Whiting Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 24 (2008) Winner
Dael Orlandersmith
デール・オーランダースミス
Dēru Ōrandāsumisu
Aliases:
Donna Brown / Donna Dael Theresa Orlander Smith Brown
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1960 （East Harlem, New York City）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- East Harlem, New York City
Career
- Occupations
- actress, poet, playwright
- Active Years
- 1995-2023
- Nominations
- 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama Finalist (Yellowman), 2003 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Play (Yellowman)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter College | — | — | — | — | United States |
| HB Studio | — | Acting | — | — | United States |
| Actors Studio | — | Acting | — | — | United States |
Hunter College
Country:
United States
Attended but left
HB Studio
Acting
Country:
United States
Attended acting classes
Actors Studio
Acting
Country:
United States
Attended acting classes
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Obie Award | Beauty's Daughter | Special Citation | Village Voice | Winner |
| 2003 | Susan Smith Blackburn Prize | Yellowman | — | — | Winner |
| 2005 | PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award | — | 中堅劇作家 | — | Winner |
| 2008 | Whiting Award | — | — | — | Winner |
Obie Award
1995
Work:
Beauty's Daughter
Category:
Special Citation
Organization:
Village Voice
Result:
Winner
Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
2003
Work:
Yellowman
Result:
Winner
PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award
2005
Category:
中堅劇作家
Result:
Winner
Whiting Award
2008
Result:
Winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Beauty's Daughter
1995 one-woman playA one-woman performance piece following Diane from puberty in a Harlem living room to her early 30s.
childhoodsins of parents
Yellowman
2002 playExplores colorism in the black community through the love story of a dark-skinned woman and a light-skinned man in the Gullah region.
colorismracismlove
The Gimmick
1998 one-woman playTwo childhood friends from East Harlem dream of artistic careers and the gimmick to escape their surroundings.
dreamspovertyfriendship
Monster
1996 solo showA solo show about evil social forces and destruction of innocents.
social evilloss of innocence
Horsedreams
2011 playA family destroyed by drug addiction, continuing themes of children undone by parents' sins.
drug addictionfamily destructionsins of parents
Bibliography
- Beauty's Daughter (1995)
- Monster (1996)
- The Gimmick (1998-1999)
- My Red Hand, My Black Hand (2001)
- Yellowman (2002)
- Raw Boys (2005)
- The Blue Album (2007)
- Stoop Stories (2009)
- Bones (2010)
- Horsedreams (2011)
- Black N Blue Boys/Broken Men (2012)
- Forever (2014)
- Until the Flood (2016)
- Antonio's Song (2019)
- New Age (2022)
- Spiritus/Virgil's Dance (2023)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- lyrical prosepoetic narrativenarrative-driven
- Recurring Motifs
- childhood traumasins of the parentsfamily destruction
Legacy
Renowned African-American playwright and performer, winner of Obie Award and Pulitzer finalist, known for solo plays exploring race, family trauma, and identity.
Quotes
-
There is a theme throughout the work that I write...about childhood and the sins of the father, the sins of the mother, and how people take on the very thing they don't like about their parents and they become them.
Source: Contemporary Black Biography (2004)
Trivia
- Born Donna Brown.
- African-American from East Harlem.
- Many plays premiered Off-Broadway.