Shining Vale ''Shining Vale'' is an American satirical comedy horror television series created by Jeff Astrof and Sharon Horgan. The series stars Courteney Cox, Greg Kinnear, Sherilyn Fenn, Mira Sorvino, Merrin Dungey, and Judith Light. It premiered on Star ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window ''The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window'' is the second and last staged play by playwright Lorraine Hansberry, author of ''A Raisin in the Sun''. The play focuses on events that occur after Sidney hangs a political sign urging an end to Political ...

The Rose Tattoo ''The Rose Tattoo'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams in 1949 and 1950; after its Chicago premiere on December 29, 1950, he made further revisions to the play for its Broadway premiere on February 2, 1951, and its publication b ...

Constance Shulman Constance Ann Shulman"Miss Shulman, Mr. Taylor"
''

.

Career

Birney made her professional stage debut playing Rosa in the 2016 production of the Tennessee Williams' play ''

The Rose Tattoo ''The Rose Tattoo'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams in 1949 and 1950; after its Chicago premiere on December 29, 1950, he made further revisions to the play for its Broadway premiere on February 2, 1951, and its publication b ...

'' at the

Williamstown Theatre Festival The Williamstown Theatre Festival is a resident summer theater on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1954 by Williams College news director Ralph Renzi and drama program chairman David C. Bryant. ...

. She acted alongside

Marisa Tomei Marisa Tomei ( , ; born December 4, 1964) is an American actress. She gained prominence for her comedic performance in '' My Cousin Vinny'' (1992), which earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She received further nominations ...

,

Christopher Abbott Christopher Jacob Abbott (born February 10, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for his work in independent films. In 2011, Abbott made his feature film debut in '' Martha Marcy May Marlene'' and his Broadway debut in the revival of the pla ...

, and

Lindsay Mendez Lindsay Michelle Mendez (born March 1, 1981) is an American actress and singer, best known for her work in American musical theatre. She won the 2018 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Carrie Pipperidge in a ...

. She made her film debut in the romantic comedy '' Here and Now'' (2018) starring

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. In a career spanning over five decades, she has performed across several productions of both Sarah Jessica Parker filmography, screen and stage. List o ...

. She has since acted in the

Charlie Kaufman Charles Stuart Kaufman (; born November 19, 1958) is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist. Having first come to prominence for writing ''Being John Malkovich'' (1999), ''Adaptation (film), Adaptation'' (2002), and ''Eternal Sun ...

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

psychological drama ''

I'm Thinking of Ending Things ''I'm Thinking of Ending Things'' (stylized as i'm thinking ''of'' ending things) is a 2020 American surrealist psychological thriller film written and directed by Charlie Kaufman. It is an adaptation of the 2016 novel of the same name by Ia ...

'' (2020), and the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

teen comedy A teen situation comedy, or teen sitcom, is a subgenre of comedic television program targeted towards young people ( tweens, teenagers and, to a lesser extent, young adults). In general, these types of programs focus primarily on characters betwee ...

'' Plan B'' (2021). She took roles in the science fiction-horror series ''

The Mist Mist is a weather phenomenon similar to fog. Mist, MIST or The Mist may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fiction * ''Mist'' (novel), a 1914 novel by Spanish author Miguel de Unamuno * ''The Mist'' (novella), a 1980 horror novella by Ameri ...

'' (2017), the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

series ''

Jessica Jones Jessica Campbell Jones-Cage, professionally known as Jessica Jones, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos and first appea ...

'' (2019), and the Netflix comedy series '' Insatiable'' (2019). She portrayed Jane Humphreys in the

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

series '' Dickinson'' (2019–2020) starring

Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She had her breakthrough with the western film ''True Grit (2010 film), True Grit'' (2010), which earned her List of awards and nominations received by H ...

. From 2022 to 2023, she acted in the Apple TV+ satirical comedy horror series ''

Shining Vale ''Shining Vale'' is an American satirical comedy horror television series created by Jeff Astrof and Sharon Horgan. The series stars Courteney Cox, Greg Kinnear, Sherilyn Fenn, Mira Sorvino, Merrin Dungey, and Judith Light. It premiered on Star ...

'' earning a Saturn Award for Best Young Actor in a Television Series nomination. From February to March in 2023 she acted in the

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

revival of

Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was an American playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin ...

's ''

The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window ''The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window'' is the second and last staged play by playwright Lorraine Hansberry, author of ''A Raisin in the Sun''. The play focuses on events that occur after Sidney hangs a political sign urging an end to Political ...

'' starring opposite

Oscar Isaac Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is an American actor. Recognized for his versatility, he has been credited with breaking stereotypes about Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino characters in Cinema of the United States, H ...

and

Rachel Brosnahan Rachel Brosnahan (born July 12, 1990) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Midge Maisel, an aspiring stand-up comedian in the Amazon Prime Video period comedy series '' The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' (2017–2023), for which sh ...

at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn, New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues. BAM was chartered in 18 ...

. She played a young

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

, Gloria Parodus, the sister of Iris (Brosnahan). The production made its transfer to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

with Birney joining making it her Broadway debut. Birney said of the experience, "Doing ''Sidney Brustein'' was one of the most transformative experiences of my life, not only as an actor, but as a human being. Anything after feels almost like, "OK, I know I can do this. I just went through something hard, and I have taught my soul how to handle going to a really dark place." David Gordon of ''TheatreMania'' described her performance as being "excellent". The production was nominated for the

Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony the Tiger, cartoon mascot for Frosted Flakes cereal * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * ...

losing to the revival of ''

Topdog/Underdog ''Topdog/Underdog'' is a play by American playwright Suzan-Lori Parks which premiered in 2001 off-Broadway in New York City. The next year it opened on Broadway, at the Ambassador Theatre, where it played for several months. In 2002, Parks rece ...

''. In 2024, she acted in the adaptation of the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

playwright Tadeusz Slobodzianek's play ''Our Class'' at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn, New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues. BAM was chartered in 18 ...

. She portrays Dora, a young

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

mother, one of 10 Polish students in the time leading up to a 1941 pogrom in the village of Jedwabne. Raven Snook of '' Time Out'' described her performance as "heartbreaking".

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Birney, Gus 21st-century American actresses 1999 births Living people

Early life