Dael+Orlandersmith

=__Dael Orlander Smith__=

 Playwright Dael Orlandersmith belongs to a daring new generation of African-American __ women  __ writing for the stage and winning establishment recognition for their work. Orlandersmith often acts in her plays as well, delivering critically acclaimed portrayals of lives torn apart by poverty, racism, or substance abuse. Commenting on the sometimes [|desolate] emotional territory that her stories traverse, the New York-based writer reflected in an interview with Stuart Miller for //American Theatre// that "there is humanity within a [|bleak] story. We find that humanity by exposing the darkness. I use language as a tool. Just the fact that the story itself is told--and [|hopefully] well--is cause for hope."  Orlandersmith was born in 1959 and grew up in public housing in New York's rough East Harlem neighborhood. Her father died when she was young, and her mother sent her to a Roman Catholic parochial school, despite the [|hardship] the expense brought on the household. In late 1960s and early 1970s, East Harlem was a dangerous place, as was the South Bronx neighborhood where her best __ friend  __ lived. "Heroin was at its height then," Orlandersmith told Miller. "I remember people would carry an extra $5, in case a [|junkie] came up to them, so they wouldn't lose their life." She admitted to being somewhat of an aggressive youth herself, but was focused on learning as well, she said in an interview with the Edinburgh //Scotsman//. "I have always been work-oriented, even when I was a child," Orlandersmith told journalist Jackie McGlone. "At ten, I was writing a journal, reading voraciously, listening to music."    // The Gimmick // was a one-person show that starred Orlandersmith as Alexis, who recounts a life in Harlem beginning in 1968 when Alexis is eight years old and befriends Jimmy. Both dream of artistic careers and a life in Paris; Alexis longs to write and Jimmy grows up to enjoy some brief success as a painter. The "gimmick" of the title is the constant [|lure] of drugs, sex, and easy money that bring so many around them--including their own parents--down back to the street level, despite their [|innate] talents. Telling her story in [|flashback], Alexis pays tribute to the [|librarian] she met in her youth that [|instilled] in her the love of reading, and sadly recalls the fleeting fame Jimmy achieved as a painter until his death from drugs supplied by his father. //Variety// reviewer Charles Isherwood termed //The Gimmick// "an often deeply affecting tribute to the transforming power of language and learning--and the people who steadfastly believe in their promise in an environment where more immediate and [|visceral] gratification continually [|beckon] ."  Orlandersmith's next solo show, //Monster//, enjoyed a successful run at A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) in Seattle. She played nine characters in the life of a young woman in Harlem, Theresa. The title refers to the longtime __ family  __ home in Harlem, from whose window one day Theresa spies a mother beating a child on street. She runs out and attacks the mother, but realizes she is simply perpetuating the cycle of family abuse that has occurred over three generations in her " [|monstrous] " house, which she then resolves to sell and rid herself of forever. Orlandersmith was asked to pen an article for the //New York Times// about her work, and in it she conceded that there were certain ideas she often returned to as a playwright. "There is a theme throughout the work that I write," Orlandersmith wrote, "about childhood and the sins of the father, the sins of the mother, and how people take on the very thing they don't like about their parents and they become them."

  Orlandersmith's plays have been published in book by Vintage. //Beauty's Daughter, Monster, The Gimmick: Three Plays//, appeared in 2000, and in 2002 //Yellowman and My Red Hand, My Black Hand//--the latter a work for three characters--appeared in print. An ardent fan of music in all forms, Orlandersmith continues to live in New York City and is a well-known figure in the downtown arts scene with her six-foot frame and multi-colored, sometimes platinum-blond dreadlocks. She admits that her plays are not to everyone's liking, and have been met with a somewhat cool reception by the African-American cultural establishment. "No, I am not about to win any [|NAACP] awards," she joked with //Seattle Post-Intelligencer// journalist Joe Adcock. "I'm proud to get into trouble with (that) kind of people."   **(Source:[])**   

__Plays__
//Liar Liar// //Beauty's Daughter// //Monster// //Yellowman// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">//The Gimmick// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">//Raw Boys// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">//My Red Hand//

__<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Awards __
Obie Award Helen Merrill Emerging Playwrights Award Roger Stevens Playwriting Award Susan Smith Blackburn Award Kennedy Center Award

__<span style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">**Additional Links** __ [] [] [] []