Annie Baker (born April 1981) is an American playwright and film director. She is known for her
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
-winning play ''
The Flick
''The Flick'' is a play by Annie Baker that received the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and won the 2013 Obie Award for Playwriting. ''The Flick'' premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in 2013.
Productions
''The Flick'' debuted Off ...
'' (2013). She has written a string of plays which are set in the fictional town of Shirley: '' Body Awareness'' (2008), '' Circle Mirror Transformation'' (2009), '' The Aliens'' (2010), and '' Nocturama'' (2014). She made her feature film directorial debut with the
A24
A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American Privately held company, independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The studio is based in Manhattan.
The company ...
coming-of-age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
, when Baker was born, but soon moved to
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst () is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. Amherst has a council–manager form of government, and is considered a city under Massachusetts state law. Amherst is one of several Massach ...
, where she grew up and where her father, Conn Nugent, was an administrator for the Five Colleges consortium and her mother Linda Baker was a psychology doctoral student. Baker’s father is Irish Catholic, and her mother is Jewish. Her brother is author Benjamin Baker Nugent. Baker graduated from the Department of Dramatic Writing 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 ...
'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, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...
. She earned her
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 admi ...
degree in playwriting from
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...
in 2009. One of her early jobs was as a guest-wrangler helping to oversee contestants on the reality-television program '' The Bachelor''.
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 ...
, was staged by the
Atlantic Theater Company
The Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater company based in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1985 by playwright David Mamet, actor William H. Macy, and a group of acting students, the compan ...
in May and June 2008. The play featured
JoBeth Williams
Margaret JoBeth Williams (born December 6, 1948) is an American actress. She rose to prominence appearing in such films as '' Kramer vs. Kramer'' (1979), '' Stir Crazy'' (1980), ''Poltergeist'' (1982), '' The Big Chill'' (1983), '' The Day After' ...
Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit American 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.
...
in October 2009 and received the
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...
for Best New American Play and Performance.
In October and November 2010, three Boston theatre companies produced Baker's three plays that are set in the fictional town of Shirley, Vermont: ''Circle Mirror Transformation'', produced by the Huntington Theatre Company, ''Body Awareness'', produced by SpeakEasy Stage Company, and ''The Aliens'', produced by Company One.
'' The Aliens'', which premiered Off-Broadway at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in April 2010, was a finalist for the 2010 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and shared the 2010 Obie Award for Best New American Play with ''Circle Mirror Transformation''. Her adaptation of
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...
's ''
Uncle Vanya
''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897, and first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre, directed by Konstan ...
'' premiered at the Soho Repertory Theatre in June 2012, running through August 26, and was called a "funky, fresh new production" by ''
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 ...
Michael Shannon
Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor. Shannon received two Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nominations, for '' Revolutionary Road'' (2008), and '' Nocturnal Animals'' (2016). He received Screen Actors Guil ...
The Flick
''The Flick'' is a play by Annie Baker that received the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and won the 2013 Obie Award for Playwriting. ''The Flick'' premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in 2013.
Productions
''The Flick'' debuted Off ...
'' premiered at Playwrights Horizons in March 2013, and received the Obie Award for Playwriting in 2013. ''The Flick'' won the 2014
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 ...
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
'' opened Off-Broadway at the Signature Theatre on July 22, 2015 (previews). It was directed by Sam Gold and starred Georgia Engel and
Lois Smith
Lois Arlene Smith (née Humbert; born November 3, 1930) is an American actress whose career spans 7 decades. She made her film debut in the 1955 drama film '' East of Eden'', and later played supporting roles in a number of movies, including '' ...
. The play ran to September 6. This marked the fifth time that Baker and Gold worked together, starting with ''Circle Mirror Transformation'' in 2009. The play is set in a
bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house.
''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...
in
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg (; ) is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough had a population of 7,106 people.
Gettysburg was the site of ...
. ''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' ranked it at No. 8 on its list of Top Ten Plays and Musicals for 2015. It is No. 8 in ''The Hollywood Reporter'''s "Best New York Theater of 2015". ''The New York Times'' wrote that the play is a "...haunting and haunted meditation on topics she has made so singularly her own: the omnipresence of loneliness in human life, and the troubled search for love and lasting connection."
''John'' 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 Theatres ...
, Outstanding Play; Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play (Georgia Engel); Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (Lois Smith); Outstanding Scenic Design (Mimi Lien); and Outstanding Lighting Design (Mark Barton). ''John'' received six 2016
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...
nominations: Outstanding Play; Outstanding Actress in a Play (Georgia Engel); Outstanding Director of a Play; Outstanding Set Design for a Play (Mimi Lien); Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play (Mike Barton); and Outstanding Sound Design in a Play (Bray Poor). ''John'' won the 2016 Obie Awards for Performance for Georgia Engel and a Special Citations: Collaboration, for Annie Baker, Sam Gold and the design team.
