Dominique Morisseau
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Dominique Morisseau (born March 13, 1978) is an American playwright and actress from
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
. She has written more than nine plays, three of which are part of a cycle titled ''The Detroit Project.'' She received a
MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...
(also known as the 'Genius Grant') in 2018.


Early life

Morisseau was born and grew up in Detroit, Michigan, with her mother and father. Her mother's family is from Mississippi and her father's family is from
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
. Morisseau attended Bates Academy (a selective pre-K through 8 public school in Detroit) and
Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a four-year Public magnet high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. from the University Cultural Center Association, retrieved June 9, 1001 It was established in 19 ...


She attended the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
in
Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
, where she received her BFA in Acting in 2000. There she met J. Keys, who is also from Michigan. They married in 2013. Keys was born in Detroit but grew up in Southfield, Michigan, a nearby suburb of the city. He works as a music industry promoter, emcee and hip hop musician.


Career


Acting

Morisseau began her performance career as a live poetry speaker, primarily in her hometown community of Harmonie Park in Detroit. After graduating from college, she continued acting and worked with several organizations. At the Lark Play Development Center, she worked as an actor in a workshop production of ''
The Mountaintop ''The Mountaintop'' is a play by American playwright Katori Hall. It is a fictional depiction of Martin Luther King Jr.'s last night on earth set entirely in Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel on the eve of his assassination in 1968. Historical b ...
'' by
Katori Hall Katori Hall (born May 10, 1981) is an American playwright and screenwriter from Memphis, Tennessee. Hall's best known works include the hit television series ''P-Valley'', the Tony-nominated ''Tina (musical), Tina: The Tina Turner Musical'', and p ...
, developing the role of Camae. In 2013, in a production at the
Actors Theatre of Louisville Actors Theatre of Louisville is a non-profit performing arts theater located in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. Actors Theatre was founded in 1964 following the merging of two local companies, Actors, Inc. and Theatre Louisville, operated by Louis ...
, she reprised the role of Camae. She continues acting but has said that she would not act in any of her plays' premieres.


Writing

Morisseau began writing plays in college. She has said that the lack of suitable roles at the University of Michigan drove her to write plays and create the roles she wanted to perform. She wrote ''The Blackness Blues: Time to Change the Tune, A Sister's Story'' at this time. After college, in 2012 and 2013, she received a Playwrights of New York (PoNY) fellowship at the Lark Play Development Center. She has also worked as a Teaching Artist with
City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...
's Creative Arts Team. Morisseau has said that music plays a huge part in her work and often informs the work that she is writing. "It's a resource and clue to my work, and music plays a unifier among cultural barriers." Morisseau was on the list of Top 20 Most Produced Playwrights in America in 2015–16, with 10 productions of her plays nationwide. Morisseau is a story editor for the television series ''Shameless'' on Showtime and is also credited as a co-producer. She wrote the book for the
jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known, pre-existing popular music songs, rather than original music composed for the musical. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while ...
'' Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations'', which is directed by Des McAnuff. The musical opened on Broadway at the
Imperial Theatre The Imperial Theatre is a Broadway theater at 249 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1923, the Imperial Theatre was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and ...
in March 2019. It played pre-Broadway engagements at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre (2017), the
Ahmanson Theatre The Ahmanson Theatre is one of the four main venues that compose the Los Angeles Music Center. Shows at this theater are produced by Center Theatre Group. History The theatre was built as a result of a donation from Howard F. Ahmanson Sr, the ...
in Los Angeles (August to September 2018), and the
Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...
(July 2018). This play marked Morisseau's Broadway debut. She received a nomination for a
Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligib ...
, the third Black woman to do so.


Work


''The Detroit Project''

Morisseau has written a three-play cycle, titled ''The Detroit Project.'' The three plays (in order) are:


''Detroit '67''

This play "explores an explosive and decisive moment in a great American city. The play's compelling characters struggle with racial tension and economic instability." It was developed and workshopped at
The Public Theater The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: ...
in New York. ''Detroit '67'' eventually was featured at the Classical Theatre of Harlem with the
National Black Theatre The National Black Theatre is a not-for-profit organization, non-profit cultural and educational corporation, and community-based theatre company located on 5th Avenue in Harlem, New York (state), New York. History The National Black Theatre (N ...
. It was nominated for eight AUDELCO Theatre Awards and received the 2014 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History.


''Paradise Blue''

Former musician Blue decides to sell his beloved jazz club in order to live out his dreams. He is left with the moral dilemma of leaving his partner, Pumpkin, and his loyal jazz band behind. Morisseau developed this play first at
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. ...
, where it eventually had its world premiere in July 2015. ''Paradise Blue'' continued its development at the
McCarter Theatre McCarter Theatre Center is a not-for-profit, professional company on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. It was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1963. A two-time Tony Award winner, the McCarter’s legacy traces back to ...
,
New York Theatre Workshop __NOTOC__ New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theater noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it h ...
,
The Public Theater The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: ...
, and the Signature Theatre Company. For this play, Morisseau received the L. Arnold Weissberger Award in 2012.


''Skeleton Crew''

The final play in the cycle revolves around a group of auto-plant workers grappling with the likely possibility of foreclosure and impending unemployment. ''
Skeleton Crew A skeleton crew is the minimum number of personnel needed to operate and maintain an item. Skeleton Crew may refer to: Music *Skeleton Crew (band), an American experimental rock and jazz group *Skeleton Crew, an American record label co-founded b ...
'' received a developmental production at the Lark Play Development Center. Directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, this play had its world premiere at the Off-Broadway Linda Gross Theater with the
Atlantic Theater Company The Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater company based in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1985 by playwright David Mamet, actor William H. Macy, and a group of acting students, the compan ...
in May 2016. Morisseau won the 2016
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 Collaboration, along with director Santiago-Hudson and the Atlantic Theater Company for ''Skeleton Crew''. The play won the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award in 2015. ''Skeleton Crew'' opened on Broadway in January 2022. It was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play.


Works


Awards

Morisseau received a
MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...
(also known as the 'Genius Grant') fin 2018, which included a stipend of $625,000. She is one of 25 fellows in the 2018 Class. Morisseau was named an Honoree for the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, which recognizes plays and performance texts created by women that present a feminist perspective and contain significant opportunities for female performers. She is a two-time award winner of the
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
Image Award, which celebrates the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts, as well as those individuals or groups who promote social justice through their creative endeavors. * Primus Prize by the
American Theatre Critics Association The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) is the only nationwide professional association of theatre critics in the United States. The ATCA membership consists of theatre critics who write reviews and critiques of live theatre for print, broa ...
(honoree) for ''Follow Me to Nellie's'' in 2012 * Stavis Playwriting Award *
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
: Emerging Leader Award *
City of Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
: Spirit of Detroit Award * Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama, 2014, for her play ''Detroit '67''Columbia University Awards the Kennedy Prize for Drama to Dominque Morisseau
" '' Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (Online)''. jbhe.com. 2014-02-28.
* Steinberg Playwright Award, 2015 *
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 ...
for "Special Citation: Collaboration" for her and Ruben Santiago-Hudson (director) for ''Skeleton Crew'' at Atlantic Theater Company, 2016 * Windham Campbell Literature Prize for drama, 2023.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morisseau, Dominique 1978 births Living people 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American women writers African-American dramatists and playwrights American stage actresses American women dramatists and playwrights MacArthur Fellows People from Southfield, Michigan University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni