Rajiv Joseph (born June 16, 1974) is an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. He was named a finalist for the 2010

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

for his play ''

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'' is a play by Rajiv Joseph. The show is about "a tiger that haunts the streets of present-day Baghdad seeking the meaning of life. As he witnesses the puzzling absurdities of war, the tiger encounters Americans ...

'', and he won an

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the ...

for Best New American Play for his play ''Describe the Night''.

Early life

Rajiv Joseph was born and raised in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

; his mother is Euroamerican of French and German ancestry and his father is of Indian ancestry and immigrated to the States from India. He attended

Cleveland Heights High School Cleveland Heights High School (commonly known as Heights, Heights High or Heights High School) is the senior high school of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, located in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, United States. Histo ...

and graduated from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

in 1996 with a B.A. in

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

. While at Miami he was a member of the university's Men's Glee Club and its male acapella group, the Cheezies. Following graduation Joseph joined the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John ...

, serving three formative years in the West African Republic of

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

,Vineyard Presents Paula Vogel Award To Rajiv Joseph (BroadwayWorld.com)
/ref> including two years in Koular and the third in

Kaolack Kaolack ( ar, كاولاك; wo, Kawlax) is a town of 172,305 people (2002 census) on the north bank of the Saloum River and the N1 road in Senegal. It is the capital of the Kaolack Region, which borders The Gambia to the south. Kaolack is an i ...

. Joseph has stated about his time there: "Being in Senegal, more than anything else in my life, made me into a writer." His time in Senegal helped him develop the discipline of daily writing and inspired his "fascination with the power of language"; as he has stated: "It felt a little like being a child again, because your language skills are on the level of a 4-year-old, so the adults kind of ignore you, but the children cluster around you telling you what everything is called". Joseph earned a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts ...

in Dramatic Writing from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

in 2004. He has taught Essay Writing at

and wrote for Seasons 3 and 4 of the Showtime series ''

Nurse Jackie ''Nurse Jackie'' is an American medical comedy-drama television series. It premiered on Showtime on June 8, 2009, and its seventh and final season premiered on April 12, 2015. The series finale aired on June 28, 2015. The show stars Edie Fal ...

''.

Career

Theatre credits

Joseph's first play, ''Huck & Holden'', debuted at the

Cherry Lane Theatre The Cherry Lane Theatre is the oldest continuously running off-Broadway theater in New York City. The theater is located at 38 Commerce Street between Barrow and Bedford Streets in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, ...

in January 2006. The play also had a West Coast run at the Black Dahlia Theater in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

the following year. Joseph has stated that the story, about an Indian college student arriving in the United States, is based on his father's experiences coming to the States. His mixed-race background has given him what one critic has called a "fearlessness" about racial topics: "Being mixed-race has always been a part of my identity. You are never fully one thing or the other. You always feel a little apart, a little bit of an outsider, even when you are with your own family. That's an interesting perspective for looking at the world." ''All This Intimacy'' premiered at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

's McGinn/Cazale Theater in 2006. Joseph's play ''The Leopard and the Fox'', concerning the overthrow of

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourt ...

, was produced Off-Off-Broadway in October to November 3, 2007 at the TBG Theatre at The Barrow Group. Second Stage Theatre presented the world premiere of Joseph's ''Animals Out of Paper'' which ran from July 14, 2008 (previews) to August 24, 2008 at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre. ''Animals Out of Paper'' has been staged at

Boise Contemporary Theater Boise Contemporary Theater (BCT) is a small professional theater company located in Boise, Idaho. Since 1997, BCT has been the only professional theater company in Boise committed to performing a complete season of contemporary work. History BCT ...

(2009), at the

Ensemble Theatre The Ensemble Theatre is an Australian theatre company and theatre, situated in the Sydney suburb of Kirribilli, New South Wales. History It is Australia's longest continuously running professional theatre group, having given its first performa ...

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

, San Francisco Playhouse in 2010,

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

(January 2011), and

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

(March 2011). In September 2014, Joseph's ''Animals Out of Paper'' had its

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

premiere at East West Players starring C.S. Lee, Tess Lina and

Kapil Talwalkar Kapil Talwalkar (born March 8, 1993) is an Indian American actor and musician. He is best known for portraying Tobin in NBC's musical dramedy ''Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist.'' Biography Born in India, Talwalkar grew up in Cupertino, Californ ...

. ''Animals out of Paper'' was presented in

Bangalore, India Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

in September 2014 at Jagriti Theatre. It was produced by Jugaad Co. and got very good reviews. The production featured close to 75 pieces of origami. Joseph's Pulitzer finalist production of ''

'', directed by

Moisés Kaufman Moisés Kaufman (born November 21, 1963) is a Venezuelan theater director, filmmaker, playwright, founder of Tectonic Theater Project, based in New York City, and co-founder of Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre. He was awarded the 2016 Nat ...

