Dance Nation (play)
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Clare Barron is a playwright and actor from
Wenatchee, Washington Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and most populous city of Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and has increased to 35,508 as of 2020. ...
. She won the 2015 Obie Award for Playwriting for ''You Got Older''. She was a finalist for the 2019
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 ''Dance Nation.''


Early life

In an interview, Barron said that she became interested in theatre in her early teens. "I was in a Shakespeare troupe for children in my hometown of Wenatchee, Washington, which was run by the playwright
Heidi Schreck Heidi Schreck (born September 26, 1971) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actress from Wenatchee, Washington. Her play ''What the Constitution Means to Me'', which she also performs in, was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Dr ...
’s mother, Sherry Schreck." She attended the Tisch Summer Program while in high school, where she took a writing workshop."Artist Interview. Claire Barron"
playwrightshorizons.org, retrieved April 20, 2019
Barron graduated from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
. After acting for some time, she attended a workshop taught by
Annie Baker Annie Baker (born April 1981) is an American playwright and film director. She is known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning play ''The Flick'' (2013). She has written a string of plays which are set in the fictional town of Shirley: '' Body Awareness' ...
and wrote ''a boy put this girl in a cage with a dog and the dog killed the girl.'' This led to Barron joining a writer's group at the Ensemble Studio Theatre.


Career


Acting

As a performer, Barron has appeared in several plays. Among others, she appeared in ''Uncle Vanya'' at the HERE Arts Center (New York City) in 2012 as Marina and ''The Essential Straight and Narrow'' at The New Ohio Theatre (New York City) in May 2014."Clare Barron"
abouttheartists.com, retrieved April 20, 2019
Barron appeared in the play by Heidi Schreck ''The Consultant'' at the
Long Wharf Theatre Long Wharf Theatre is a nonprofit institution in New Haven, Connecticut, a pioneer in the not-for-profit regional theatre movement, the originator of several prominent plays, and a venue where many internationally known actors have appeared. Fo ...
, New Haven in January 2014.


''You Got Older''

Barron was a member of
Soho Rep The Soho Repertory Theatre, known as Soho Rep,The official website'now use "Soho", with a lowercase h, as do most articles from th''New York Times''/ref> is an American Off-Broadway theater company based in New York City which is notable for pro ...
's 2013/14 Writer/Director Lab, where she developed her play ''You Got Older''. She received the Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship in 2014, and Page 73 produced ''You Got Older'' in October to November 2014 at the HERE Arts Center, New York City. The production was directed by
Anne Kauffman Anne Kauffman is an American director known primarily for her work on new plays, mainly in the New York area. She is a founding member of the theater group the Civilians.Grode, Eric"Meet the Directors"''New York Times'', January 31, 2013 She made ...
and featured
Reed Birney Reed Birney (born September 11, 1954) is an American actor. Birney is known for his performances on stage and screen often acting on and off Broadway. Birney gained acclaim in 2016 for his role in '' The Humans'' winning the Tony Award for Best ...
and Brooke Bloom. In 2015, ''You Got Older'' was nominated for the
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre across collective Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. The award was initially ...
. She was featured on the 2015 Kilroys' List. ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' reviewer wrote: "This terrific new play by Clare Barron, directed by Anne Kauffman for Page 73, offers a hilarious and painfully affecting blend of oddball dialogue, beautifully observed family dynamics, and a preoccupation with the weird ways of the body." She received the 2015 Obie Award for Playwriting for ''You Got Older''.


''Baby Screams Miracle''

Her play ''Baby Screams Miracle'' was produced Off-Off-Broadway by
Clubbed Thumb Clubbed Thumb is a downtown theater company in New York City that commissions, develops, and produces "funny, strange, and provocative new plays by living American writers." Since its founding in 1996, the company has earned five OBIES (including ...
in their Summerworks Festival in May to June 2, 2013. Reviewer Sherri Kronfeld wrote: "...is a satisfyingly peculiar family-nightmare-mystery-storm-freakout-session, almost more dream than play at times." 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-provok ...
(Washington, DC) produced the play early in 2017.


''I'll Never Love Again''

In 2016 her play ''I'll Never Love Again'' was produced at Bushwick Starr in Brooklyn, New York. It was a New York Times Critics' Pick by
Ben Brantley Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher, and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 t ...
, who wrote "...recalls the anguishing mysteries of sex and love during adolescence." The ''Time Out'' reviewer wrote: "Barron is a sharp, clear, virtuosic voice in the neorealist movement downtown.... The theme is Barron's awakening sexuality; at one point, she uses her body as an instrument."


''Dance Nation''

Barron's play ''Dance Nation'' received its world premiere Off-Broadway at
Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit American Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. ...
in April 2018. The play was the winner of the 2017
Susan Smith Blackburn Prize The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women+ writing for English-speaking theatre. Named for Susan Smith Blackburn (1935–1977), alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer. W ...
, which included a $25,000 award. The play involves pre-teen competitive dancers and their competition at the Boogie Down Grand Prix. It was a finalist for the 2019
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 ...
. The committee wrote: "A refreshingly unorthodox play that conveys the joy and abandon of dancing, while addressing the changes to body and mind of its preteen characters as they peer over the precipice toward adulthood." The reviewer for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' Ben Brantley noted the "insanely talented playwright" and named the play a Critics Pick: "... conjures the passionate ambivalence of early adolesence..." The play received the 2019
Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...
, Ensemble Award. The play received a 2019
Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...
special citation for Clare Barron (playwright) and
Lee Sunday Evans Lee Sunday Evans is a two-time Obie Award-winning director and choreographer. She is Artistic Director of Waterwell. Education Evans attended college in Boston. Career Evans has worked for theatres such as The Public Theater, Lincoln Center, Step ...
(director).


Personal

Clare Barron currently lives in Brooklyn.


Honors

* Pulitzer Prize in Drama Finalist, 2019, ''Dance Nation'' * Whiting Award in Drama, 2017 (which includes a monetary award of $50,000) *
Susan Smith Blackburn Prize The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women+ writing for English-speaking theatre. Named for Susan Smith Blackburn (1935–1977), alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer. W ...
, 2017, ''Dance Nation'' * Relentless Award, 2015, ''Dance Nation'' * Obie Award for Playwriting, 2015, ''You Got Older'' * Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, 2014 * Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship, 2014


Plays

* ''Shhhh'' (2022) * ''The Three Sisters'' (2020) * ''Dance Nation'' (2018) * ''I'll Never Love Again'' (2016) * ''You Got Older'' (2014) * ''Baby Screams Miracle'' (2013) * ''Solar Plexus'' (2013) * ''Dirty Crusty'' * ''a boy put this girl in a cage with a dog and the dog killed the girl''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barron, Clare Living people Obie Award recipients American women dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights Yale University alumni Writers from Brooklyn People from Wenatchee, Washington Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women writers