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Aditi Kapil

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Aditi Kapil
Kapil speaks about Love Person in 2016
Kapil speaks about Love Person in 2016
BornSofia, Bulgaria
Occupation
  • Playwright
  • director
  • actress
  • screenwriter
Alma materMacalester College
Notable works
  • Love Person
  • Imogen Says Nothing
  • The Displaced Hindu Gods Trilogy
  • Orange
  • Agnes Under the Big Top, a tall tale
SpouseSean Brennan
Children3

Aditi Brennan Kapil is an American playwright and screenwriter.

Kapil has had plays commissioned from Yale Repertory Theatre (Imogen Says Nothing),[1] La Jolla Playhouse (Brahman/i),[2] South Coast Repertory Theatre (Orange),[3] Mixed Blood Theatre (The Displaced Hindu Gods Trilogy, Agnes Under the Big Top, and Love Person), and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (translating Measure for Measure with dramaturg Liz Engelman[4] and an American Revolutions commission[5]). She is a Mellon Playwright-in-Residence at Mixed Blood Theatre, an artistic associate at Park Square Theatre, a Core Writer at The Playwrights' Center, and a Resident Writer at New Dramatists.[6]

Early life

[edit]

Kapil is of Indian descent and was born in Sofia, Bulgaria.[7] She grew up in Sweden before moving to Minnesota to attend Macalester College. At Macalester, she intended on becoming a journalist until the college's only journalism professor died. She was taking an acting class at the time, and that introduction to the theater stuck. Kapil graduated with a B.A. in English and Dramatic Arts.[8]

Career

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Kapil began her professional career in theater as a Twin Cities actress. She became a playwright at the encouragement of Jack Reuler, founder of the Mixed Blood Theatre.[9] In addition to her career as an actress, playwright, and director, she has worked with Mixed Blood's artistic director Jack Reuler to curate a list of plays about people with disabilities[10] as a part of Mixed Blood's Disability Visibility Project, which seeks to support disabled actors as well as ensure that stories of disabled individuals continue to have a space on stage.[11] In 2000, Kapil was awarded a grant from the Jerome Foundation for two months travel in India with her father, Satie Kumar Kapil, an award-winning Punjabi poet. The purpose of the trip was to trace her family history in Punjab and meet with other Indian novelists, poets, artists, and cultural sociologists.[12]

Playwriting

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Kapil's first play, Deaf Duckling, debuted in 2006 at the Mixed Blood Theatre. Kapil's play Gotama (2006), written at the request of director Andy Kim and designer Masanari Kawahara, opened at In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre in Minneapolis. At the same time, her play The Adventures of Hanuman, King of the Monkeys debuted at Stepping Stone Theatre for Youth Development in St. Paul. Hanuman is a Bollywood-style musical based on the ancient Indian epic Ramayana, told from a child's perspective.[9] This play was followed by Chitrangada: The Girl Prince for SteppingStone Theatre for Youth in 2008. This play is told in iambic verse based on an episode in the Mahabharata.[13] In 2007, Kapil also directed and co-wrote the play Messy Utopia with Seema Sueko, Velina Hasu-Houston, Janet Allard, and Naomi Iizuka. A three-year residency grant from the Mellon Foundation, which included salary and benefits, allowed her to work as the playwright in residence at Mixed Blood.[14] This grant was awarded through the National Playwright Residency Program, administered by HowlRound. Kapil was among the first cohort of this grant in 2013.[15] During this residency, she debuted The Displaced Hindu Gods Trilogy at the end of 2013. The trilogy contains modern characters inspired by the Hindu deities Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.[16] Kapil's piece, Doe (2015), debuted as part of The Car Plays, a multi-author work commissioned by the La Jolla Playhouse that consisted of mini-plays staged in cars.[17] In 2016, Kapil wrote an adaptation of Mitali Perkin's novel Rickshaw Girl for its run at the Children's Creativity Museum Theater in San Francisco.[18] Kapil's play Orange also had its world premiere at Mixed Blood. In 2016, her grant from the Mellon Foundation was renewed for another three years.[19]

