Tanya Barfield is an American playwright whose works have been presented both nationally and internationally.DeVoti, Emily
"Blue Door: Painting within the lines of history with Tanya Barfield"
brooklynrail.org, October 2006, Accessed 13 September 2104.

Early life

Barfield was raised in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

and attended Metropolitan Learning Center. Barfield fell in love with theater at a young age. Her high school didn't have a theater program, so she sought acting electives at another school. While she was there, the

Oregon Shakespeare Festival The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and contemporary pla ...

sent actors to her school to perform a condensed version of Macbeth. She walked away from that experience knowing that she wanted to have a career in the field of theater and making the decision to direct that very same play at her own high school months later. She graduated 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, th ...

where she studied acting. She starred in a one- woman show '' Without Skin or Breathlessness''. She then attended the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

Playwrights program, receiving an Artist Diploma. At Juilliard, she was the drama division's literary manager and a member of The Lila Acheson Playwriting Program."Staff Portrait. Tanya Barfield"
juilliard.edu, accessed October 11, 2015

Career

Her plays include: ''Bright Half Life'', ''The Call'', ''121° West'', ''Blue Door'', ''Dent'', ''The Houdini Act'', ''Medallion'', ''Of Girl & Wolf and Wanting North'', ''Pecan Tan'' and ''The Quick''. She authored a book for a children's musical entitled ''Civil War: The First Black Regiment''. She taught playwriting at Primary Stages School of Theater and

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

, New York University and she served as the literary manager of the

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

Drama Division from 2009 to 2014. In 2016, Profile Theatre in Portland dedicated their entire season to her work, producing four of her plays. As of 2020 she replaced Marsha Norman as the co-director of The Acheson program. She is a proud alumna of New Dramatists and a member of the

Dramatists Guild of America 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 M ...

sitting on the council.

Plays

Barfield's most nominated play ''Blue Door'' features a prominent African American mathematician in crisis

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

begins to lose his grip on reality, and "the ghosts of his ancestors

shatter the silence of an insomnia-filled night." Her play ''Blue Door'' had its world premiere 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 ...

, Costa Mesa, California in May 2006. It was then produced at the Off-Broadway

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. Under the ...

in September 2006 to October 2006, directed by Leigh Silverman. The ''CurtainUp'' reviewer noted: "Barfield's play is filled with words that spin into near poetic riffs and define the past and the present philosophical and cultural attitudes of African-Americans in a unique and refreshing way....The title refers to a family memory and a tradition stemming from the days in the slave quarters when the door was painted blue to "keep the bad spirits out and the soul family in." It also was produced at the

Seattle Repertory Theatre Seattle Repertory Theatre (familiarly known as "The Rep") is a major regional theatre located in Seattle, Washington, at the Seattle Center. It is a member of Theatre Puget SoundHIFA). ''Blue Door'' was developed at the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, Utah, in 2005. On June 29, 2008, her play ''Of Equal Measure'' premiered 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 ...

in Culver City, California directed by Leigh Silverman through the sponsorship of the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

. The play was a NAACP Theatre Awards nominee. ''The Call'' opened Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in a co-production with

Primary Stages Primary Stages was founded in 1984 by Casey Childs as an Off-Broadway not-for-profit theater company. In 2004, Primary Stages moved from its 99-seat home of 17 years at Davenport Theatre, 354 West 45th Street to the 199-seat theater at 59E59 Theat ...

in March 2013 to May 2013, directed by Leigh Silverman. The ''TheatreMania'' reviewer wrote that "...whatever the work's shortcomings, it's never a bad thing to leave the theater thinking about the problems of the world at large and looking at your own neighbors in a new light." ''The Call'' was a ''New York Times'' Critic's Pick. Barfield's newest and self-proclaimed best play ''Bright Half Life'' explores the relationship between two women in love. According to press notes,

"Erica meets Vicky. Vicky marries Erica. Lives collide. Rewind. Pause. Fast forward. ''Bright Half Life'' is a kaleidoscopic new play about love, skydiving and the infinite moments that make a life together."

''Bright Half Life'' ran Off-Broadway at the Women's Project Theater in February 2015 to March 2015, directed by Leigh Silverman. It was a "Time Out" Critic's Pick, and the script received the 2016

LAMBDA Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

Television

Growing up, Barfield had little interaction with dramatic media on TV. She enjoyed television, but she never saw herself writing for the screen because it didn't have the riveting material that she wanted to explore. However, according to her,

"TV got better and better. The stories became so unexpected, with complicated characters. It started to feel like something truly exciting was happening onscreen, the vanguard of dramatic narrative. It felt rich and full of possibility in a way that it hadn't felt before."

She then began writing for television with her first writing credit being season 4, episode 7 of ''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American period spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg that aired on the FX television network for six seasons from January 30, 2013, to May 30, 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also serve as showrunners a ...

'' (FX). Barfield is now a working television writer as well as a playwright, yet she still struggles with finding the time to balance the two mediums. She has written for the Starz series ''The One Percent'', and ''The Americans'' (FX). Her most recent writing credits include ''Here and Now'' (HBO), '' Mrs. America'' (FX) and the upcoming ''Jack Johnson.''

Awards and Nominations

Awards

2020 Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Long Form – Original, for ''Mrs. America'' on FX. Barfield shares this award with six other writers. 2016 Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series for ''The Americans'' on FX. Barfield shares this award with six other writers. 2006 Lark Play Development / NYSCA grant 2005 Honorable Mention – Kesselring Prize for Drama 2003 Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights 2013 Lilly Award

Nominations

2020 Primetime Emmy, Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special for Episode 3 ''Mrs. America'' entitled "Shirley" on FX. 2020 Primetime Emmy, Outstanding Limited Series for ''Mrs. America'' on FX. 2007

Audelco Award AUDELCO, the Audience Development Committee, Inc., was established in 1973 by Vivian Robinson to honor excellence in African American theatre in New York City. AUDELCO presents the Vivian Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Awards (also known as Viv awar ...

for ''Blue Door'', Playwright Two Nominations for the

Princess Grace Award The Princess Grace Foundation – USA is a charity organization named after Princess Grace of Monaco, which supports emerging performers in theater, dance, and film in the form of awards, grants, scholarships, and fellowships. The Foundation hol ...

References

External links

Internet Off-Broadway Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barfield, Tanya Living people Juilliard School alumni Actresses from Portland, Oregon African-American women writers American stage actresses African-American actresses American women dramatists and playwrights Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights African-American dramatists and playwrights LGBT dramatists and playwrights LGBT screenwriters Lambda Literary Award for Drama winners American lesbian writers American television writers 21st-century American women writers Screenwriters from Oregon American women television writers African Americans in Oregon Writers from Portland, Oregon LGBT people from Oregon 21st-century American screenwriters New York University alumni African-American screenwriters 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American writers African-American history of Oregon