Early Life and Education
Gardley was born and raised in Oakland, California. The son of a nurse and a minister, he describes growing up in a home surrounded by books, ultimately leading him toward his academic path, at first wanting to become an anesthesiologist. [2] Gardley originally studied and wrote poetry at San Francisco State University (SFSU), though his poetry professors told him that his poems read like plays. Initially not wanting to admit this, Gardley eventually came around to acknowledge that his poems often did incorporate elements of playwriting. Regarding this time, Gardley later recalled: "What I like about theater is it's like an orchestra. There are these different sounds from different people. I think of my plays as compositions in a way." [3] Gardley earned the SFSU African American Student of Outstanding Achievement Award for 2000–1 and graduated with his B.F.A. He went on to earn his M.F.A. in playwriting from Yale School of Drama in 2004. Upon graduation, Gardley started teaching creative writing at Columbia University. [4]
He was an assistant professor of Theater and Performance Studies at Brown University. He was also previously a member of New Dramatists, The Dramatists Guild, and the Lark Play Development Center.
In 2013, Gardley began a three-year term as the Playwright in Residence at Victory Gardens Theater, through the National Playwright Residency Program, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by HowlRound. It was renewed in 2016 for another three years.
Plays
The House that will not Stand
The Housethat will not Stand, inspired by Federico García Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba , had its world premiere with the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in January 2014, directed by Patricia McGregor. The play centers on a black Creole woman who, recently widowed, must contend with the impending loss of her home and the privilege of being married to a rich white man in 1830s New Orleans; the work utilizes dark humor and stylized melodrama to tell the story of female sexuality and race relations. It was subsequently staged in London at the Tricycle Theatre, with an Off-Broadway premiere at New York Theatre Workshop in July 2018 directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz. It won the Obie in 2018 and the AUDELCO Award for Best Play.
A Thousand Ships
A Thousand Ships had its world premiere at Oakland Theater Project. It was directed by Michael Socrates Moran and included an original score by Molly Holm. The show is an extraordinary tale of friendship between two black women and their families, from their wartime work in the Oakland shipyards to the fulfillment of a dream: their own hair salon.
black odyssey
In 2014, his play black odyssey was commissioned by the Denver Center Theater Company, where it premiered in 2017, and was revised for production at California Shakespeare Theater. This second production reset the play in Oakland and included a new score by Linda Tillery and Molly Holm. It garnered 11 nominations and seven Theatre Bay Area Awards, including: Outstanding Production, Outstanding Ensemble, Outstanding Male Actor (Aldo Billingslea), Outstanding Female Actor (Margo Hall), Outstanding Direction (Eric Ting), Outstanding Costume Design (Dede Ayite), and the Creative Specialties award to Marcus Gardley for his adaptation of Homer's Odyssey . In 2023, the third production of the play occurred at Classic Stage Company in New York City. It was revised to take place in Harlem.
The Gospel of Lovingkindness
The Gospel of Lovingkindess was produced in Chicago at Victory Gardens Theater in 2014, directed by Chay Yew. It won Best Play at the African American Arts Alliance of Chicago. It was sold out and extended twice. It had a subsequent production in Washington, D.C. at Mosaic Theatre.
Gardley's play ...And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi was produced at The Cutting Ball Theater and has earned both positive reviews and two sold-out extensions. ...And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi is a poetic voyage of forgiveness and redemption, highly influenced by the myth of Demeter and Persephone. The play encompasses traditional storytelling, gospel music, and humor to create a rich and vividly imaginative world. According to Gardley, "Jesus Moonwalks is in a lot of ways my signature play. ... It is based upon a story my great-grandmother used to tell about her father who fled the bonds of slavery and traveled the country in search of his family.” It had a workshop production at The Public Theater, and in 2010, it was rated as one of the top ten plays in the Bay Area.
A Wonder in my Soul
A Wonder in my Soul was produced at Victory Gardens Theater in 2017, directed by Chay Yew. It had an extended run and was a critical success. It had a subsequent production at Baltimore Center Stage in 2018, directed by Daniel Bryant. Sold out and extended twice.
the road weeps, the well runs dry
the road weeps, the well runs dry had a national tour in 2012 and 2013, produced by the Mellon Foundation . Has never had a major regional theater production. It was supposed to have a major production in Chicago before the pandemic, directed by Chay Yew. The play is part of a trilogy about the migration of a mixed pride of African American and Native American people - of Seminoles. This trilogy is based on my father’s family story.