Directing

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In 2001, Kapil directed The Primary English Class at the Mixed Blood Theatre. The play is written by Israel Horovitz in 1976, and it tells the story of a group of immigrants in an ESL class. According to Horovitz, the play is "a meditation on America's paternalistic attitudes abroad." This particular production was in response to tensions post 9/11.[20] In 2005, Kapil directed Queen of the Remote Control by Sujata Bhatt at Mixed Blood.[21] In 2009, she directed Ruined at Mixed Blood.[22] In 2011, Kapil directed an all-female, all-deaf production of Gruesome Playground Injuries at Mixed Blood.[23] In 2015, she directed the world premiere of Dean Poyner's Stepping Out of the River at Dawn at Mixed Blood Theatre. The play, inspired by a photograph entitled "Young Negress Stepping Out of the River at Dawn," tells the story of a Rwandan couple, Alyze and Martin, living in America and trying to honor tradition with their wedding.[24] She also directed The Other Place, a play by Sharr White, at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul. The play focuses on a neuroscientist named Smithton, who is "simultaneously on the verge of a breakthrough and a breakdown." The play embodies themes of reality versus illusion.[25]

Acting

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In 2006, Kapil acted in Sez She, a play by Jane Martin, at Illusion Theater.[26] In the same year, she also acted in Vestibular Sense, a play by Ken LaZebnik about autism.[27][21] In 2008, she acted in Distracted at Mixed Blood, a play by Lisa Loomer addressing how people with ADD and ADHD are treated.[28] In 2012, Kapil acted in Next to Normal at Mixed Blood Theatre. The play explores a mother's struggle with bipolar disorder.[29] Kapil also played the character Mary O'Malley in Learn to be Latina at Mixed Blood.[30] In 2013, she acted in the opening weekend of her play Brahman/i as the titular character.[31] In 2014, she played the character Corryn Fell in Gidion's Knot at the Pillsbury House Theatre.[32]

Plays

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Love Person

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Love Person is performed in English, American Sign Language, and Sanskrit.[33] It takes its name from the character Maggie, who is trying to translate the word “lovers” to her female love interest, Vic, in ASL. There is no direct translation, so “love person” is the closest equivalent. The plot tells the story of this lesbian couple. The play won the 2009 Stavis Playwriting Award.[34]

Love Person was developed during a Many Voices Residency at the Playwrights' Center, work-shopped at the Lark Play Development Center in NY, and selected for reading at the National New Play Network (NNPN) Conference 2006. The play received a “rolling world premiere” from National New Play Network; the work premiered at Mixed Blood Theatre, Marin Theatre, and Phoenix Theatre, in the 2007/08 season. In 2008/09 it was produced at Live Girls! Theatre in Seattle, Alley Repertory Theatre in Boise, and Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago.[35]

Agnes Under the Big Top, a tall tale

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This play shows the intersecting lives of immigrants in a US city.[36] Agnes is a Liberian immigrant and one of two health care workers who attend to Ella, an old woman with rheumatoid arthritis. Agnes finds she is dying of cancer and struggles to tell her young son, who is still in Liberia.[37] Happy is a young Indian immigrant and former telemarketer. Roza is a withdrawn Bulgarian who only talks to birds. Shipkov is Roza's husband. He is a former ringmaster and is currently employed as a subway driver.[38][39] Kapil uses this medley of characters to reflect on how where we live changes who we are. Her interest in this topic stems from being an immigrant twice over, being a Bulgarian-Indian in Sweden and later moving to the U.S.[40] The play was named a Distinguished New Play Development project by the NEA New Play Development Program (as administered by Arena Stage).[34] The play was developed by the Lark Play Development Center, Mixed Blood Theatre, InterAct Theatre, the Playwrights' Center (MN), and the Rhodope International Theater Laboratory. Agnes Under the Big Top premiered at Mixed Blood Theatre and Long Wharf Theatre[41] in 2011 and Borderlands Theater (AZ) in 2012 in a NNPN rolling world premiere.[42]

The Displaced Hindu Gods Trilogy

[edit]

Kapil's Displaced Hindu Gods Trilogy consists of Brahman/i, a one-hijra stand-up comedy show, The Chronicles of Kalki, and Shiv. The plays draw on elements of Hinduism to tell the stories of three high schoolers. Each play is a full-length 80 to 90-minute show. The plays, based on the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, premiered in repertory at Mixed Blood Theatre in October 2013 and have since been produced across the U.S. and in the U.K.[43] The plays received some activist response from a Nevada-based organization for protecting Hinduism. The group claimed that Kapil trivializes the religion in this trilogy.[34] Brahman/i and The Chronicles of Kalki received an unprecedented double nomination for the James Tait Black Prize (from the University of Edinburgh).[34]

