Rajiv Joseph (born June 16, 1974) 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 ...
. He was named a finalist for the 2010
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 his play ''
Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'' is a play by Rajiv Joseph. The show is about "a tiger that haunts the streets of present-day Baghdad seeking the meaning of life. As he witnesses the puzzling absurdities of war, the tiger encounters Americans ...
'',
and he won an
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 Best New American Play for his play ''Describe the Night''.
Early life
Rajiv Joseph was born and raised in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
; his mother is Euroamerican of French and German ancestry and his father is of Indian ancestry and immigrated to the States from India.
He attended
Cleveland Heights High School
Cleveland Heights High School (commonly known as Heights, Heights High or Heights High School) is the senior high school of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, located in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, United States.
Histo ...
and graduated from
Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...
in
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...
in 1996 with a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in
Creative Writing
Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...
. While at Miami he was a member of the university's
Men's Glee Club and its male acapella group, the Cheezies.
Following graduation Joseph joined the
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...
, serving three formative years in the West African Republic of
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
,
[Vineyard Presents Paula Vogel Award To Rajiv Joseph (BroadwayWorld.com)]
/ref> including two years in Koular and the third in Kaolack
Kaolack ( ar, كاولاك; wo, Kawlax) is a town of 172,305 people (2002 census) on the north bank of the Saloum River and the N1 road in Senegal. It is the capital of the Kaolack Region, which borders The Gambia to the south. Kaolack is an i ...
. Joseph has stated about his time there: "Being in Senegal, more than anything else in my life, made me into a writer." His time in Senegal helped him develop the discipline of daily writing and inspired his "fascination with the power of language"; as he has stated: "It felt a little like being a child again, because your language skills are on the level of a 4-year-old, so the adults kind of ignore you, but the children cluster around you telling you what everything is called".
Joseph earned a Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.)
is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...
in Dramatic Writing from New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
's Tisch School of the Arts
The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University.
Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...
in 2004. He has taught Essay Writing at New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
and wrote for Seasons 3 and 4 of the Showtime series ''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 ...
''.
Career
Theatre credits
Joseph's first play, ''Huck & Holden'', debuted at the Cherry Lane Theatre
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, ...
in January 2006. The play also had a West Coast run at the Black Dahlia Theater in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
the following year. Joseph has stated that the story, about an Indian college student arriving in the United States, is based on his father's experiences coming to the States. His mixed-race background has given him what one critic has called a "fearlessness" about racial topics: "Being mixed-race has always been a part of my identity. You are never fully one thing or the other. You always feel a little apart, a little bit of an outsider, even when you are with your own family. That's an interesting perspective for looking at the world."
''All This Intimacy'' premiered at New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
's McGinn/Cazale Theater in 2006.
Joseph's play ''The Leopard and the Fox'', concerning the overthrow of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...
, was produced Off-Off-Broadway in October to November 3, 2007 at the TBG Theatre at The Barrow Group.
Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established wri ...
presented the world premiere of Joseph's ''Animals Out of Paper'' which ran from July 14, 2008 (previews) to August 24, 2008 at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre. ''Animals Out of Paper'' has been staged at Boise Contemporary Theater
Boise Contemporary Theater (BCT) is a small professional theater company located in Boise, Idaho. Since 1997, BCT has been the only professional theater company in Boise committed to performing a complete season of contemporary work.
History
BCT ...
(2009), at the Ensemble Theatre
The Ensemble Theatre is an Australian theatre company and theatre, situated in the Sydney suburb of Kirribilli, New South Wales.
History
It is Australia's longest continuously running professional theatre group, having given its first performa ...
in Sydney, Australia
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...
, San Francisco Playhouse
San Francisco Playhouse (formerly SF Playhouse) is a non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, founded in 2003 by Bill English and Susi Damilano. The theater stages nine plays yearly, including Broadway plays, musicals, and world ...
in 2010, Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...
(January 2011), and Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
(March 2011). In September 2014, Joseph's ''Animals Out of Paper'' had its Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
premiere at East West Players
East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As the nation's first professional Asian American theatre organization, East West Players continues to produce works and educational programs that give v ...
starring C.S. Lee
Charles Seung-hee Lee (; born December 30, 1971), known professionally as C. S. Lee, is an American actor and comedian. He is perhaps best known for playing sex-obsessed forensics analyst Vince Masuka on the Showtime drama series ''Dexter''.
...
, Tess Lina and Kapil Talwalkar. ''Animals out of Paper'' was presented in Bangalore, India
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
in September 2014 at Jagriti Theatre. It was produced by Jugaad Co. and got very good reviews. The production featured close to 75 pieces of origami.
