Nikole Beckwith is an American director, screenwriter, and playwright. Her writing credits include '' Stockholm, Pennsylvania'' (2015), '' 3 Generations'' (2015), ''

Impulse Impulse or Impulsive may refer to: Science * Impulse (physics), in mechanics, the change of momentum of an object; the integral of a force with respect to time * Impulse noise (disambiguation) * Specific impulse, the change in momentum per unit ...

'' (2019), ''

Together Together ''Together Together'' is a 2021 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Nikole Beckwith. The film stars Ed Helms and Patti Harrison. It follows the friendship between a single man and the surrogate pregnant with his child. The fil ...

'' (2021), and 3 episodes of the television series '' The First Lady'' (2022).

Early life

Beckwith grew-up in

Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes p ...

. From age 16, she attended the

Sudbury Valley School The Sudbury Valley School was founded in 1968 by a community of people in Framingham, Massachusetts, United States.Greenberg, D: Announcing a New School, The Sudbury Valley School Press, Ma 1973. In 2019, several schools stated that they were ba ...

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston ...

. In 2004, she became the youngest recipient of The Johnson Award for excellence in and contributions to the arts in the

Merrimack Valley The Merrimack Valley is a bi-state region along the Merrimack River in the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The Merrimack is one of the larger waterways in New England and has helped to define the livelihood and culture of those ...

. She authored a short book of poems, ''Rhymes With Blue'', which was released in a limited run by Independent Submarine in 2001. In 2006, she moved to New York City, she was a three time Manhattan Monologue Slam champion, and is an alumna of the

Ensemble studio theatre The Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) is a non-profit membership-based developmental theatre located in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. It has a dual mission of nurturing individual theatre artists and developing new American plays. Overview The E ...

. playwright's group Youngblood and

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: ...

’s Emerging Writers Group. She was also a performer and director with The Striking Viking Story Pirates.

Career

TV & Film

She wrote and directed the feature film of '' Stockholm, Pennsylvania'' (2015), about a young woman who is returned home to her biological parents after living with her abductor for 17 years. It starred

Saoirse Ronan Saoirse Una Ronan ( ; born 12 April 1994) is an American-born Irish actress. Primarily known for her work in period dramas, she has received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, with nominations for four Academy Awards and sev ...

and premiered in the Dramatic Competition section at the 2015

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. The film was acquired by Lifetime and premiered on their TV channel on May 2, 2015. Her screenplay '' Stockholm, Pennsylvania'' won a 2012 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Beckwith wrote two episodes of the second season of the Youtube Original series ''

'' (2019), and wrote and directed the film ''

'' (2021), about a young loner who becomes gestational surrogate for a man in his 40s. The film had its world premiere in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section of the 2021

. Other writing credits include the film '' 3 Generations'' (2015), and 3 episodes of the television series '' The First Lady'' (2022).

Theater

She has written multiple plays. Her full-length plays include ''Everything Is Ours''; ''Imagine My Sadness''; ''Stockholm, Pennsylvania''; and ''Untitled Matriarch Play (Or Seven Sisters)''. which she wrote in residence at The Royal National Theatre of London and premiered at The Royal Court directed by Vicki Featherstone. Beckwith has also written many short plays, including ''How it Tastes'' written for

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater Rattlestick Theater is a non-profit off-Broadway theater based in the West Village, New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United S ...

''Dig Dig Dig'' written for Stella Adler Studio and ''Nice Place to Visit'' and ''PLAY FOR AN ALL WHITE STAGE'' which were commissioned by

Old Vic New Voices Old Vic New Voices (OVNV) is The Old Vic’s Education, Community and Emerging Talent programme. About Old Vic New Voices aims to nurture talent, inspire young people and open up the theatre to everyone. They develop the next generation of thea ...

. As an actor she appeared in the premiere production of Joshua Conkel’s 2009 underground hit ''MilkMilkLemonade'' originating the role of ''Lady in a Leotard'' along side Michael Cyril Crieghton as Nanna and Jess Barbagallo as Elliot, directed by Isaac Butler.

Music

Beckwith recreationally performed live with a handful of bands and sings on Tiger Saw's 2005 record ''Sing!'',

Adrian Orange Thanksgiving and Adrian Orange & Her Band are the names under which Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon singer/songwriter Adrian Orange (born March 20, 1986) performs. First adopting the "Thanksgiving" moniker around 1999–2000, Orange played expe ...

’s 2005 ''I Am Yours (full version)'' and Sam Buck Rosen's 2006 release ''The Look South.'' She toured musically with Drew Danbury between 2004 and 2006 and inspired the song ''’Nikole’'' on his 2012 record ''For all the Girls''.

Personal life

Beckwith splits her time between Brooklyn, Massachusetts and Los Angeles. She is close friends with author

Kate Bolick Kate Bolick (born 1972) is the author of New York Times bestseller ''Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own''. She is also a contributing editor for ''The Atlantic,'' and host of "Touchstones at The Mount," an annual literary interview series at Ed ...

and playwright/actor

Eric Bogosian Eric Michael Bogosian (; born April 24, 1953) is an American actor, playwright, monologuist, novelist, and historian. Descended from Armenian-American immigrants, he grew up in Watertown and Woburn, Massachusetts, and attended the University ...

who gave the character of '''Sooze''' the last name '''Beckwith in the 2009 update of his play

SubUrbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

and thanks her in the acknowledgements. She has two tattoos of the same dog; one drawn and tattooed by artis
Rachel Howe
the other by artis
Kris Chau
both of whom also have work featured in ''Together Together.'' She's never had a driver’s license.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckwith, Nikole Living people 21st-century American women American women dramatists and playwrights American women film directors American women screenwriters Film directors from Massachusetts Place of birth missing (living people) Screenwriters from Massachusetts Writers from Newburyport, Massachusetts Year of birth missing (living people)