An Issue of Blood
An Issue of Blood was produced at Victory Gardens Theater in 2015, directed by Chay Yew. Opened to critical acclaim.
A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes
A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes was commissioned and produced in London at the Tricycle Theater, directed by Indhu Rubasingham. The play is an adaptation of Molière’s Tartuffe . It is written in verse. The setting is modern-day Atlanta, Georgia, and it is a play with music that showcases original gospel songs. It had a staged reading produced by The Acting Company in 2021.
His play The House That Will Not Stand, inspired by Federico García Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba , had its world premiere with the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in January 2014. [5] The play centers on a black Creole woman who, recently widowed, must contend with the impending loss of her home and the privilege of being married to a rich white man in 1813 New Orleans; the work utilizes dark humor and stylized melodrama to tell the story of female sexuality and race relations. [6] It was subsequently staged in London at the Tricycle Theatre, with an Off-Broadway premiere at New York Theatre Workshop in July 2018. [7] [8]
In 2013 Gardley began a three-year term as the Playwright in Residence at Victory Gardens Theater, through the National Playwright Residency Program, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by HowlRound. [9] It was renewed in 2016 for another three years. [10]
X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation
X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation is a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s JULIUS CAESAR. It had a production in 2018, commissioned and produced by The Acting Company, directed by Ian Belknap. It was also produced by Malcolm X’s daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz. It was nominated for 2 AUDELCO Awards. It was an NYTimes Critic Pick and a subsequent production Off-Broadway to rave reviews.
every tongue confess
every tongue confess was produced at The Arena Stage in 2011. The first play ever produced in their new theater, the Kogod Cradle, was directed by Kenny Leon and starred Phylicia Rashad. The successful run sold out. The play has had subsequent productions all over the country.
On the Levee
On the Levee was produced at Lincoln Center in 2010, directed by Lear deBessonet. It was nominated for 11 AUDELCO Awards. The set design was by Kara Walker. This was a play with music that depicted the Mississippi flood of 1927, which had echoes of Katrina.
This World in a Woman’s Hands
This World in a Woman’s Hands was produced in the Bay Area at Shotgun Players, directed by Patrick Dooley, and commissioned by Hewlett-Packard. It was a critical success. The play detailed women of color building warships during WWII.
Facing Our Truth: 10-Minute Plays of Trayvon, Race and Privilege
In 2013, Gardley contributed a short play to The New Black Fest as part of a collaborative project titled Facing Our Truth: 10-Minute Plays on Trayvon, Race and Privilege, premiering in New York City. Gardley's piece, titled No More Monsters Here, features a black psychiatrist who prescribes that a white woman live as a black man for three days as a cure for her "negroidphobia".
Film and Television
In addition to his work as a playwright, Gardley has written for several television series. He wrote for the Exorcist TV series. He served as a staff writer on the Amazon Prime series Z: The Beginning of Everything , and later as an executive story editor and writer for The Chi , which premiered on Showtime in 2018. In 2021, he served as a staff writer and co-executive producer for the hit Netflix show Maid, which won the Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Longform Series - Adapted. He was also a staff writer for the Apple TV+ show Foundation. In 2023, he served as a staff writer and co-executive producer for the groundbreaking Amazon Prime series I’m a Virgo , which was nominated for the 2024 Independent Spirit Award for Best New Scripted Series.
He had struck an overall deal with Amazon Studios and wrote the screenplay for the 2023 film The Color Purple and the upcoming Marvin Gaye biopic, What’s Going On.
The Color Purple
The Color Purple is a 2023 American musical period drama film based on the stage musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker. Spielberg and Quincy Jones returned as producers for the 2023 film, along with its Broadway producers Scott Sanders and Oprah Winfrey, the latter of whom also starred in the 1985 film.
The film scored 13 nominations at the 55th NAACP Image Awards, winning 11, including Outstanding Motion Picture, Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Fantasia Barrino), Outstanding Supporting Actress (Taraji P. Henson), and Outstanding Supporting Actor (Colman Domingo). The film also breaks a historic new record of the overall annual awards ceremony since its inception in the 1960s as the motion picture with the most nominations and wins, surpassing Black Panther , The Best Man, and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey , which all tied for 10 nominations.
It exceeded expectations and grossed $18.2 million, finishing first at the box office for the day. Its opening day was the second-highest domestic opening for a film on Christmas Day of all time (behind Sherlock Holmes' $24.6 million in 2009), and the highest-grossing domestic opening day for a musical post-COVID-19 pandemic.
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
