Cheryl West
Encyclopedia
Cheryl L. West is an American playwright
.
She won a National Endowment for the Arts
Playwrighting Award for 1995-96. Also making a successful foray into film, her play Before It Hits Home has been optioned by Spike Lee
; and she has been asked to pen a film adaptation for Home Box Office
and write an original screenplay for Paramount Studios. She had been commissioned to write a dramatic adaptation of Richard Wright's 1940 novel Native Son.
A film version of Holiday Heart premiered on Showtime in 2000 starring Ving Rhames
and Alfre Woodard
.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
.
Life
West holds a degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She worked as a social worker and taught before turning to playwriting. In 1990 she moved to Seattle.She won a National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Playwrighting Award for 1995-96. Also making a successful foray into film, her play Before It Hits Home has been optioned by Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
; and she has been asked to pen a film adaptation for Home Box Office
Home Box Office
HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
and write an original screenplay for Paramount Studios. She had been commissioned to write a dramatic adaptation of Richard Wright's 1940 novel Native Son.
A film version of Holiday Heart premiered on Showtime in 2000 starring Ving Rhames
Ving Rhames
Irving Rameses "Ving" Rhames is an American actor best known for his work in Bringing Out the Dead, Pulp Fiction, Baby Boy, Don King: Only in America, and the Mission: Impossible film series.-Early life and education:...
and Alfre Woodard
Alfre Woodard
Alfre Ette Woodard is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award and Grammy Awards, 17 times for Emmy Awards , and has also won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.She is known for her role in films such as Cross Creek, Miss...
.
Awards
- Before It Hits Home Susan Smith Blackburn PrizeSusan Smith Blackburn PrizeThe Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is for English-language women playwrights. Named for Susan Smith, alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer.-Winners:* 1978-79 Mary O'Malley* 1979-80 Barbara Schneider...
Co-winner, 1990, AUDELCO Award for Outstanding Play, 1991, Helen Hayes Charles McArthur Award Winner, Outstanding New Play, 1992 - Jar the Floor, Beverly Hills/Hollywood NAACP Best Play, 1995
Plays
- Puddin 'n Pete - 1993
- Holiday Heart - 1994
- Play On! - 1997
- Birdie Blue - 2005
- Addy: An American Girl Story.
Teleplays
- Diary of a Single Mom (1 episode, 2009)
- Life Raft (2009) TV episode (writer)
- Glitter (2001) (story)
- Holiday Heart (2000) (TV) (play) (teleplay)
- Play On! (2000) (TV) (writer)