Lisa D'Amour
Lisa D'Amour is a playwright, performer, and former Carnival Queen from New Orleans. D'Amour is an alumna of New Dramatists. Her play Detroit was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Biography
Education
D'Amour received a B.A. in English and Theater from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi and her M.F.A. in playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin.[1]
Work
She is co-artistic director of PearlDamour, with Katie Pearl, making collaborative, often site-specific performances.[1]
D'Amour's plays include Hide Town produced by Infernal Bridegroom Productions, Houston (2006), Anna Bella Eema produced by New Georges, NYC (2003), Blue Theater/Physical Plant, Austin, TX (2001), and Ten Thousand Things, Minneapolis. Winner, Best New Play, Austin Critics’ Table (2002). Stanley 2006 was to be produced at HERE Arts Center in SoHo, NYC but was withdrawn due to an intellectual property dispute involving the character Stanley Kowalski.
The Cataract was produced Off-Broadway at the Women's Project, running from March 22, 2006 to April 15, 2006, directed by Katie Pearl.[2][3] The CurtainUp reviewer wrote: "D'Amour's voice is a vibrant new addition to the American theatre, and Women's Project has assembled an exciting team in this brave production."[4] It was originally produced by PlayLabs, Minneapolis, MN, in 2003 and then in Providence, Rhode Island by Perishable Theatre.
Her play Nita & Zita, written and directed by D'Amour, premiered at the State Palace Theater, New Orleans, in June 2002, and was produced Off-Broadway at the HERE Arts Center in 2003. The play won an Obie Award. The play relates the story of two sisters from Romania from the 1920s to the 1940s.[5]
In August 2008, she collaborated with the printmaker / installation artist SWOON on "Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea", a fleet of seven intricately handcrafted vessels that navigated the Hudson River in August 2008. D'Amour made a performance to be presented by the crew in towns along the Hudson.[6]
Her play Detroit, was originally set to première on Broadway in 2011, after the production at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, directed by Austin Pendleton.[7] Instead, the play opened Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in September 2012.[8]
Airline Highway premiered on Broadway in April 2015, marking her Broadway debut. The play was commissioned by the Steppenwolf Theater, Chicago, and opened there in December 2014.[9] Airline Highway received four 2015 Tony Award nominations.[10] The play received three 2015 Drama Desk Award nominations, including Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (Julie White), Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (K. Todd Freeman) and Outstanding Play.[11]
Awards
- 2002: Best New Play from Austin Critics’ Table for Ten Thousand Things
- 2003 Obie Award for Nita & Zita
- 2008: A grant from the Alpert Awards in the Arts in Theatre, a $75,000 mid-career grant[12]
- 2008: 'MAP' fund award for Terrible Things with collaborator Katie Pearl
- 2011: Steinberg Playwright Award [13] with Melissa James Gibson.
References
- ^ a b "Biography" playscripts.com, accessed May 4, 2015
- ^ The Cataract lortel.org, accessed May 4, 2015
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Two Couples Are Flooded With Feeling in NYC Premiere of D'Amour's 'Cataract' " playbill.com, March 14, 2006
- ^ Zapol, Liza. "Review. The Cataract" curtainup.com, March 2, 2006
- ^ Nita and Zita nitaandzita.org, accessed May 4, 2015
- ^ Bloom, Julie. "A Floating City With Junkyard Roots" The New York Times, August 17, 2008
- ^ " 'Detroit' is Bound for Broadway The Fall" Broadway world.com, October 11, 2011
- ^ " 'Detroit' Rereouted Off Broadway for New York Debut" The New York Times, December 12, 2011
- ^ Ryzik, Melena. "Lisa D’Amour Juggles 'Airline Highway' and 'Milton,' a Tale of Five Towns" The New York Times, March 19, 2015
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "69th Annual Tony Awards Nominations Announced!" Playbill.com, April 28, 2015
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Drama Desk Nominations Announced; 'Hamilton' Tops the List" playbill.com, April 23, 2015
- ^ Alpert Award
- ^ Steinberg Playwright Award