Joseph's Pulitzer finalist production of ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'' is a play by Rajiv Joseph. The show is about "a tiger that haunts the streets of present-day Baghdad seeking the meaning of life. As he witnesses the puzzling absurdities of war, the tiger encounters Americans ...
'', directed by Moisés Kaufman, debuted at the Kirk Douglas Theatre
The Kirk Douglas Theatre is a 317-seat theater located in Culver City, California. Since 2004, it has been operated by the Center Theatre Group.
History
Built in 1946, as a Streamline Moderne movie palace with a seating capacity of 1,160 (on a s ...
in Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...
in May, 2009.["'Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo' Listing"](_blank)
Center Theatre Group, accessed March 31, 2016 It ran at the Mark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739-seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center designed by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of Downtown Los Angeles. Named for real estate developer Mark Taper, the Forum, the neighboring ...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
April 14 to May 30, 2010 and premiered 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 ...
at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
The Richard Rodgers Theatre (formerly Chanin's 46th Street Theatre and the 46th Street Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Her ...
in March 2011, with Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
playing the titular character. In October 2013 it had its premiere in San Francisco at San Francisco Playhouse
San Francisco Playhouse (formerly SF Playhouse) is a non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, founded in 2003 by Bill English and Susi Damilano. The theater stages nine plays yearly, including Broadway plays, musicals, and world ...
where it was very well received in the press.
''Gruesome Playground Injuries'', starring Selma Blair
Selma Blair Beitner (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film '' Brown's Requiem'' (1998). Her breakthrough came when she s ...
and Brad Fleischer, had its world premiere in October 2009 at the Alley Theatre
The Alley Theatre is a Tony Award-winning theatre company in Houston, Texas. It is the oldest professional theatre company in Texas and the third oldest resident theatre in the United States. Alley Theatre productions have played on Broadway at L ...
in Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. Another staging at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is a non-profit theatre company located at 641 D Street NW in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1980, it produces new plays which it believes to be edgy, challenging, and thought-provokin ...
in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
ran in May 2010. Its 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 ...
production opened January 2011 at the Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established wri ...
, starring Pablo Schreiber
Pablo Tell Schreiber (born April 26, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is best known for his stage work and for portraying Nick Sobotka on ''The Wire'' (2003), William Lewis on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2013–2014), Mad S ...
and Jennifer Carpenter
Jennifer Carpenter is an American actress who is known for her role as Debra Morgan in the Showtime series '' Dexter'', for which she earned a Saturn Award in 2009, and also for playing Rebecca Harris in the CBS television series '' Limitless'' ...
.
''The North Pool'' premiered at TheatreWorks in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...
(California) in March–April 2011. It was called a "Psychological Thriller" by TheatreWorks. The Barrington Stage Company, The Berkshires
The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...
presented ''The North Pool'' in July 2012.["Rajiv Joseph's 'The North Pool' stars Remi Sandri and Babak Tafti at Barrington Stage, July 26-Aug 11"]
barringtonstageco.org, accessed March 31, 2016 The played opened Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre in February 2013 (previews), directed by Giovanna Sardelli.
''The Monster at the Door'' debuted at Houston's Alley Theatre
The Alley Theatre is a Tony Award-winning theatre company in Houston, Texas. It is the oldest professional theatre company in Texas and the third oldest resident theatre in the United States. Alley Theatre productions have played on Broadway at L ...
in May 2011.[
]
''The Lake Effect'' premiered at Chicago's Silk Road Rising
Silk Road Rising is a theatre company located in downtown Chicago dedicated to presenting plays written by individuals of Asian and Middle Eastern descent. Formerly known as Silk Road Theatre Project, the name was changed in 2011 in order to bett ...
on April 23, 2013. The production received the Joseph Jefferson Award
The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater sta ...
for Best New Work. Its TheatreWorks in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...
production opened March 2015, starring Adam Poss, Nilanjana Bose and Jason Bowen.
His play ''Guards at the Taj'' premiered Off-Broadway, produced by the Atlantic Theatre Company, in June to July 2015, directed by Amy Morton
Amy Morton (born April 3, 1959) is an American actress and director, best known for her work in theatre. Morton was nominated two times for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performances in '' August: Osage County'' and ''Who's Afra ...
