Lee Knowlton Blessing (born October 4, 1949) is an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

best known for his 1988 work, '' A Walk in the Woods''. A lifelong Midwesterner, Blessing continued to work in regional theaters in and around his hometown of Minneapolis through his 40s before relocating to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Life and work

Blessing was born in Minneapolis, and graduated from Minnetonka High School in 1967. He began his college education at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, Minneapolis, but later transferred to

Reed College Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...

in Oregon where he earned a B.A. in English in 1971. After Blessing earned his degree, his parents offered the young graduate the choice between a used car or a trip to Russia. Blessing chose Russia where he found inspiration to write his best-known work, the award-winning '' A Walk in the Woods''. According to interviews with Blessing, the play, which depicts the developing relationship between a Russian and an American arms limitation negotiator is based on fact. Apparently, during the 1982 talks in Geneva, Switzerland, Soviet Yuli Kvitsinsky and American

Paul Nitze Paul Henry Nitze (January 16, 1907 – October 19, 2004) was an American businessman and government official who served as United States Deputy Secretary of Defense, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, and Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. Sta ...

left the formal discussions to literally take a walk in the woods. Following its premiere in Waterford, Connecticut, ''A Walk in the Woods'' was nominated for both a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

and a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

. Though the production won neither award, it was reprised produced in Moscow in 1989 and later adapted for television. Upon returning from his tenure abroad, Blessing went on to study playwriting at the University of Iowa where he received MFA degrees in English and Speech and Theater. He would later return to teach at the Iowa's Playwrights Workshop and the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a graduate-level creative writing program. At 89 years, it is the oldest writing program offering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in the United States. Its acceptance rate is between 2 ...

in addition to his time as an instructor at the Playwright's Center in Minneapolis. He currently serves as Head of the graduate playwriting program at

Mason Gross School of the Arts Mason Gross School of the Arts ("Mason Gross" or "MGSA") is the arts conservatory at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Mason Gross offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in art, design, dance, filmmaking, music, and theater. Ma ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. Blessing's most recent plays include ''A Body of Water'', '' Whores'', ''

The Scottish Play ''The Scottish Play'' and ''the Bard's play'' are euphemism, euphemisms for the William Shakespeare play ''Macbeth''. The first is a reference to the play's Scotland, Scottish setting, and the second is a reference to Shakespeare's popular ni ...

'', ''

Black Sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

'', ''

Fortinbras Fortinbras is a minor fictional character from William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet''. A Norwegian crown prince with a few brief scenes in the play, he delivers the final lines that represent a hopeful future for the monarchy of Denmark and i ...

'', and many others. He has also written one act plays including ''The Roads That Lead Here'' and '' Eleemosynary''. Eight of his plays have been staged at the

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. It is commonly referred to as The O'Neill, seating just over 1,000 guests. The center has received two ...

in Waterford, Connecticut during the prestigious National Playwrights Conference. Several of his most recent works produced in New York City including ''Thief River'', ''Cobb'' and ''Chesapeake'', received

Drama Desk 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 ...

nominations and an award, plus nominations from the

Outer Critics Circle The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town news ...

. Blessing married his first wife, Jeanne Blake, in 1986. He is currently married to fellow playwright and screenwriter, Melanie Marnich.

Works

Theatre

* 1975: ''The Real Billy The Kid'' * 1980: ''The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid'' (revised version premiered Washington, D.C., 1979) * 1983: ''Nice People Dancing to Good Country Music'' (premiered Louisville, Kentucky, 1982) * 1985: ''Independence'' (premiered Louisville, Kentucky, 1984) * 1986: ''Riches'' (as War of the Roses, premiered Louisville, Kentucky, 1985) * 1987: '' Eleemosynary'' (premiered St. Paul, Minnesota, 1985; New York, 1989) * 1988: ''Oldtimers Game'' (premiered Louisville, Kentucky, 1982) * 1988: '' A Walk in the Woods'' (premiered La Jolla, California, 1987; New York and London, 1988) * 1990: ''Two Rooms'' (premiered La Jolla, California, 1988) * 1991: ''Cobb'' (premiered New Haven, Connecticut, 1989) * 1991: ''Down the Road'' (premiered La Jolla, California, 1989) * 1992: ''

'' (sequel to William Shakespeare's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'') * 1993: ''Lake Street'' Extension (premiered New York, 1992) * 1995: ''Patient A'' * 1996: ''Going To St. Ives'' (premiered in Waterford, CT, 1996) * 1999: ''Chesapeake'' (premiered in New York, NY, 1999) * 2000: ''The Winning Streak'' (premiered in Waterford, CT, 1999) * 2000: ''Thief River'' (premiered in Waterford, CT, 2000) * 2001: ''

'' (premiered in Manalapan, Florida, 2001) * 2002: ''The Roads That Lead Here'' * 2002: ''Whores'' (premiered in Waterford, CT, 2002) * 2003: ''Snapshot'' (premiered in Louisville, KY, 2002) * 2003: ''Tyler Poked Taylor'' (premiered in Louisville, KY, 2002) * 2003: ''The Road that Leads Here'' (premiered in Minneapolis, MN, 2002) * 2004: ''Flag Day'' (premiered in Shepherdstown, WV, 2004) * 2005: ''The Scottish Play'' * 2005: ''A Body of Water'' * 2006: ''Lonesome Hollow'' * 2007: ''Moderation'' * 2008: ''Great Falls'' * 2008: ''Perilous Night'' * 2009: ''Into You'' * 2009: ''Heaven's My Destination'' * 2010: ''When We Go Upon the Sea'' (premiered in Philadelphia, PA, 2010) * 2013 ''Courting Harry,'' (premiered in St. Paul, MN, 2013) * 2015 ''For the Loyal'' (premiered in Minneapolis, MN, 2015)

Television

* 1993: '' Cooperstown''Lee Blessing – Humanitas Prize winner and CableACE Awards nominee
(1993). ''iMDB.com''. Retrieved on May 27, 2015.

Awards

* American College Theater Festival Award (1979) * Jerome Foundation Grant (1981, 1982) * McKnight Foundation Grant (1983, 1989) * Great American Play Award ** ''Oldtimers Game'' (1982) ** ''Independence'' (1984) ** ''War of the Roses'' (1985) ** ''Down the Road'' (1991) ** ''Snapshot'' (2002) ** ''The Roads that Lead Here'' (2003) ** ''Great Falls'' (2008) * National Endowment for the Arts Grant (1985, 1988) * Bush Foundation Fellowship (1987) * American Theater Critics Association Award ** '' A Walk in the Woods'' (1987) ** ''A Body of Water'' (2006) ** ''Great Falls'' (Citation, 2009) * Marton Award (1988) * Dramalogue Award (1988) *

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

(1989) *

Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an American award for film and television writing, presented to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful manner. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of ...

(1993)

References

External links

Lee Blessing
- ''Downstage Center'' interview at American Theatre Wing.org
Lee Blessing
��entry in The Playwrights Database
Lee Blessing Papers
at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, is an archive, library, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe ...

at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blessing, Lee 1949 births Living people 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni Writers from Minneapolis Reed College alumni Rutgers University faculty 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers American male dramatists and playwrights