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Elizabeth Diggs

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Elizabeth Diggs
Born (1939-08-06) 6 August 1939 (age 85)
Tulsa, Oklahoma
OccupationPlaywright
Alma materBrown University
Notable works

Elizabeth Diggs is an American playwright.[1] She is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre.[2]

Early life and education

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Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1939 to attorney James B. Diggs and Virginia Francis Diggs,[3] Diggs attended Brown University, where she first became involved with theatre. In 1960 she co-wrote Happily Never After, the annual Brownbrokers musical, with future partner Emily Arnold McCully.[4] She graduated in 1961.[5] After Brown, she earned a PhD from Columbia University and entered a period of political activism in the anti-war and feminism movements,[6] including the distinction of heading one of the first Women's Studies programs at Jersey City College, where she co-developed curriculum and oversaw the launch and expansion of the program.[7] She is a professor of dramatic writing at the Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing at Tisch.[8]

Career

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Diggs' first major success was the play Close Ties, which premiered at Lexington Conservatory Theatre in August 1980.[9] The play starred notable stage actress Margaret Barker, Sofia Landon Geier and John Griesemer. It was directed by Barbara Rosoff. "A remarkable production of a lovely and loving play," said critic Jeffery Borak. The Knickerbocker News described it as "...beautiful, touching, gentle and heartwarming."[10][11] A year later it was produced at Long Wharf Theatre, directed by Arvin Brown and once again starring Barker;[12] the actress had been friends with Diggs for several years, and the author crafted the role with Barker in mind.[13] In 1983, it was made into a television film.[14]

Her next play, Goodbye Freddy, was workshopped at Lexington Conservatory Theatre,[15] followed by its world premiere production at South Coast Repertory in 1983. Diggs won the CBS Dramatists Guild Prize for the play that May.[16] The play was produced at Portland Stage Company in December 1984, starring fellow Lexington Conservatory alumni Court Miller and Kit Flanagan, and directed by another alumni, Barbara Rosoff.[17] The production of Goodbye Freddy was later remounted in New York on September 20, 1985, starring Barbara Eda-Young and Michael Murphy in place of Court Miller, along with Walter Bobbie, Carole Monferdini, Nicholas Cortland and Kit Flanagan.[18]"As she demonstrated in Close Ties and the one-act Dumping Grounds, the playwright has a keen ear for dialogue and a watchful eye for those offhanded moments when characters accidentally reveal themselves," said New York Times critic Mel Gussow.[19]

American Beef, her third play, explores the dying myths of the American west, and was inspired by childhood visits to the Chapman-Barnard Ranch in Osage County, Oklahoma.[20] It was commissioned in 1985 for South Coast Repertory. Productions include 1987 world premiere at Gloucester Stage Company in Massachusetts followed by International City Theater in Long Beach, California.[21]

In October 1988, she premiered Saint Florence at Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany, NY.[22] "Both an instructive lesson from history and a compelling act of the imagination," said the review of the premiere in the New York Times.[23] Based on the life of Florence Nightingale, the production starred Claire Beckman. In 1990, it was produced at the Vineyard Theatre in New York. Re-titled Nightingale it was directed by John Rubinstein with Kathryn Pogson in the starring role.[24]

In 1996, she collaborated with composer Harvey Schmidt and lyricist Tom Jones, writing the book for the musical Mirette based on Emily Arnold McCully's Caldecott award-winning children's book Mirette on the High Wire. It opened in August 1996 at the Norma Terris Theatre[25] and later moved to the Goodspeed Opera House.[26]

Diggs also contributed to the first season of television series St. Elsewhere. Although writing for television was lucrative, she found the experience less fulfilling than theatre.[27]

Personal life

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Her daughter, with director Will Mackenzie, is documentary filmmaker Jenny Mackenzie.[28] She lives in Chatham with her partner, author Emily Arnold McCully.[29]

List of plays

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Feature length

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One-act plays

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Awards and honours

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  • National Endowment for the Arts grant, for the premiere production of Saint Florence, 1983[39]
  • CBS/Dramatists Guild Prize for the writing of Goodbye Freddy, 1983[40]
  • Runner-up, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for the writing of Saint Florence, 1987[41]
  • Guggenheim Fellowship award, for exceptional creativity in the field of dramatic arts, 1988[42][43]
  • Kennedy Center for the Arts grant for the premiere production of Saint Florence, 1988[44]
  • Theatre Communications Group Edgerton Foundation Award for New Plays, for development of Grant & Twain, 2013[45]

