Jen Silverman is an American playwright, TV writer, poet, and novelist. Silverman grew up living and traveling in Scandinavia, Asia, and Europe as well as the United States. They are the author of the books ''The Island Dwellers'', an interlinked story collection published by Random House, and the novels ''We Play Ourselves'' and ''There's Going to Be Trouble''. Silverman has written a number of plays and has written for TV and film, including Netflix's ''

Tales of the City ''Tales of the City'' is a series of ten novels written by American author Armistead Maupin from 1978 to 2024, depicting the life of a group of friends in San Francisco, many of whom are LGBTQ. The stories from ''Tales'' were originally seri ...

'' and '' Tokyo Vice'' on which they are also a producer. Silverman has published essays on the relationship between art and morality in ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

''. Silverman made their Broadway debut as a playwright in the fall of 2024 with their play ''

The Roommate ''The Roommate'' is a 2011 American psychological thriller film directed by Christian E. Christiansen and written by Sonny Mallhi. The film stars Leighton Meester, Minka Kelly, Cam Gigandet, Aly Michalka, Danneel Harris, Frances Fisher, and ...

'' at the Booth Theatre, starring

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera ''Peyton Place (TV series), Peyton Place'' and gained further recogn ...

and

Patti Lupone Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer. After starting her professional career with The Acting Company in 1972, she soon gained acclaim for her leading performances on the Broadway and West End stage. Known f ...

Background

Silverman completed a BA in comparative literature at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, an MFA in playwriting at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, and an Artist Diploma at Juilliard under Marsha Norman and Chris Durang. They have taught theatre and playwriting classes at the University of Iowa, Playwrights Horizons Theater School at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, and ESPA (at

Primary Stages Primary Stages was founded in 1984 by Casey Childs as an Off-Broadway not-for-profit theater company. In 2004, Primary Stages moved from its 99-seat home of 17 years at 354 West 45th Street to the 199-seat theater at 59E59 Theaters. In 2014, the ...

). Silverman completed residencies at

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The program was founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDo ...

(three-time fellow), New Harmony,

Hedgebrook Hedgebrook is a rural retreat for women writers on Whidbey Island, Washington, founded in 1988. Hedgebrook's artist-in-residence program accepts up to 80 writers each year, who spend two to four weeks in residence working on their diverse writi ...

, the

Millay Colony for the Arts Millay Arts, formerly the Millay Colony for the Arts, is an arts community offering residency-retreats and workshops in Austerlitz, New York, and free arts programs in local public schools. Housed on the former property of feminist/activist poet ...

, and SPACE on Ryder Farm.

Works

Full-Length Plays

*''Phoebe In Winter'' (2013) *''

Still A still is an apparatus used to distillation, distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively Boiling, boil and then cooling to Condensation, condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic Distillation#Laboratory_procedures, ...

'' (2013) *''Pirates of the Cafeteria'' (2014) *''

'' (2015) *''The Moors'' (2016) *''Collective Rage: A Play In 5 Betties; In Essence, A Queer And Occasionally Hazardous Exploration; Do You Remember When You Were In Middle School And You Read About Shackleton And How He Explored The Antarctic?; Imagine The Antarctic As A Pussy And It’s Sort Of Like That'' (2016) *''Witch'' (2018) *''Wink'' (2019) *''Spain'' (2023) *''Highway Patrol'' (2024)

Short Plays

*''The Astonishing and Dangerous History of Mazefield the Frog'' (2015) *''Hippos of the Eastern Enclosure''(2017) *''The Visitations'' (2020) *''Real American Dinner Party'' (2020) *''Ubu Anew (A Play for Strange People)'' (2021) *''Your Mother in the Night Sky'' (2021)

Books

* ''The Island Dwellers: Stories'' (2018) * ''We Play Ourselves: A Novel'' (2021) * ''Bath: A Poetry Chapboook'' (2021) * ''There's Going to Be Trouble: A Novel'' (2024)

Awards

Silverman has received the Yale Drama Series Award, Lilly Award, the Helen Merrill Fund Award in 2015, and the PoNY Fellowship (2016-2017). Recent honors include fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silverman, Jen Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American women writers Brown University alumni University of Iowa alumni Juilliard School alumni University of Iowa faculty MacDowell Colony fellows American women academics Postmodern theatre