
13th.
''
Early life
Liza Jessie Peterson is originally from
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 ...
. She attended
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
and majored in International Relations,
hoping to become a diplomat
or a lobbyist
post-graduation. Throughout her college career, Peterson was active on campus, becoming head of Georgetown's Black Student Union her freshman year.
However, Peterson moved to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in the early 1990s and became a fashion model. Her first show was for
Jean Paul Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including corsets, ...
. After modeling for three years, Peterson moved to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and started to delve into the, at the time, underground
slam poetry
A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery. ...
scene.
Teaching career
In 1998 Peterson began working at Riker's Island Academy on
Riker's Island
Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...
teaching poetry for students there. Originally supposed to be a three-week job, Peterson found herself staying there for three years due to the high demand for her classes from students and teachers. In 2008 Peterson accepted a full-time position at Riker's Academy.
By 2018, Peterson will have taught at Riker's Island for 20 years.
She created and developed The Urban Folktale Project, where her students created original plays based on their most pressing issues and performed it at several theaters around New York City. The project was so successful that it received a grant from Russell Simmons’ Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. The Urban Folktale Project has successfully produced three plays.
Career as a Playwright
Peculiar Patriot
While Peterson has written several plays, her most recent and well known was her one-woman, solo performance,
The Peculiar Patriot'.
Peterson has worked on this show since 2003
and was based on her own experiences teaching, newspaper articles, and prison reports. Peterson toured this production across the country in 35 jails and penitentiaries. In 2014 Peculiar Patriot was put on as the second show in the Penumbra's festival of experimental works. Peterson also opened for
Angela Davis
Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A feminist and a Marxist, Davis was a longtime member of ...
at the 2016 Columbia University Behind the Bars conference on Mass Incarceration. The play follows Betsy LaQuanda Ross who travels to prisons to visit her friends and family, offering them advice and updates on life outside of prison.
The show was based on Peterson's work with New York City prisons. It first opened on September 17, 2017 in the
National Black Theatre
The National Black Theatre is a non-profit cultural and educational corporation, and community-based theatre company located on 5th Avenue in Harlem, New York.
History
The National Black Theatre (NBT) is a non-profit cultural and educational co ...
’s 49th season. It was directed by Talvin Wilks.
Career in other fields
Poetry
Peterson began as a poet with the
Nuyorican Poets Cafe
Nuyorican is a portmanteau of the terms "New York" and "Puerto Rican" and refers to the members or culture of the Puerto Ricans located in or around New York City, or of their descendants (especially those raised or currently living in the N ...
in 1998. This later turned into
Def Poetry
''Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry'', better known as simply ''Def Poetry Jam'' or ''Def Poetry'', is a spoken word poetry television series hosted by Mos Def and airing on HBO between 2002 and 2007. The series features performances by estab ...
.
Two of her most well known spoken word poems are “Ice Cream Fiend” and “Waitress” which both were aired on the HBO show, ''Def Poetry Jam''.
Books
Peterson's first book, ''All Day: A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island,'' was published on April 18, 2017. This book covers a year in Peterson's classroom at Riker's Academy in which she taught a GED class. Peterson raised funds for the book through a Kickstarter campaign launched on July 21, 2013.
Film
Peterson has also acted in several films. She portrayed a slam poet in Marc Levin's 1998 movie ''Slam''. She also portrayed the casting director in Spike Lee's ''Bamboozled''. She is also known for her role of Pam in ''Love the Hard Way.'' In 2016, she was interviewed for the documentary ''13''.
Critical reception
Peterson's one woman show ''The Peculiar Patriot'' has received praise from ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and TheatreMania.
Filmography
As an Actress
As Herself
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Liza
American women dramatists and playwrights
21st-century American dramatists and playwrights
Writers from Philadelphia
Living people
21st-century American women writers
Year of birth missing (living people)