, debuted at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

in May, 2009."'Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo' Listing"
Center Theatre Group, accessed March 31, 2016 It ran at the

Mark Taper Forum The Mark Taper Forum is a 739-seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center designed by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of Downtown Los Angeles. Named for real estate developer Mark Taper, the Forum, the neighborin ...

April 14 to May 30, 2010 and premiered on

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 Stree ...

at the

Richard Rodgers Theatre The Richard Rodgers Theatre (formerly Chanin's 46th Street Theatre and the 46th Street Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Her ...

in March 2011, with

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

playing the titular character. In October 2013 it had its premiere in San Francisco at San Francisco Playhouse where it was very well received in the press. ''Gruesome Playground Injuries'', starring

Selma Blair Selma Blair Beitner (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film '' Brown's Requiem'' (1998). Her breakthrough came when she s ...

and Brad Fleischer, had its world premiere in October 2009 at the

Alley Theatre The Alley Theatre is a Tony Award-winning theatre company in Houston, Texas. It is the oldest professional theatre company in Texas and the third oldest resident theatre in the United States. Alley Theatre productions have played on Broadway at L ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

. Another staging at the

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is a non-profit theatre company located at 641 D Street NW in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1980, it produces new plays which it believes to be edgy, challenging, and thought-provokin ...

in Washington, D.C. ran in May 2010. Its

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 th ...

production opened January 2011 at the Second Stage Theatre, starring

Pablo Schreiber Pablo Tell Schreiber (born April 26, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is best known for his stage work and for portraying Nick Sobotka on ''The Wire'' (2003), William Lewis on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2013–2014), Mad S ...

and

Jennifer Carpenter Jennifer Carpenter is an American actress who is known for her role as Debra Morgan in the Showtime series ''Dexter'', for which she earned a Saturn Award in 2009, and also for playing Rebecca Harris in the CBS television series '' Limitless' ...

. ''The North Pool'' premiered at TheatreWorks in

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Cou ...

(California) in March–April 2011. It was called a "Psychological Thriller" by TheatreWorks. The

Barrington Stage Company Barrington Stage Company (BSC) is a regional theatre company in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. It was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, and former Managing Director Susan Sperber in Sheffield, Massachusetts. In ...

The Berkshires The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...

presented ''The North Pool'' in July 2012."Rajiv Joseph's 'The North Pool' stars Remi Sandri and Babak Tafti at Barrington Stage, July 26-Aug 11"
barringtonstageco.org, accessed March 31, 2016 The played opened Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre in February 2013 (previews), directed by Giovanna Sardelli. ''The Monster at the Door'' debuted at Houston's

in May 2011. ''The Lake Effect'' premiered at Chicago's

Silk Road Rising Silk Road Rising is a theatre company located in downtown Chicago dedicated to presenting plays written by individuals of Asian and Middle Eastern descent. Formerly known as Silk Road Theatre Project, the name was changed in 2011 in order to bet ...

on April 23, 2013. The production received the

Joseph Jefferson Award The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater sta ...

for Best New Work. Its TheatreWorks in

production opened March 2015, starring Adam Poss, Nilanjana Bose and Jason Bowen. His play ''Guards at the Taj'' premiered Off-Broadway, produced by the Atlantic Theatre Company, in June to July 2015, directed by

Amy Morton Amy Morton (born April 3, 1959) is an American actress and director, best known for her work in theatre. Morton was nominated two times for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performances in '' August: Osage County'' and ''Who's Afra ...

. The play was nominated for the 2016 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Director, Amy Morton, and won for Outstanding Play; Outstanding Scenic Design, Timothy R. Mackabee; Outstanding Lighting Design, David Weiner; and Outstanding Sound Design, Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen. The play won the 2016

Obie Awards The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

for Best New American Play and Performance ( Omar Metwally and Arian Moayed). The play then received its West Coast premiere at the

Geffen Playhouse The Geffen Playhouse (or the Geffen) is a not-for-profit theater company founded by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhouse is located ...

in October to November 2015, directed by Giovanna Sardelli and starring Raffi Barsoumian and Ramiz Monsef (with Naren Weiss and Danvir Singh understudying), in the

Audrey Skirball-Kenis Audrey Skirball-Kenis (December 19, 1914 – June 19, 2002) was an American philanthropist. Early years Audrey Skirball-Kenis was born Audrey Marx in Birmingham, Alabama, the daughter of Otto Marx Sr., and Agnes Mosler Marx. Her father's banking ...

