William Mastrosimone
Encyclopedia
William Mastrosimone is an American
playwright
and screenwriter from Trenton
, New Jersey
. He attended high school at The Pennington School
and received a graduate degree in playwrighting from Mason Gross School of the Arts
, a part of Rutgers University
.
His plays include The Woolgatherer
, Extremities
, Shivaree, and Cat's Paw. He also wrote Bang Bang You're Dead
, which can be downloaded from the Internet and performed by students for free. Other plays include The Afghan Women and Nanawatai
, upon which the film The Beast
is based. Two recent plays are Sleepwalk, a story again focusing on the traumas of modern teenage life, and "Dirty Business", a play about a party girl caught between the mafia and the newly elected President of the United States.
Mastrosimone's first play was The Woolgatherer which premiered at Rutgers Theatre Company in New Jersey of 1979.
His screenwriting credits include Into the West and the adaptation of his play Extremities. He won a Daytime Emmy Award
for Bang, Bang You're Dead and was nominated for a Prime Time Emmy for Into the West and The Burning Season.
His play "Bang Bang You're Dead" is being toured by 'The Premiere American Touring Company' with students from Actor's Playground School of Theatre (in NJ), directed by Ralph Colombino, based in the Tri-State Area. This company goes to middle schools, high schools, and universities to prevent violence.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
playwright
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...
and screenwriter from Trenton
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. He attended high school at The Pennington School
The Pennington School
The Pennington School is a selective, independent, coeducational college preparatory school for students in grades 6 through 12, located in Pennington, New Jersey, a small community midway between New York City and Philadelphia in the northeastern United States.As of the 2009-10 school year, the...
and received a graduate degree in playwrighting from Mason Gross School of the Arts
Mason Gross School of the Arts
Mason Gross School of the Arts is the arts conservatory at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It is named for Mason W. Gross, the sixteenth president of Rutgers...
, a part of Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
.
His plays include The Woolgatherer
The Woolgatherer
The Woolgatherer is a play by William Mastrosimone. It originally premiered at the Theatre at Rutgers University in 1979. It was printed in 1981.The play is William Mastrosimone's first play....
, Extremities
Extremities (play)
(This article is about the off-Broadway play. For the 1986 film, see Extremities (film)Extremities is a play by William Mastrosimone that was first performed off Broadway in 1982...
, Shivaree, and Cat's Paw. He also wrote Bang Bang You're Dead
Bang Bang You're Dead
Bang Bang You're Dead is a one act play written by William Mastrosimone in 1999 to raise awareness of school violence and its causes. According to Mastrosimone, it “is a drama to be performed by kids, for kids” for free. The plot focuses on Josh, a high school student who murders his parents and...
, which can be downloaded from the Internet and performed by students for free. Other plays include The Afghan Women and Nanawatai
Pashtunwali
Pashtunwali or Pakhtunwali is a non-written ethical code and traditional lifestyle which the indigenous Pashtun people from Afghanistan and Pakistan follow. Some in the Indian subcontinent refer to it as "Pathanwali". Its meaning may also be interpreted as "the way of the Pashtuns" or "the code of...
, upon which the film The Beast
The Beast of War
The Beast is a 1988 American war film directed by Kevin Reynolds and based on a William Mastrosimone play Nanawatai. The plot concerns a Soviet T-55 tank lost during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan...
is based. Two recent plays are Sleepwalk, a story again focusing on the traumas of modern teenage life, and "Dirty Business", a play about a party girl caught between the mafia and the newly elected President of the United States.
Mastrosimone's first play was The Woolgatherer which premiered at Rutgers Theatre Company in New Jersey of 1979.
His screenwriting credits include Into the West and the adaptation of his play Extremities. He won a Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
for Bang, Bang You're Dead and was nominated for a Prime Time Emmy for Into the West and The Burning Season.
His play "Bang Bang You're Dead" is being toured by 'The Premiere American Touring Company' with students from Actor's Playground School of Theatre (in NJ), directed by Ralph Colombino, based in the Tri-State Area. This company goes to middle schools, high schools, and universities to prevent violence.