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Donja R. Love | |
|---|---|
| Born | Philadelphia, PA, U.S. |
| Occupation | Playwright, Film Maker |
| Education | Temple University (African American Studies and Theater, undergraduate incomplete), Julliard (Playwriting, Artist Diploma) |
| Notable awards | 2018 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award, 2017 Princess Grace Playwriting Award, Lark's 2016 Van Lier New Voices Playwriting Fellow, Playwrights Realm’s 2016/2017 Writing Fellow |
Donja R. Love is an American playwright. Originally from Philadelphia, PA, Love identifies himself as an Afro-Queer, HIV positive playwright and filmmaker. He is best known for his 2019 play one in two based on the 2017 CDC study that found that one in two black gay or bisexual men will be diagnosed with HIV at some point in their life. [1]
Early Life[edit]
Donja R. Love grew up in Philadelphia, PA, where he eventually graduated from high school. He then attended Temple University majoring in African American Studies and Theater until leaving before completing his degree. [1] In 2008, Love went to the doctor with a cough and came out diagnosed with HIV. Grappling with his condition, Love recalls turning to sex and drinking for comfort after this. He attributes his recovery from these two things to the Christian church and playwriting. Love began writing, producing, and directing his own plays in the Philadelphia area.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
Once Donja R. Love was established in Pennsylvania, he moved to New York City to continue his career as a playwright. While in New York, he completed multiple playwriting fellowships to further his craft until being accepted to Julliard for playwriting for 2018-2019. [2]
Career[edit]
Donja R. Love's most well-known piece, one in two was written around the ten-year anniversary of his HIV diagnosis. He recounts writing this play in the notes app on his phone from his bed. He wrote it as a way to therapeutically process his emotions and it was not initially meant to be produced. However, now it is his most known piece of work that has been produced Off-Broadway. [3]
In 2020, Love began a writing workshop specifically for writers with HIV named Write It Out! This project is partially inspired by Love's own experience having turned to writing as his career after his diagnosis. The writing-intensive is being put on by the National Queer Theater. Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is in collaboration with this project.[4]
Philosophy[edit]
Love is particularly interested in sharing the stories of marginalized people. Being a black, queer, HIV positive playwright, he often writes from his own experience in order to pursue this goal. He cites his inspiration from writers such as Toni Morrison and James Baldwin. [2]
He writes plays that tell the stories of Black Queer Folx for the audiences made of Black Queer Folx. [5] His work focuses on normalizing these marginalized identities and bringing joy as well as depth to the typical monolithic portrayal of LGBTQ+ people of color. [3]
List of Plays[edit]
· The Review · One in Two · The Trade · Soft · The North Star · A Ugandan Family [5]
Resources[edit]
- ^ a b Kim, Michelle. "Afro-Queer Playwright Donja R. Love is One of Theatre's Boldest New Voices" them., January 20, 2020
- ^ a b Love, Donja R."How Becoming HIV+ Turned Me Into a Playwright" American Theatre, February 26, 2019 Cite error: The named reference "Love" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b TheNewGroupNYC."A chat with one in two playwright Donja R. Love" The New Group NYC, November 25, 2019 Cite error: The named reference "TheNewGroupNYC" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ McPhee, Ryan. "Donja R. Love and More Launch New Playwriting Workshop for People Living With HIV" Playbill, July 30, 2020
- ^ a b Julliard. "Donja R. Love" Juliard, 2019