Brahman/i, a one-hijra stand-up comedy show
The main character is based on the Hindu god Brahma. Brahman/i is a sixth grader who discovers that he is intersex. He is a stand-up comedian and tells the play mostly from this perspective. Rohan Preston, a reviewer at Star Tribune, characterizes the play as being "all about self-creation."[44] The play explores themes of gender through the main character who undergoes periods of time identifying as a boy, a girl, and then somewhere in between.[45]
The Chronicles of Kalki
The play's titular character is based on the final avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Kalki is a sexually aggressive, modern feminist version of the Hindu deity, who has come to aid women victimized by sexual assault. Kapil, as an atheist who grew up with some education in Hinduism from her father, strives to make the religion more relevant to both herself and the audience today.[46] The play is a comic-book-style play about a girl-gang of misfits.[34] The play begins with a police interrogation of two nameless schoolgirls. The police want to know where their friend, Kalki, is. In a series of flashbacks, we learn that the trio shoplifted comic books, ridiculed a character in a Bollywood movie for sexual restraint, and jeered boys at a house party.[47] However, the play is not trying to judge these characters, but rather illuminate the “moral unsteadiness of adolescent girls who lack a coherent value system.”[48]
Shiv
This play's titular character is based on the Hindu god Shiva. Kapil calls the play "post-colonial,"[34] intended to explore the psychological residue left by colonialism.[49] The play is a memory play in which Shiv recalls a compressed version of her childhood with her father, Bapu, a modernist poet based on Kapil’s father.[50] Bapu left post-colonial India and immigrated to the U.S., and his perspective allows the legacy of Western colonialism to be a theme of the play. Central to the play is an old sofa bed mattress which Shiv uses to travel through time and space. There is also a romance between Shiv and Bapu’s publisher’s grandson. Bapu’s publisher is blamed for limiting Bapu’s career and shutting out non-Western works. In defending this view, Shiv throws away her romance with the publisher’s grandson.[51] Rohan Preston, a reviewer at Star Tribune, characterizes the play as inspired by “the sparseness of [Samuel] Beckett with the magical realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez.”[31]

Orange

[edit]

Orange is the story of an adventure through Orange County, told from the perspective of Leela, an Indian girl on the autism spectrum, like Kapil's daughter. The plot begins with Leela's cousin eloping with her boyfriend. The couple leaves a family wedding and decides to take Leela along.[52] The play features illustrations, as the narrator sketches “life’s most important moments in her journal.”[53] Kapil intended the play to address multiple audiences including those with autism and the Indian-American community.[54] The CrossRoads Commissioning Project helped fund the development of this play. CrossRoads was launched in 2013 by the Time Warner Foundation to sponsor plays about Orange County's cultural diversity. The play was showcased in the 2015 Pacific Playwrights Festival before its debut in the 2016-2017 season at Mixed Blood and South Coast Repertory.[55]

Imogen Says Nothing

[edit]

This play is a revisionist comedy in verse and prose. Its titular character is inspired by Imogen, a character who only appears in the first folio of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, speaks no lines, and is likely a typo. According to Kapil, it is “a play about the voices absent from our canon and the consequences of cutting them.”[6] The play's development and production are funded by Yale’s Binger Center for New Theatre. The play won the 2016 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. The play is set in London, at various dates and locations from 1598 onward. In the "Rules of the Universe" that precede the script, it is noted that the oppression of the bears in the play is because the humans have wrongly presumed their own superiority, though the bears are not actually inferior. The bears should have little visible differences from the humans. The rules also note that William Shakespeare is the least important person in the play.

Gotama

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Gotama tells the story of Buddha's early life.[26] The protagonist, Siddhatta Gotama, is a wealthy prince until he meets the sick and poor and is moved by compassion to give away all his possessions.[56] He sets out on a journey in the search of his own humanity and peace and in the process becomes the Buddha.The play is narrated from the perspective of Channa, the prince's charioteer. The play starts at the end of the journey, with Channa begging Gotama to eat and end his fast.[57]

Deaf Duckling

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Deaf Duckling tells the story of a deaf child in a hearing family. The show uses American Sign Language and English. It was the first play Kapil wrote. It was workshopped in PlayLabs 2004 at the Playwrights’ Center of Minneapolis[58] before premiering at Mixed Blood in the 2006-2007 season.[59]