References

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  1. ^ "Broadway World – Elizabeth Diggs". Broadway World. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Ensemble Member Artists: Elizabeth Diggs". Ensemble Studio Theatre. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  3. ^ National Playwrights Directory. Drama Book Specialists. 1981. p. 80. ISBN 9780960516001. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  4. ^ Armstrong, Leslie (April 22, 1960). "Book and Lyrics Surpass Brownbrokers' Performance". Pembroke Record. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Pembroke Oral History Project, 50th Reunion Class of 1961". brown.edu. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  6. ^ Love, Barbara J. (September 22, 2006). Feminists Who Changed America, 1963–1975. University of Illinois Press. p. 118. ISBN 9780252031892. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  7. ^ Diggs, Elizabeth (1975). "The Future of Women's Studies". Women's Studies Quarterly (Summer): 24–25.
  8. ^ "Biography". elizabethdiggs.com. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  9. ^ ""Close Ties" to Premiere at LCT". Stamford Mirror-Recorder. August 20, 1980.
  10. ^ Goepfert, Bob (August 25, 1980). "Lexington's 'Close Ties' a pleasant drama". The Knickerbocker News.
  11. ^ Borak, Jeffery (August 23, 1980). "'Close Ties' is Unforgettable". Poughkeepsie Journal.
  12. ^ Gussow, Mel (March 22, 1981). "Stage: Elizabeth Diggs' 'Close Ties'". New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  13. ^ Frankel, Haskel (February 15, 1981). "A Veteran of Drama Stars at Long Wharf". New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Close Ties: Full Cast and Crew". IMDB.com. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  15. ^ National Playwrights Directory. Drama Book Specialists. 1981. p. 80. ISBN 9780960516001. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  16. ^ Triplett, Gene (March 15, 1984). "Tulsa Spotlight Shines Play Lauded at Home". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  17. ^ Larock, Cindy (December 3, 1984). "'Freddy' full of surprises". Lewiston Daily Sun. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  18. ^ Diggs, Elizabeth (1986). Goodbye Freddy. Dramatists Play Service. ISBN 9780822204602.
  19. ^ Gussow, Mel (September 26, 1985). "Stage: 'Goodbye Freddy'". New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  20. ^ Minor, Darla Jones (May 22, 1987). "Play Probes Ranch Woes". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  21. ^ Arkatov, Janice (August 2, 1987). "SAVING THE RANCH". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  22. ^ Koblenz, Eleanor (October 4, 1988). "Despite Flaws, Cap Rep 'Saint Florence' First Class". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  23. ^ Gussow, Mel (October 15, 1988). "This Florence Nightingale Knew How to Fight a War: [Review]". New York Times.
  24. ^ Gussow, Mel (December 4, 1990). "Florence Nightingale as a Saint Without the Halo". New York Times.
  25. ^ Klein, Alvin (August 18, 1996). "A Musical in the Making: 'Mirette,' about finding what one must do in life". New York Times.
  26. ^ Marks, Peter (July 31, 1998). "On a Tightrope, Finding Her Dream". New York Times.
  27. ^ Koblenz, Eleanor (February 7, 1986). "Prize-Winning 'Goodbye Freddy' to Open Tomorrow at Capital Rep". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  28. ^ "Jennifer Mackenzie, a Therapist, Weds". New York Times. October 8, 1990. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  29. ^ Larson, Jamie. "The Rural We: Elizabeth Diggs". Rural Intelligence. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  30. ^ Gussow, Mel (March 22, 1981). "Stage: Elizabeth Diggs' 'Close Ties'". New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  31. ^ Gussow, Mel (September 26, 1985). "Stage: 'Goodbye Freddy'". New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  32. ^ Gussow, Mel (October 15, 1988). "This Florence Nightingale Knew How to Fight a War: [Review]". New York Times.
  33. ^ Minor, Darla Jones (May 22, 1987). "Play Probes Ranch Woes". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  34. ^ Smullen, Sharon (September 26, 2018). "Two rock stars of the Gilded Age, Ulysses S. Grant and Mark Twain, forge a bond in a new play at PS21". Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  35. ^ "Familiar Diggs". The Salt Lake Tribune. September 5, 1997. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  36. ^ Sierra, Gabrielle. "Ensemble Studio Theatre Presents OCTOBERFEST". Broadway World. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  37. ^ Klein, Alvin (August 18, 1996). "A Musical in the Making: 'Mirette,' about finding what one must do in life". New York Times.
  38. ^ Diggs, Elizabeth (1982). Dumping Ground. Dramatists Play Service. ISBN 9780822203407.
  39. ^ "Around the Endowment". National Endowment for the Arts: Arts Review. 1–5. 1983. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  40. ^ Triplett, Gene (March 15, 1984). "Tulsa Spotlight Shines Play Lauded at Home". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  41. ^ Koblenz, Eleanor (September 29, 1988). "Capital Rep to Stage Diggs' 'Saint Florence'". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  42. ^ "262 Chosen for Guggenheim Awards". New York Times. April 10, 1988.
  43. ^ "Fellows: Elizabeth Diggs". Guggenheim Foundation. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  44. ^ Koblenz, Eleanor (September 29, 1988). "Capital Rep to Stage Diggs' 'Saint Florrence'". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  45. ^ "Grant & Twain". Theatre Communications group. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
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