. The play was nominated for the 2016 Lucille Lortel Awards
The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatre ...
for Outstanding Director, Amy Morton, and won for Outstanding Play; Outstanding Scenic Design, Timothy R. Mackabee; Outstanding Lighting Design, David Weiner; and Outstanding Sound Design, Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen. The play won the 2016 Obie Awards
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 Best New American Play and Performance (Omar Metwally
Omar Metwally is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Dr. Vik Ullah in the Showtime television series '' The Affair'', as well as for '' Rendition'' (2007), ''Munich'' (2005), and ''Miral'' (2010). He has also appeared in the ...
and Arian Moayed
Arian Moayed ( fa, آرین مؤید, born April 15, 1980) is an Iranian-American actor, writer, and director. Moayed received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'' a ...
). The play then received its West Coast premiere at the Geffen Playhouse
The Geffen Playhouse (or the Geffen) is a not-for-profit theater company founded by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhouse is located ...
in October to November 2015, directed by Giovanna Sardelli and starring Raffi Barsoumian
Raffi Cavoukian, ( hy, Րաֆֆի, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is a Canadian singer-lyricist and author of Armenian descent born in Egypt, best known for his children's music. He developed his career as a " ...
and Ramiz Monsef (with Naren Weiss
Naren Weiss (born March 15, 1991) is an actor, playwright, and former model. He played Osama bin Laden in Kamal Haasan's film on terrorism '' Vishwaroopam'', Dekker in the ABC series ''Deception'', and is known for his work in theatre in Indi ...
and Danvir Singh understudying), in the Audrey Skirball-Kenis
Audrey Skirball-Kenis (December 19, 1914 – June 19, 2002) was an American philanthropist.
Early years
Audrey Skirball-Kenis was born Audrey Marx in Birmingham, Alabama, the daughter of Otto Marx Sr., and Agnes Mosler Marx. Her father's banking ...
Theater. The play was nominated for the 2017 Ovation Awards
The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Winne ...
and won for Best Production of a Play (Large Theater).
Also in 2015, ''Mr. Wolf'' premiered at the South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory (SCR) is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.
Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson, is led by Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Direc ...
directed by David Emmes, set design Nephelie Andonyadis, lighting design Lap Chi Chu, sound design Cricket S. Myers Cricket S. Myers is an American sound designer based in Los Angeles, California, United States. She graduated with a MFA from California Institute of the Arts and has since then worked on over 300 productions around LA. She was nominated for a Tony ...
, costume design Leah Piehl, and production manager was Joshua Marchesi. The show starred John de Lancie
John Sherwood de Lancie, Jr. (born March 20, 1948) is an American actor, television director, director, film producer, producer, writer, and comedian, best known for his role as Q (Star Trek), Q in various ''Star Trek'' series (1987–present); ...
(Mr. Wolf), Jon Tenney
Jonathan Frederick Tenney (born December 16, 1961) is an American actor. He played Special Agent Fritz Howard in TNT's ''The Closer'' and continued in its spinoff '' Major Crimes''.
Early life
Tenney was born in Princeton, New Jersey. His mother, ...
(Michael), Tessa Auberjonois (Hana), Emily James (Thesera), and Kwana Martinez (Julie).
In 2019, Joseph received a Wordsmith Duo commission fro
Playing on Air
to write a short play for radio with Pulitzer Prize winner, Doug Wright
Douglas Wright (born December 20, 1962) is an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2004 for his play ''I Am My Own Wife''.
Early years
Wright was born in Dallas, Texas. He attended and ...
. The episode
Clean Slate
' was released in Spring 2020 and it featured Jeremy Shamos
Jeremy Shamos (born February 22, 1970) is an American actor.
Early life
Shamos was born in New York City but raised in Denver, Colorado. He has a M.F.A. from New York University.
Career
Shamos is a character actor, his most notable roles are ...
, Eisa Davis
Eisa Davis (born May 5, 1971) is an American playwright, actress and singer-songwriter. She is most commonly known for her work as a playwright, writing shows such as ''Bulrusher'' and ''Angela's Mixtape'' as well as through her acting work, where ...
, Amy Ryan
Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski, known professionally as Amy Ryan, is an American actress of stage and screen. A graduate of New York's High School of Performing Arts, she is an Academy Award nominee and two-time Tony Award nominee.
Ryan began her pr ...
, and Eden Marryshow with direction by Mark Brokaw
Mark Brokaw is an American theatre director. He won the Drama Desk Award, Obie Award and Lucille Lortel Award as Outstanding Director of a Play for ''How I Learned to Drive''.
Life and career
Brokaw was raised in Aledo, Illinois, and graduated fr ...
.
