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Paul Lucas (playwright)

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Paul Lucas
BornOctober 15, 1961[1]
New York City, New York, U.S.[citation needed]
DiedAugust 12, 2020 (Aged 58)[1]
Sparta Township, New Jersey, U.S.[1]
Spouse(s)Kendall Messick (Husband, m. 2020)[1]

Paul Lucas was an American playwright and producer based in New York City. He was best known for his play, Trans Scripts, Part I: The Women, which won a Fringe First award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe[2][3] and a High Commendation from Amnesty International for Freedom of Expression,[4] and was performed by the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University.[5][6][7]

Career

[edit]

Lucas attended Dwight-Englewood School and graduated in 1979.[8]

He performed and worked in several theatrical offices in New York City before joining Paul Szilard Productions, where he booked for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. While still working with Szilard, he produced several plays off-Broadway, including Messages for Gar[9] which featured John Epperson and Alex McCord; TimeSlips, written by Anne Basting;[10] Nosferatu, which starred Nikolai Kinski; and Son of Drakula, written and performed by David Drake.[11][12][13] After a fellowship in Arts Administration at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lucas became the Director of Press and Marketing for Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Lucas founded Paul Lucas Productions,[when?] a production, management, and touring organization that specializes in international work.[14] His productions at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe have included What I Heard About Iraq, an anti-Iraq War play by Simon Levy adapted from a prose poem by Eliot Weinberger. The play received a Fringe First award at the festival and toured in the UK.[15][16] In 2006, he and associate Gail Winar produced The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac, which starred Taylor Mac.[17] It won a Herald Angel Award in Edinburgh, and played in various cities.[18][19][20] He produced Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie, which starred David M. Lutken first at the festival in 2007 and later on tour in Europe[21][22] and the United States.[23] He produced the Edinburgh Festival Fringe presentation of Dai (enough), a one-woman show written and performed by Iris Bahr, about characters in a Tel Aviv cafe moments before a suicide bomber enters.[24][25] He has also worked with American comedian and drag performer Miss Coco Peru.[26]

In 2012, Lucas turned his attention to creating his own work, beginning with the play Trans Scripts, Part I: The Women, with the assistance of dramaturge Morgan Jenness, produced at the Pleasance Theater during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2015, directed by Linda Ames Key. It received a Fringe First Award,[27][28][29] a High Commendation from Amnesty International for Freedom of Expression, and nominations for the Best of Edinburgh Award, the Holden Street Theaters Award, and the Feminist Fest Award.[30][31][32] In 2015, the American Repertory Theater sponsored a one-night reading of the script at Harvard University[33] and produced the play in 2017,[34][35] with support from grants by the National Endowment for the Arts.[36][37]


References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Cooper, Neil (7 September 2020). "Obituary: Paul Lucas, theatre producer whose Fringe show about trans people became an acclaimed hit". The Herald. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Trans Scripts". Trans Scripts. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  3. ^ "Scotsman Fringe First Winners 2015". Joyce McMillan - Online. August 27, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  4. ^ "A Girl is a Half Formed Thing wins Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award". Fest Magazine. August 27, 2015. Archived from the original on April 8, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  5. ^ "A.R.T.'s Trans Scripts Receives $50,000 from NEA". Playbill. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  6. ^ "NEA Awards $50,000 for Trans Scripts: Part I, The Women". Color Magazine. January 4, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  7. ^ "Statement Regarding the Proposed Elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts". americanrepertorytheater.org. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  8. ^ "IDEA Week Sparks Arts Awareness, Ambitions". d-e.org. April 7, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  9. ^ Willis, John; Lynch, Tom; Hodges, Ben (March 1, 2003). Theatre World 1999-2000. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9781557834775.
  10. ^ "Talkin' Broadway Off-Broadway - TimeSlips - 11/4/01". www.talkinbroadway.com. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  11. ^ Dewitt, David (June 6, 2000). "Theater Review; You Look Thirsty, Count. Care for a Little Drink?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  12. ^ "Nosferatu". TheaterMania.com. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  13. ^ Feingold, Michael (November 5, 2002). "Forward in Reverse". Village Voice. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  14. ^ "Paul Lucas - About Us". www.paullucasproductions.com. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  15. ^ Lyall, Sarah (August 26, 2006). "Edinburgh Fringe Festival Roundup". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  16. ^ Gardner, Lyn (August 15, 2006). "What I Heard About Iraq". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  17. ^ "The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac". TAYLOR MAC. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  18. ^ "Changing lives with a ukulele". Retrieved December 12, 2017 – via PressReader.
  19. ^ "Taylor Mac review at Baby Belly - Review - Theatre - The Stage". thestage.co.uk. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  20. ^ "Taylor Mac". Broadway Baby. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  21. ^ "WoodySez.com". www.woodysez.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  22. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. ^ "Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie". timeout.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  24. ^ Genzlinger, Neil (November 17, 2006). "Theater as Russian Roulette, With a Blast That's Soon to Sound". New York Times. Retrieved November 30, 2006.
  25. ^ "Dai review at Pleasance Cavern Edinburgh - Review - Theatre - The Stage". thestage.co.uk. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  26. ^ "Review: Miss Coco Peru is Present – Feast Festival 2012 - Glam Adelaide". www.glamadelaide.com.au. November 22, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  27. ^ "Theatre review: Trans Scripts at Pleasance Courtyard". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  28. ^ "Theatre review: Trans Scripts". WOW247. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  29. ^ Gardner, Lyn (August 16, 2015). "Trans Scripts at Edinburgh festival review – six timely stories from transgender women". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  30. ^ "Trans Scripts at Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh". Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  31. ^ "Trans Scripts at the Edinburgh Fringe (Review)". Travels of Adam (Hipster Blog). August 24, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  32. ^ "Edinburgh Fringe Festival: Trans Scripts, Pleasance Courtyard". A Younger Theatre. August 31, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  33. ^ thestagereview (October 27, 2015). "Jo Bonney directs a reading of Paul Lucas' new play Trans Scripts, November 23 at A.R.T.'s OBERON space". the Stage Review. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  34. ^ "Trans Scripts, Part I: The Women". TheaterMania.com. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  35. ^ BWW News Desk. "Paul Lucas' TRANS SCRIPTS Sells Out at American Repertory Theater". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  36. ^ BWW News Desk. "Photo Flash: Diane Paulus, Eve Ensler and More Celebrate TRANS SCRIPTS, PART I: THE WOMEN Opening at A.R.T." BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  37. ^ "20 Years Ago, Eve Ensler Gave Us The Vagina Monologues. She's Still Waiting for the Revolution". ELLE. February 8, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
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