Peter Duchan is an American playwright and screenwriter, best known for the film ''

Breaking Upwards ''Breaking Upwards'' is a 2009 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Daryl Wein, starring Zoe Lister-Jones, Wein, Julie White, Peter Friedman, Andrea Martin, and Pablo Schreiber. It explores a 20-something, real-life New York couple batt ...

'' and the musical ''

Dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft that is conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requir ...

.'' He was also personal assistant to actor-director-producer

Bob Balaban Robert Elmer Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. Aside from his acting career, Balaban has directed three feature films, in addition to numerous television episodes and films, and was one of the pro ...

. He graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, where he participated in the Creative Writing for Media Program.

''Breaking Upwards''

He was Associate Producer of ''

'', which he co-wrote with director

Daryl Wein Daryl Robert Wein (born December 23, 1983) is an American artist, filmmaker, producer and actor. Early life Born in Los Angeles, California to Jan Sparling and Mitchell Wein, he was raised in Westport, Connecticut. His father worked as a creative ...

and actress Zoe-Lister Jones. The film premiered at the

SXSW Film Festival South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both s ...

(March, 2009) and was released in theaters by

IFC Films Independent Film Company (formerly IFC Films) is an American film production and distribution company based in New York City, New York. It is an offshoot of IFC (U.S. TV channel), IFC, owned by AMC Networks. It mainly distributes independent fil ...

on April 2, 2010. His short film Unlocked, also a collaboration with Wein, was an Official Selection of numerous festivals, including the Gijon International Film Festival in 2006 and the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

in 2007.

''Dogfight''

He wrote the book of the stage musical adaptation of ''

'',

Nancy Savoca Nancy Laura Savoca (born July 23, 1959) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life and education Nancy Laura Savoca was born in 1959 in the Bronx, New York, to immigrants Maria Elvira from Argentina and Carlos Savoca fr ...

's 1991 film starring

River Phoenix River Jude Phoenix (; August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993) was an American actor. He was known as a teen actor before taking on leading roles in critically acclaimed films and becoming one of the most preeminent talents of his generation. Pho ...

and

Lili Taylor Lili Anne Taylor (born February 20, 1967) is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films '' Mystic Pizza'' (1988) and '' Say Anything...'' (1989), before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s i ...

. The musical, featuring a score by the team,

Pasek and Paul Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, known together as Pasek and Paul, are an American songwriting duo and composing team for musical theater, films and television. While Pasek usually writes lyrics and Paul usually writes music, they share credit fo ...

, premiered

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a non-profit theater company that presents work by living American writers both on and off Broadway. It is based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and is affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Founded in 1979 ...

on July 16, 2012, after previews from June 27. It was directed by

Joe Mantello Joseph Mantello (born December 27, 1962) is an American actor and director known for his work on stage and screen. He first gained prominence for his Broadway acting debut in the original production of Tony Kushner's two-part epic play ''Angels ...

and choreographed by

Christopher Gattelli Christopher Gattelli is an American choreographer, performer and theatre director. Early life and career Gattelli grew up in Bristol, Pennsylvania. He started dancing at the age of 8 and is a "Star Search" grand champion.

. The production earned two 2013

Lucille Lortel Awards The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres ...

for Outstanding Musical and Outstanding Choreographer (

)."The Piano Lesson, The Whale & Dogfight Honored at 2013 Lucille Lortel Awards"
Broadway.com, May 6, 2011 It was nominated for five 2013

Outer Critics Circle Awards 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 ...

, including Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical and Outstanding Book of a Musical. Additionally, the show was nominated for

Drama League Award The Drama League Awards, created in 1922, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing. Each May, the awards ...

s for Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical and Distinguished Performance (

Lindsay Mendez Lindsay Michelle Mendez (born March 1, 1981) is an American actress and singer, best known for her work in American musical theatre. She won the 2018 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Carrie Pipperidge in a ...

), as well as the

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 ...

for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (

). During its development, the musical was the recipient of the 2011 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater given by the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

.Jones, Kenneth
"Musicals by Duchan, Pasek, Paul and Gerle Win 2011 Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater"
''Playbill'', February 14, 2011

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duchan, Peter Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male screenwriters