Steven Dietz (born June 23, 1958) is an American playwright. With the exception of "Fiction", produced Off-Broadway by the Roundabout Theater Company in 2004, most Dietz dramas are produced in American regional cinemas. During the 2015-16 season, Dietz unveiled three new dramas: "Bloomsday" ("The Random World"), "The Random World" (The Humana Festival of the New American Music), and the "On Clover Road" thriller ( National New Play Network launched the world premiere). In 2010, Dietz was once named one of the most-produced playmakers in America (excluding Shakespeare), placing eighth in the Top 10 Playwright Top roster in America, tied to Tennessee Williams and Edward Albee for production. Other recent dramas include black comedy, "Rancho Mirage", and contemporary riff on "Reigen" Arthur Schnitzler entitled "American la Ronde". Dietz has taught at the MFA Playwriting and Directing program at the University of Texas at Austin since 2006. In addition, he is a "Trip Master's" Dramaist Guild, teaching workshops and master's classes on drama writing and story-writing around the US.
Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Dietz graduated in 1980 with a B.A. at the Art Theater of Northern Colorado University, after which he moved to Minneapolis and began his career as director of new dramas at The Playwrights' Center and other local theaters. During these years he also formed a small theater company (Quicksilver Stage) and began writing his own drama. A commission from ACT Theater to write "The Country of God" brought him to Seattle, Washington in 1988, and he lived and worked in Seattle from 1991 to 2006. He now divides his time between Seattle and Austin, Texas where he teaches writing and directs at the University of Texas at Austin.
He is the recipient of the US PEN Award in Drama (for Lonely Planet, perhaps his most widely performed work); Kennedy Center Fund for New American Screening Awards ( Fiction and Still Life With Iris ); Lila Wallace/Reader's Digest Award ( The Rememberer ); Yomiuri Shinbun Award for Adaptation to Shusaku Endo's Silence; and the 2007 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Mystery for the adaptation of William Gillette and Arthur Conan Doyle's 1899 play Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure. Dietz also twice became a prestigious finalist for the Steinberg New Play Award (for "Last of the Boys" and "Becky New Car"), given by the American Theater Critics Association. She was awarded the New Steinberg Play Award Quote for "Bloomsday."
Dietz drama ranges from politics ("Last of the Boys", "God Country", "Halcyon Days", "Lonely Planet") to comedy ("Becky's New Car", "More Fun than Bowling", "On the Moon"). Many of them (eg "Trust", "Personal Eye", "Fiction", "Rancho Mirage") have a central theme as a result of personal betrayal and deception. Seattle ACT Theater has aired/produced 11 dramas by Dietz, including the world premiere of Bloomsday, directed by Kurt Beattie. The majority of dramas are published (in acting editions) by Dramatic Play Service (New York), or Samuel French, Inc., (New York). An anthology work from Dietz for a young audience was published by UT Press in 2015. Many short dramas were also sung.
Dietz's work as a director has been seen in many of America's leading regional theaters. He has directed new premiere production of dramas at Louisville Humana Theater Actor Theater, Seattle Repertory Theater, Denver Theater Theater Company, Northlight Theater (Chicago), ACT Theater (Seattle), San Jose Repertory Theater, City Theater (Pittsburgh), Westside Arts (Off) -Broadway), and Sundance Institute, among many others. He was resident director for ten years at the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis, where he also serves as Midwest Artistic Director of PlayLabs.
The Dietz article on developing new games - first seen at American Theater Magazine - has been widely discussed and reprinted.
Video Steven Dietz
Original drama (based on first production year)
- Brothers and Sisters (1981)
- Railroad Tales (1983)
- Random Story (1983)
- Wanderlust (1984)
- More Fun than Bowling (1986)
- Painting It Red (1986) (music by Gary Rue and Leslie Ball)
- Burning Desire (1987) (short game)
- Foolin 'Around with Infinity (1987)
- Ten November (1987) (music by Eric Bain Peltoniemi))
- The Country of God (1988)
- Happenstance (1989) (music by Eric Bain Peltoniemi)
- After You (1990) (short game)
- Halcyon Days (1991)
- To The Nines (1991) (short game)
- Trust (1992)
- Lonely Planet (1993)
- Submit Names (1994)
- The Nina Variations (1996) (variation on the last scene of Chekhov The Seagull)
- Personal Points (1996)
- Still Life with Iris (1997)
- Rocket Man (1998)
- Fiction (2002)
- Left to Right (2002) (short)
- Discover van Gogh (2004)
- Last of the Boys (2004)
- The Spot (2004) (short)
- Calls September (2006) (short)
- Yankee Tavern (2007)
- Shooting Stars (2008)
- New Becky's Car (2008)
- Rancho Mirage (2012)
- On Clover Road (2015)
- Bloomsday (2015)
- This Random World (2016)
Maps Steven Dietz
Playbacks adapted from other sources
- The Rememberer (1994) (from unpublished memoirs of Joyce Simmons Cheeka)
- Silence (1995) (from Shusaku Endo novel)
- Dracula (1996) (from Bram Stoker)
- Force of Nature (1999) (after Elite Choice by Goethe)
- Go, Dog. Go! (2003) (from P.D Eastman) - a music adaptation written along with his wife, Allison Gregory.
- Over The Moon (2003) (after "The Small Bachelor" by P.G. Wodehouse)
- Paragon Springs (2004) (from "An Enemy of the People" by Ibsen)
- Honus and Me (2005) (from Dan Gutman)
- Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure (2006) (from William Gillette and Arthur Conan Doyle)
- Jackie and Me (from Dan Gutman)
- American la Ronde (from the work of Arthur Schnitzler in 1900, "Reigen", or "La Ronde" La Ronde (play))
Reference
External links
- University of Texas at Austin page at Steven Dietz
- Texas Press University, 'Steven Dietz: Four Playings for Family Audiences'
- "The influence of famous playwright Steven Dietz is very heavy in the D-FW scene" - Dallas Morning News
- "Be Prolific to Have Your Own Reward" - Americanman Austin America's Profile
- "Working Playwright" - Austin Chronicle's article by Robert Faires
- "Brick Solid" - Seattle Weekly article by John Longenbaugh
- Faculty pages at the University of Texas
- March 2003 Interview with Steven Dietz from Theatrescene.net
- Playbill Short Play with Steven Dietz
- Information about Steven Dietz by doollee.com
- Bibliography at goodreads.com
- Director and Playwright Discuss Last of the Boys , Steppenwolf Theater Company
- Michael D. Mitchell Bio and discussions about Sherlock Holmes's adaptation in "Understudy", a guide to playing in Fulton, 2007.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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