Cirkus Kalashikov

[edit]

Cirkus Kalashikov is a 10-minute play inspired by Kapil's father and the stories he told her about the three jumpers and one dog he killed while he worked as a subway driver.[60]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Credited as Notes
Writer Other
2019 American Gods Yes No Wrote 2 episodes
2020 Away Yes Yes Wrote: "Goodnight, Mars", also story editor
2022 Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan No Yes Executive story editor
2023–present Invasion Yes Yes Wrote 4 episodes, also supervising producer

References

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  1. ^ "Yale Repertory Theatre | Imogen Says Nothing". www.yalerep.org.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Brahman/i". Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  3. ^ "Orange - South Coast Repertory". www.scr.org. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  4. ^ "Play On! 36 Playwrights Translate Shakespeare". New Dramatists. October 20, 2015. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  5. ^ "OSF announces eight new American Revolutions commissions". August 4, 2016. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Aditi Kapil | New Play Exchange". newplayexchange.org.
  7. ^ "Aditi Kapil - Artist". MacDowell. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  8. ^ Rosenberg, David (February 25, 2014). "About Face Theatre & Silk Road Rising Present "Brahman/i: A One-Hijra Stand Up Comedy Show" - March 27 – April 27, 2014". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Preston, Rohan. “Hindu gods, human stories; Playwright Aditi Kapil boldly steps up with three linked plays inspired by Brahma Vishnu and Shiva.” Star Tribune [Minneapolis, MN]. September 29, 2013: 1E.
  10. ^ Tillotson, Kristin. "Embedded playwrights dig in: Residency grants have allowed two local women the luxury of calling one theater home for three years." Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minn. 2015.
  11. ^ "Free business profile for TCGCIRCLE.ORG provided by Network Solutions". www.tcgcircle.org.
  12. ^ "Aditi Brennan Kapil - | the Jerome Foundation". Archived from the original on October 29, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  13. ^ Sierra, Gabrielle. "Lark Uses NEA New Play Money For 'AGNES UNDER THE BIG TOP'". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  14. ^ Tillotson, Kristin. "Embedded Playwrights Dig In." Star Tribune, Minn. 2015.
  15. ^ Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon (April 5, 2016). "The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and HowlRound Announce $5.58 Million in Grants through the National Playwright Residency Program". The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  16. ^ Peterson, Tyler. "Mixed Blood Theatre to Stage World Premiere of Aditi Brennan Kapil's DISPLACED HINDU GODS Trilogy, 10/5-27". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  17. ^ Greene, Gabriel. "Objects May Be Closer Than They Appear: The Car Plays." TheatreForum. pg. 42-45.
  18. ^ Brady, Louisa. "Mitali Perkins to Sign Books at San Francisco Opening of Rickshaw Girl on 4/16". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  19. ^ "Three Twin Cities playwrights nab prestigious Mellon awards". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  20. ^ Royce, Graydon, and Staff Writer. "Mixed Vision; Mixed Blood Theatre starts its year with two shows that reflect the changing face of America." Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minn. 2001.
  21. ^ a b "Aditi Kapil is a triple threat". Archived from the original on November 11, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  22. ^ ""Ruined" @ the Mixed Blood Theatre - video dailymotion". Dailymotion. September 9, 2015.
  23. ^ Says, Swing Set (November 14, 2011). "Gruesome Playground Injuries".
  24. ^ Hobbes, Dwight (May 14, 2015). "THEATER REVIEW: Stepping out of the River at Dawn". Twin Cities Daily Planet. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  25. ^ "Linda Kelsey is a quicksilver powerhouse in 'The Other Place'". Star Tribune.
  26. ^ a b Royce, Graydon, and Staff Writer. "People; Multiple Premieres, and Baby due, Too; Aditi Kapil balances the frenetic pace of a freelance theater artist with the joy of raising a young family." Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minn. 2006.