As part of the 2019-2020 season Steppenwolf Theatre and Center Theatre Group
Center Theatre Group is a non-profit arts organization located in Los Angeles, California. It is one of the largest theatre companies in the nation, programming subscription seasons year-round at the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre and th ...
commissioned a new play by Joseph: '' King James'' which opened in Chicago in March 2022, after being delayed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Film credits
In December 2013, Joseph and fellow playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney
Tarell Alvin McCraney (born October 17, 1980) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. He is the chair of playwriting at the Yale School of Drama and a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble.
He co-wrote the 2016 film ''Moonlight ...
were featured in Robert Levi's PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
Film, ''Playwright: From Page to Stage'', which aired on Independent Lens
''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence H ...
.
Rajiv co-wrote the script for ''Draft Day
''Draft Day'' is a 2014 American sports drama film directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner. The premise revolves around the fictional general manager of the Cleveland Browns (Costner) deciding what to do after hi ...
'' in 2014 and '' Army of One'' in 2016.
Awards and honors
*2008: Vineyard Theatre
The Vineyard Theatre is an Off-Broadway non-profit theatre company, located at 108 East 15th Street in Manhattan, New York City, near Union Square. Its first production was in 1981. It is best known for its productions of the Tony award-winning ...
's Paula Vogel
Paula Vogel (born November 16, 1951) is an American playwright who received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play ''How I Learned to Drive.'' A longtime teacher, Vogel spent the bulk of her academic career – from 1984 to 2008 – at Bro ...
Award given to emerging playwrights.
*2008: ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'' was chosen by the NEA as one of two Outstanding New American plays.
*2009: Kesselring Fellowship awarded to emerging dramatists.
*2009: Joseph participated in the 10th Annual Sundance Playwrights Retreat in Ucross, Wyoming.
*2009: ''Animals Out of Paper'' received the Lucille Lortel Award
The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatre ...
nomination for Outstanding Play.
*2009: 2009 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards
The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Winne ...
nominated Joseph for "Playwriting for an Original Play" for ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo''. The play also won five Backstage Garland Awards in 2010.
*2009: Whiting Award, an international award given annually to 10 writers of fiction, nonfiction, plays, and/or poetry.
*2010: 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 ...
finalist for ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo''.
*2010: USA Rockefeller Fellow by United States Artists
United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards.
Mission
The organization' ...
.
*2010: ''The North Pool'' was awarded the 2011 Glickman Award for the best play to make its world premiere in the Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
.
*2010: Edgerton New American Play Award for ''The North Pool''.[
*2013: The Steinberg Playwright Award.
*2015: The $150,000 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for his new play ''Guards at the Taj''.
*2018: ]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 Best New American Play for his play ''Describe the Night''.
Works
Plays
* ''Huck & Holden'' (2006)
* '' All This Intimacy'' (2006)
* ''The Leopard and the Fox'' (2007)
* ''Animals Out of Paper'' (2008)
* ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'' is a play by Rajiv Joseph. The show is about "a tiger that haunts the streets of present-day Baghdad seeking the meaning of life. As he witnesses the puzzling absurdities of war, the tiger encounters Americans ...
'' (2009)
* ''Gruesome Playground Injuries'' (2009)
* ''The North Pool'' (2011)
* ''The Monster at the Door'' (2011)
* ''The Lake Effect'' (2013)
* ''Guards at the Taj'' (2015)
* ''Mr. Wolf'' (2015)
* ''Describe the Night'' (2017)
* ''Archduke'' (2017)
* ''In the Sick Bay of the Santa Maria'' (2019)
* '' King James'' (2022)
Film
* ''Draft Day
''Draft Day'' is a 2014 American sports drama film directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner. The premise revolves around the fictional general manager of the Cleveland Browns (Costner) deciding what to do after hi ...
'' (2014), with co-writer Scott Rothman
* '' Army of One'' (2016), with co-writer Scott Rothman
References
External links
*
Profile at The Whiting Foundation
"The Pitchman"
Huck & Holden information
NPR story, Play Connects Pakistan's Past and Present, October 20, 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Rajiv
1974 births
21st-century American dramatists and playwrights
21st-century American male writers
American dramatists and playwrights of Indian descent
American male dramatists and playwrights
American male writers of Indian descent
American opera librettists
American people of French descent
American people of German descent
Living people
Miami University alumni
Peace Corps volunteers
Tisch School of the Arts alumni
Writers from Brooklyn
Writers from Cleveland
Cleveland Heights High School alumni