Melissa James Gibson is a Canadian-born
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 ...
based in New York.
Life
The child of former
BC Liberal MLA Gordon Gibson
Gordon Fullerton Gibson, (born 1937) is a political columnist, author, and politician in British Columbia (BC), Canada. He is the son of the late Gordon Gibson, who was a prominent businessman and Liberal Party politician in British Columbia ...
and journalist Valerie Gibson, Melissa James Gibson grew up in North Vancouver.
[Theprovince.com]
/ref> She graduated from Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
and from the Yale School of Drama with an M.F.A. in Playwriting. After graduating, she worked as a college counselor at the exclusive arts-oriented Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn Heights, where her daughter, Celia Frey, graduated in 2017 and her son, Griffin Frey, is a current sophomore. She is working on commissions for the La Jolla Playhouse and The Adirondack Theatre Festival. She has received fellowships from the Jerome Foundation and the MacDowell Colony.
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 ...
theatre critic Charles Isherwood
Charles Isherwood (born 1964/65) is an American theater critic.
Education
Isherwood is a graduate of Stanford University.
Career
Isherwood wrote for '' Backstage West'' in Los Angeles. In 1993, he joined the staff of ''Variety'', where he was pr ...
wrote that, with her play ''This'', Gibson “graduates into the theatrical big leagues with this beautifully conceived, confidently executed and wholly accessible work.”
[
She subsequently wrote episodes for '']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 ...
'' and '' House of Cards'', before joining Endeavor Content in an overall deal.
Awards
* 2002 Obie
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 ...
for playwriting, Kesselring Prize
Joseph Otto Kesselring (July 21, 1902 – November 5, 1967) was an American playwright who was best known for writing '' Arsenic and Old Lace'', a hit on Broadway from 1939 to 1944 and in other countries as well.
Biography
He was born in ...
, The Best Plays of 2001–02 for '' ic''
* 2002 Whiting Award
The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and ...
* 201
Steinberg Playwright Award
Works
* ''God's Paws'' (1993).
* ''Six Fugues'' (1995).
''[sic]''
Steppenwolf Theatre Company commission, New York Premiere: Soho Rep (2001).
* ''Suitcase, or Those That Resemble Flies From A Distance'' (NEA/ TCG Theatre Residency Program), Soho Rep (2004).
* ''Brooklyn Bridge'', music by Barbara Brousal (The Children's Theater Company/New Dramatists Playground program commission) (2005).
* ''Current Nobody'', Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, DC, (2007).
* ''Nuda Veritas'', Philadelphia Fringe Festival (2009).
* ''This'', Playwrights Horizons, (2009).Atlantic Theater Company
Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater, whose mission is to produce great plays "simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble." The company was founded in 1985 by David Mamet, William H. Macy, and 30 of their a ...
(2012).
* Various episodes for the TV series 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 ...
(2013-2014).
* ''Placebo'', Playwrights Horizons (2015).
* ''Given Fish'' (Steppenwolf Theatre Company commission, grants from the New York State Council on the Arts and the Greenwall Foundation)
References
External links
"Melissa James Gibson", ''doollee'
* ttp://www.observer.com/node/48769 "Melissa James Gibson: Lady of the Flies", ''The New York Observer'', John Heilpern, February 8, 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Melissa James
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
American dramatists and playwrights
Columbia University alumni
Yale School of Drama alumni
Place of birth missing (living people)
Obie Award recipients