Whiting Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 15 (1999) Winner
Naomi Iizuka
いいづか なをみ
Naomi Iizuka
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1965-04-22 （Tokyo, Japan）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Japan → Indonesia → Netherlands → Washington, D.C. → Iowa → Los Angeles, California
Career
- Occupations
- playwright, dramatist, playwriting professor
- Active Years
- 1990-2024
- Affiliations
- University of Iowa, University of Texas, Austin, UC Santa Barbara, University of California, San Diego
- Influenced By
- William Shakespeare, Hokusai, Orpheus myth
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Cathedral School | — | — | — | — | United States |
| Yale University | — | Classics | BA | — | United States |
| Yale Law School | — | — | — | 1年間 | United States |
| University of California, San Diego | — | Playwriting | MFA | — | United States |
National Cathedral School
Country:
United States
Yale University
Classics
Degree:
BA
Year of Graduation:
1987
Country:
United States
Bachelor's degree in classical literature
Yale Law School
Period:
1年間
Country:
United States
Attended for one year, no degree
University of California, San Diego
Playwriting
Degree:
MFA
Year of Graduation:
1992
Country:
United States
MFA in playwriting
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Jerome Fellowship | — | — | — | winner |
| 1996 | McKnight Advancement Grant | — | — | — | winner |
| 1998 | PEN Center USA West Award for Drama | — | — | PEN Center USA West | winner |
| 1998 | Princeton University's Hodder Fellowship | — | — | Princeton University | winner |
| 1999 | Whiting Award | — | — | Whiting Foundation | winner |
| 2001 | NEA/TCG Artist-in-Residence Grant | — | — | — | winner |
| 2001 | Stavis Award | — | — | National Theatre Conference | winner |
| 2001 | Rockefeller Foundation MAP grant | — | — | Rockefeller Foundation | winner |
| 2004 | Joyce Award | — | — | Joyce Foundation | winner |
| 2005 | Alpert Award in the Arts | — | — | — | winner |
| 2007 | PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award | — | mid-career playwright | PEN America | winner |
| 2011 | Joyce Award | — | — | Joyce Foundation | winner |
| 2024 | Hermitage Award | — | — | — | winner |
Jerome Fellowship
1995
Result:
winner
McKnight Advancement Grant
1996
Result:
winner
PEN Center USA West Award for Drama
1998
Organization:
PEN Center USA West
Result:
winner
Princeton University's Hodder Fellowship
1998
Organization:
Princeton University
Result:
winner
Whiting Award
1999
Organization:
Whiting Foundation
Result:
winner
NEA/TCG Artist-in-Residence Grant
2001
Result:
winner
Stavis Award
2001
Organization:
National Theatre Conference
Result:
winner
Rockefeller Foundation MAP grant
2001
Organization:
Rockefeller Foundation
Result:
winner
Joyce Award
2004
Organization:
Joyce Foundation
Result:
winner
Alpert Award in the Arts
2005
Result:
winner
PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award
2007
Category:
mid-career playwright
Organization:
PEN America
Result:
winner
Joyce Award
2011
Organization:
Joyce Foundation
Result:
winner
Hermitage Award
2024
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Polaroid Stories
1997 DramaModern adaptation of the Greek myth of Eurydice and Orpheus using Minneapolis street kids as protagonists. Drug dealers, prostitutes, and homeless tell stories that reveal truths about urban desolation.
myth adaptationurban povertystorytelling
36 Views
2000 DramaExplores authenticity and reality inspired by Hokusai's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. Involves the discovery of an 11th-century Japanese pillow book, alternating between contemporary America and ancient Japan.
artistic authenticitytruth and illusionhuman desires
Good Kids
2014 DramaA drunk high school girl is raped by football players after a party. The play examines rumors, social aftermath, and attitudes enabling sexual assault on campuses.
sexual assaultsocial misconceptionsblame and attitudes
Hamlet: Blood on the Brain
2006 DramaAdaptation of Hamlet set in 1980s Oakland, where a young man returns from prison to find his father murdered and uncle in power.
revengeviolencecontemporary society
Bibliography
- Good Kids
- The Last Firefly
- Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West
- Ghostwritten
- After a Hundred Years
- Anon(ymous)
- Hamlet: Blood in the Brain
- Strike-Slip
- At the Vanishing Point
- 17 Reasons (Why)
- 36 Views
- War of the Worlds
- Language of Angels
- Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls
- Polaroid Stories
- Marlowe's Eye
- Skin
- Tattoo Girl
- Carthage
- Coxinga
- Ikeniye
- Crazy Jane
- Portrait of Bianca
- Greenland
- Lizzy Vinyl
- And Then She Was Screaming
- Body Beautiful
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- non-linear storylinesfusing classical styles and forms with modern voices
- Recurring Motifs
- multiculturalismidentitysocial issues
Legacy
One of the most commissioned playwrights in contemporary American theater. Taught playwriting at universities and known for innovative works adapting classical literature to modern society.
Quotes
-
I believe universities are the great untapped resource in American theatre. In terms of material resources: performance spaces, rehearsal rooms, shops and state-of-the-art equipment. Also, in terms of human resources.
Source: Interview in American Theatre (2014) -
I wanted to write a play that spoke to issues that were very important to university students right now... the issue of sexual assault.
Source: American Theatre (2014)
Trivia
- Born in Tokyo to an American Latina attorney mother and Japanese banker father.
- Grew up in Japan, Indonesia, the Netherlands, and Washington, D.C.
- First playwright commissioned by the Big Ten Theatre Consortium's New Play Initiative.