Baker's ''The Antipodes'' premiered Off-Broadway at the Signature Theatre Company with previews on April 4, 2017; it opened officially on April 23, directed by Lila Neugebauer. The cast featured Phillip James Brannon,
Josh Charles
Joshua Aaron Charles (born September 15, 1971) is an American film, television, and theater actor. He is best known for the roles of Dan Rydell on '' Sports Night, '' Will Gardner on '' The Good Wife'', which earned him two Primetime Emmy Awar ...
, Josh Hamilton, Danny Mastrogiorgio, Danny McCarthy, Emily Cass McDonnell, Brian Miskell,
Will Patton
William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''.West End at the National Theatre in January 2018. It was directed by James Macdonald, and starred Marylouise Burke (Mertis) and June Watson (Genevieve). Andy Propst of ''Time Out'' ranked it the 40th best play ever written, and it made a 2019 list by ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''.
2020–present: Directorial debut
In September 2023, Baker's "weird and great new play," '' Infinite Life,'' opened at Off-Broadway's
Atlantic Theater Company
The Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater company based in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1985 by playwright David Mamet, actor William H. Macy, and a group of acting students, the compan ...
A24
A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American Privately held company, independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The studio is based in Manhattan.
The company ...
coming-of-age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
Julianne Nicholson
Julianne Nicholson (born July 1, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the film '' August: Osage County'' (2013) and the television series '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2006–2009), '' Masters of Sex'' (2013–2014), ...
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' declared it an "exquisite debut" adding that it was "an oddball marvel of comparable beauty". Tomris Laffly of ''
TheWrap
''TheWrap'' is an American online news organization that covers the business of entertainment and media. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009 and is based in Los Angeles. The site features original reporting, analysis, and editor ...
'' wrote in a mixed review that " he filmkeeps the viewer at arm’s length from both the joys and aches of tweenhood, when all you crave is to get just a step closer." Baker earned two
Independent Spirit Award
The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...
Barnard College
Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...
, and in the MFA program at
Stony Brook Southampton
Stony Brook Southampton is a campus location of Stony Brook University, located in Southampton, New York, between the Shinnecock Indian Reservation and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on the eastern end of Long Island.
History
Southampton Colleg ...
. She is also on the faculty of the Rita and Burton Goldberg MFA in Playwriting program of
Hunter College
Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...
. Additionally, Baker is an Associate Professor of Practice in the MFA Playwriting/Directing program at the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
.
Personal life
She is married to Nico Baumbach, with whom she has one child. Her in-laws include
Noah Baumbach
Noah Baumbach (born September 3, 1969) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making light comedies set in New York City and his works are inspired by filmmakers such as Woody Allen and Whit Stillman. His frequent collaborators include Wes A ...
and Greta Gerwig.
In July 2017, Baker was among 60 artists who signed an open letter organized by the group Adalah-NY that called on
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...
to cancel performances of a play sponsored by the Israeli government and based on a novel by David Grossman. In an open letter to President Biden in 2023, she, along with other Jewish American writers, called for a ceasefire.
Style and recognition
''
Time Out New York
''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide.
In 2012, the London edition became ...
'' wrote in 2008 that Baker "creates normal individuals coping with everyday issues in their small-town lives," and that her play '' Body Awareness'' "marks the arrival of a new playwright who would seem to fit the quirky bill, but aims for sincerity instead. Even though there's goofiness aplenty in her work, hesticks to straightforward narrative and simple dialogue. The writing isn't superficially clever, it's smart." ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' said Baker "wants life onstage to be so vivid, natural, and emotionally precise that it bleeds into the audience’s visceral experience of time and space. Drawing on the immediacy of overheard conversation, she has pioneered a style of theatre made to seem as untheatrical as possible, while using the tools of the stage to focus audience attention...." The website ''
The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'' found that, "Baker’s skill is to make us work hard as an audience to make our own sense of her play — the best, most enriching way to view any theatrical performance. Baker’s works are not for those who want easy, A-leads-to-B plots, and spoon-fed meanings... Baker, as all great playwrights do, is holding a mirror up to us all."
Works
Theatre
As a playwright
Filmography
Awards and honors
In 2008 she was one of seven participant playwrights selected to write in the
Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by actor Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and compo ...
Theatre Lab. A new play, titled ''The Last of the Little Hours,'' written by Baker was chosen for development at the Sundance Institute's 2014 Theatre Lab in Utah to be presented in July. Annie Baker directed the play herself. The play "follows the daily life of a group of Benedictine monks." Baker is part of the Signature Theatre's "Residency Five" program, which "guarantees each playwright three world-premiere productions of new plays over the course of a five-year residency." ''John'' is Baker's first play under this program. ''The Antipodes'' is her second play under this program, and premiered on April 18, 2017.
Honors
* 2009 - MacDowell Colony Fellow
* 2011 -
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' ...
Fellow
* 2013 - The Steinberg Playwright Award, which included a $50,000 prize
* 2013 - Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
* 2014 -
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 ...
Guggenheim Fellow
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...
, Creative Arts Drama & Performance Art
*2015 -
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...
Cullman Center Fellow
* 2017 -
MacArthur Fellow
The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and 30 individuals workin ...
, which has a monetary amount of $625,000 over a five-year period.
* 2024 -
Independent Spirit Award
The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...