John O'Keefe (playwright)
Encyclopedia
John O'Keefe is an American playwright, director and solo performer. Notable awards include the 2002 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award
for Times Like These, and a Bessie Award for Shimmer, which was also made into a motion picture by American Playhouse
.
Born in Waterloo, Iowa
in 1940, O'Keefe was raised in the Midwest in Catholic orphanages and juvenile homes. He began singing in church choirs at the age of five and pursued his musical interests, subsequently receiving a vocal scholarship at the University of Iowa
, where he earned a BA degree in Philosophy and an MFA in Theater.
John O'Keefe came to San Francisco in the early 1970s, beginning an affiliation with the Magic Theatre
that continues to this day. O'Keefe also co-founded the Blake Street Hawkeyes, a performance-lab ensemble based in Berkeley.
O'Keefe also wrote the libretto for Chrysalis, a new opera written with Clark Suprynowicz for the Berkeley Opera in 2006.
Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award
The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards is an annual awards program presented by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle . Established in 1969, the awards recognize excellence in theatre in the Greater Los Angeles Area....
for Times Like These, and a Bessie Award for Shimmer, which was also made into a motion picture by American Playhouse
American Playhouse
American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.It premiered on January 12, 1982 with The Shady Hill Kidnapping, written and narrated by John Cheever and directed by Paul Bogart...
.
Born in Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...
in 1940, O'Keefe was raised in the Midwest in Catholic orphanages and juvenile homes. He began singing in church choirs at the age of five and pursued his musical interests, subsequently receiving a vocal scholarship at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, where he earned a BA degree in Philosophy and an MFA in Theater.
John O'Keefe came to San Francisco in the early 1970s, beginning an affiliation with the Magic Theatre
Magic Theatre
The Magic Theatre is a theatre company founded in 1967, presently based at the historic Fort Mason Center on San Francisco's northern waterfront...
that continues to this day. O'Keefe also co-founded the Blake Street Hawkeyes, a performance-lab ensemble based in Berkeley.
O'Keefe also wrote the libretto for Chrysalis, a new opera written with Clark Suprynowicz for the Berkeley Opera in 2006.
Major works
- The Man in the Moon (1983)
- ShimmerShimmer (play)Shimmer is a 1988 award-winning one-man play by American playwright John O'Keefe. It is a solo performance, portraying multiple characters, that describes life on a harsh juvenile detention farm in the Midwest in the 1950s.-Plot:...
(1988) - The Promotion (1989)
- The Bronte Cycle (2000)
- Times Like These (2002)