  27. ^ "The Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities: Vestibular Sense". mn.gov. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  28. ^ "At Mixed Blood Theatre, playing to the smartest person in the house starts with research about societal barriers". MinnPost. September 26, 2008. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  29. ^ "Strong cast in deft 'Next to Normal' at Mixed Blood". MinnPost. October 4, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  30. ^ "Theater review: Mixed Blood's 'Learn to be Latina' filled with absurdity". Twin Cities. April 20, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  31. ^ a b Tribune, ROHAN PRESTON Star. "Hindu gods are in the house at Mixed Blood". Star Tribune. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  32. ^ Wardrope, Todd (February 28, 2014). "THEATER REVIEW | "Gidion's Knot" remains firmly tied at Pillsbury House Theatre". Twin Cities Daily Planet. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  33. ^ Thompson, Erica. “Aditi Brennan Kapil on her multilingual ‘Love Person.’” The Boston Globe. May 26, 2012. https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/theater-art/2012/05/25/playwright-aditi-brennan-kapil-her-multilingual-love-person/2LaPF7ImsvuFS00vsZV6vO/story.html
  34. ^ a b c d e f Peterson, Tyler. "Amy Herzog & Sarah Ruhl World Premieres, ASSASSINS and More Set for Yale Rep's 50th Anniversary Season". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  35. ^ "Love Person | Victory Gardens Theater". Archived from the original on November 11, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  36. ^ Marks, Peter (September 10, 2013). "Theater review: 'Agnes Under the Big Top' is an underdeveloped drama". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  37. ^ Gold, Sylviane (March 26, 2011). "Stories of Isolation in an Urban Circus". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  38. ^ BWW News Desk. "AGNES UNDER THE BIG TOP to Open Forum Theatre's 10th Anniversary Season, 9/5-28". BroadwayWorld.com.
  39. ^ Rizzo, Frank (March 10, 2011). "Agnes Under the Big Top".
  40. ^ "Blog". Long Wharf Theatre. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  41. ^ Gold, Sylviane (March 26, 2011). "Stories of Isolation in an Urban Circus". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  42. ^ "NEA New Play Development Program". Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  43. ^ "'Displaced Hindu Gods' Trilogy is a fine showcase for playwright's broad range of experiences". October 6, 2013.
  44. ^ Preston, Rohan. “Hindu gods, human stories; Playwright Aditi Kapil boldly steps up with three linked plays inspired by Brahma Vishnu and Shiva.” Star Tribune [Minneapolis, MN]. September 29, 2013: 1E. Infotrac Newsstand. Web.
  45. ^ "'Brahman/i' a trip to the self". San Diego Union-Tribune. February 19, 2013.
  46. ^ "How To Summon The Gods". Exeunt Magazine. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  47. ^ "The Chronicles of Kalki review – a curious encounter with a mischievous avatar". the Guardian. January 13, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  48. ^ Townsend, John (October 23, 2013). "Kapil Emerges as a Playwright of Significance at Mixed Blood | Lavender Magazine". Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  49. ^ "SHIV | New Dramatists". newdramatists.org. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  50. ^ Raden, Bill. “A Play that Tries to Be Deep But Is Actually Just Your Regular Psychodrama.” LA Weekly. July 16, 2015. http://www.laweekly.com/arts/a-play-that-tries-to-be-deep-but-is-actually-just-your-regular-psychodrama-579746
  51. ^ Branes, Philip. “’Shiv’ connects the everyday and the metaphysical at Boston Court.” LA Times. July 16, 2015. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-shiv-at-the-theatre-boston-court-20150714-story.html
  52. ^ "Orange." South Coast Repertory. http://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=8540
  53. ^ "South Coast Repertory's 2019-20 Season". www.scr.org. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  54. ^ Tran, Diep (2015). "You Can Go Home Again". American Theatre. 32 (6). New York: 42–45. ProQuest 1697208084.
  55. ^ "Aditi Brennan Kapil". Playwrights' Center.
  56. ^ "GOTAMA: A Journey to the Buddha – In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre". Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  57. ^ Skinner, Quinton. “Spotlight: Gotama.” City Pages. March 8, 2006. http://www.citypages.com/arts/spotlight-gotama-6721498
  58. ^ "SouthAsianPlaywrights.org » The Deaf Duckling – by Aditi Brennan Kapil". Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  59. ^ Preston, Rohan. “Hindu gods, human stories; Playwright Aditi Kapil boldly steps up with three linked plays inspired by Brahma Vishnu and Shiva.” Star Tribune [Minneapolis, MN]. September 29, 2013: 1E. Infotrac Newsstand. Web.
  60. ^ Hobbes, Dwight (November 19, 2008). "THEATER | The complicated visions of Aditi Kapil". Twin Cities Daily Planet. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
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