Tracey Scott Wilson
Encyclopedia
Life
She grew up in Newark, New JerseyNewark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
.
She graduated from Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
, with an MA.
Awards
- 2001-2 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...
finalist - 2004 Whiting Writers' AwardWhiting Writers' AwardThe Whiting Writers' Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation and has been presented since 1985. As of 2007, winners receive US $50,000.-External links:**...
- 2004 Kesselring Prize
- 2007 Sundance-Time Warner Storytelling Fellow
Works
- Order My Steps,
- Exhibit #9
- Neon Mirage, New York International Fringe Festival, 2006
- Leader of the People
- The Good Negro, the Public TheaterPublic TheaterThe Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as The Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers. It is headquartered at 425 Lafayette Street in the former Astor Library in the East Village...
2008
Reviews
In hindsight the ultimate triumph of the civil rights movement seems inevitable, the bright sun of enlightenment inevitably burning through clouds of ignorance and injustice. Ms. Wilson reminds us how precarious it seemed at the time, as each day brought new evidence of human fear and cruelty and weakness.
The play does not diminish the actors in the struggle by exploring its psychic costs; on the contrary, to see them as troubled, sometime troublesome human beings makes their achievement shine ever brighter.
At times, whether one “likes” a play matters less than the way in which it resonates in the imagination long after the drama has unfolded, the sets have been struck, and life has returned to what it is, or might be. After seeing Tracey Scott Wilson’s “The Story” (at the Public), I was so taken by the stark poeticism of her dramatic form that I couldn’t tell whether my high was based on admiration for the play as a whole or for Wilson’s literary ear in particular.