Theater. The play was nominated for the 2017

Ovation Awards The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Winne ...

and won for Best Production of a Play (Large Theater). Also in 2015, ''Mr. Wolf'' premiered at the

South Coast Repertory South Coast Repertory (SCR) is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California. Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson, is led by Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Direc ...

directed by David Emmes, set design Nephelie Andonyadis, lighting design Lap Chi Chu, sound design Cricket S. Myers, costume design Leah Piehl, and production manager was Joshua Marchesi. The show starred

John de Lancie John Sherwood de Lancie, Jr. (born March 20, 1948) is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and comedian, best known for his role as Q in various ''Star Trek'' series (1987–present); beginning with '' Star Trek: The Next Generation ...

(Mr. Wolf), Jon Tenney (Michael), Tessa Auberjonois (Hana), Emily James (Thesera), and Kwana Martinez (Julie). In 2019, Joseph received a Wordsmith Duo commission fro
Playing on Air
to write a short play for radio with Pulitzer Prize winner, Doug Wright. The episode
Clean Slate
' was released in Spring 2020 and it featured Jeremy Shamos,

Eisa Davis Eisa Davis (born May 5, 1971) is an American playwright, actress and singer-songwriter. She is most commonly known for her work as a playwright, writing shows such as ''Bulrusher'' and ''Angela's Mixtape'' as well as through her acting work, where ...

Amy Ryan Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski, known professionally as Amy Ryan, is an American actress of stage and screen. A graduate of New York's High School of Performing Arts, she is an Academy Award nominee and two-time Tony Award nominee. Ryan began her pr ...

, and Eden Marryshow with direction by Mark Brokaw. As part of the 2019-2020 season Steppenwolf Theatre and Center Theatre Group commissioned a new play by Joseph: '' King James'' which opened in Chicago in March 2022, after being delayed due to the

COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Film credits

In December 2013, Joseph and fellow playwright

Tarell Alvin McCraney Tarell Alvin McCraney (born October 17, 1980) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. He is the chair of playwriting at the Yale School of Drama and a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble. He co-wrote the 2016 film ''Moonlight'' ...

were featured in Robert Levi's PBS Film, ''Playwright: From Page to Stage'', which aired on

Independent Lens ''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence H ...

. Rajiv co-wrote the script for ''

Draft Day ''Draft Day'' is a 2014 American sports drama film directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner. The premise revolves around the fictional general manager of the Cleveland Browns (Costner) deciding what to do after hi ...

'' in 2014 and '' Army of One'' in 2016.

Awards and honors

*2008: Vineyard Theatre's Paula Vogel Award given to emerging playwrights. *2008: ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'' was chosen by the NEA as one of two Outstanding New American plays. *2009: Kesselring Fellowship awarded to emerging dramatists. *2009: Joseph participated in the 10th Annual Sundance Playwrights Retreat in Ucross, Wyoming. *2009: ''Animals Out of Paper'' received the

Lucille Lortel Award The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres ...

nomination for Outstanding Play. *2009: 2009 LA Stage Alliance

nominated Joseph for "Playwriting for an Original Play" for ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo''. The play also won five Backstage Garland Awards in 2010. *2009:

Whiting Award The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and ...

, an international award given annually to 10 writers of fiction, nonfiction, plays, and/or poetry. *2010:

finalist for ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo''. *2010: USA Rockefeller Fellow by

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

. *2010: ''The North Pool'' was awarded the 2011 Glickman Award for the best play to make its world premiere in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

. *2010: Edgerton New American Play Award for ''The North Pool''. *2013: The Steinberg Playwright Award. *2015: The $150,000 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for his new play ''Guards at the Taj''. *2018:

for Best New American Play for his play ''Describe the Night''.

Works

Plays

* ''Huck & Holden'' (2006) * '' All This Intimacy'' (2006) * ''The Leopard and the Fox'' (2007) * ''Animals Out of Paper'' (2008) * ''

'' (2009) * ''Gruesome Playground Injuries'' (2009) * ''The North Pool'' (2011) * ''The Monster at the Door'' (2011) * ''The Lake Effect'' (2013) * ''Guards at the Taj'' (2015) * ''Mr. Wolf'' (2015) * ''Describe the Night'' (2017) * ''Archduke'' (2017) * ''In the Sick Bay of the Santa Maria'' (2019) * '' King James'' (2022)

Film

* ''

'' (2014), with co-writer Scott Rothman * '' Army of One'' (2016), with co-writer Scott Rothman

References

External links

*
Profile at The Whiting Foundation"The Pitchman"Huck & Holden informationNPR story, Play Connects Pakistan's Past and Present, October 20, 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Rajiv 1974 births 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American male writers American dramatists and playwrights of Indian descent American male dramatists and playwrights American male writers of Indian descent American opera librettists American people of French descent American people of German descent Living people Miami University alumni Peace Corps volunteers Tisch School of the Arts alumni Writers from Brooklyn Writers from Cleveland Cleveland Heights High School alumni