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Rajiv Joseph

RAJIV JOSEPH

  (1974 - )
Nationality:    USA
twitter     email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    The Gersh Agency, NY  represented by Seth Glewen

Rajiv Joseph's play Bengal tiger at the Baghdad Zoo has been awarded a grant for Outstanding New American Play by the National Endowment for the Arts. Rajiv's New York productions include Animals Out Of Paper (Second Stage Theatre, summer 2008), the leopard and the Fox (alter ego, fall 2007), Huck & Holden (Cherry Lane Theatre, 2006), and all This Intimacy (Second Stage Theatre, 2006). In Los Angeles Huck & Holden was produced by the Black Dahlia Theatre in 2006. Through the Lark Play Development Center, Rajiv has travelled to Mexico and Romania, where Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was translated into Spanish and Romanian, respectively, and performed in staged readings. Rajiv has been awarded the Paula Vogel award by the Vineyard Theatre and the 2009 Kesselring Fellowship. Rajiv is a Founding Member of the New York based Theatre company the Fire Department and was a contributing writer on their first two theatrical events, speakeasy and at war: American playwrights respond to the war in Iraq. He is a former Lark Playwriting Fellow and Dramatists Guild Fellow. His plays have been published by Samuel French, Dramatists Play Service, and Smith & Kraus. He received his B.A. in Creative Writing from Miami University and his M.F.A. in Playwriting from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and he is currently a Language Lecturer at NYU with the School of art and Public Policy and the expository Writing Program. He served for three years in the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa

Research:    Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2015)

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below is a list of Rajiv Joseph's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         All This Intimacy         Animals Out Of Paper         Archduke         Bengal Tiger At the Baghdad Zoo         Describe The Night         Fly         Gruesome Playground Injuries         Guards At The Taj         Huck And Holden         In The Sick Bay Of The Santa Maria         In Your Arms         King James         Lake Effect, The         Leopard And the Fox, The         Monster At The Door         Mr Wolf         North Pool
All This Intimacy

Synopsis:
Ty Greene is a normal guy with three very big problems. In an unprecedented (for him' run of promiscuity, Ty has managed to impregnate three women in the span of one week: His ex-girlfriend, his 40-something married next-door neighbor, and his 18 year-old student. In this edgy comedy by playwright Rajiv Joseph, Ty's problems illuminate every triumph and failure of his life, and as the women in his world converge and figure out what's happened, Ty realizes that his life is adrift, and that he only has a limited time to try to piece it back together. all This Intimacy, which according to the New York Times has 'a certain can't-look-away pull,' is a comedy about friendship and lust and how the two don't mix.

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Animals Out Of Paper

Animals Out Of Paper
When a world renowned origami artist opens her studio to a teenage prodigy and his school teacher, she finds that life and love can't be neatly arranged in this Drama about finding the perfect fold
- press release

Notes:
part of Second Stage's Upstairs Series

1st Produced:
Mcginn Cazale Theatre, 2162 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10024     2008

Organisations:
Second Stage Theatre

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY (2009)   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Archduke

Synopsis:
Gavrilo Princip is at the doctor's surgery. He is having a free check-up. He has tuberculosis. Apsis bursts in - he wants the doctor to provide him with five tuberculosis suffers. He wants them to assist in the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles     2017

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Historical drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bengal Tiger At the Baghdad Zoo

Bengal Tiger At the Baghdad Zoo
the lives of two American Marines and an Iraqi translator are forever changed by an encounter with a quick-witted tiger who haunts the streets of war-torn Baghdad attempting to find meaning, forgiveness and redemption amidst the citys ruins. Rajiv Josephs groundbreaking play explores both the power and the perils of human nature

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Lark Play Development Center

1st Published:
Gruesome Playground Injuries & Other Plays, Soft Skull Press, 11/2010    

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
comedic Drama Comedy

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Describe The Night

Synopsis:
1920 Isaac Babel reports on a Red Cavalry campaign in Poland. 1936 Stalin begins the Great Purge. 1989 a Russian agent is spying on a woman - they fall in love. 2010 an aircraft carrying most of the Polish Government crashes

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Fly

Synopsis:
Wendy tries to look after her widowed father. He only wants to talk about the death of Mrs Darling. Wendy does not. Peter Pan arrives Wendy sees it as a means of escape

Notes:
Music by Bill Sherman; lyrics by Kirsten Childs; Rajiv Joseph; book by Rajiv Joseph. Based on the book "Peter Pan and Wendy" by J M Barrie

1st Produced:
La Jolla Playhouse, Los Angeles     2020

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Gruesome Playground Injuries

Gruesome Playground Injuries
Two eight-year-olds' lives collide in the nurse's office: Doug rode his bike off the roof and Kayleen can't stop throwing up. as they mature from accident-prone kids to self-destructive adults, their broken hearts and broken bones draw them ever closer. these two rebels may only be fit for one another. But how far can one person go to heal another's wounds?
- www.theatreindc.com

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Gruesome Playground Injuries & Other Plays, Soft Skull Press, 11/2010    

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
90 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Guards At The Taj

Guards At The Taj
In 1648 India, two Imperial Guards watch from their post as the sun rises for the first time on the newly-completed Taj Mahal - an event that shakes their respective worlds. When they are ordered to perform an unthinkable task, the aftermath forces them to question the concept of friendship, beauty and duty, and changes them forever.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Linda Gross Theater, 336 W 20th St., NY     25 Feb 2015

Organisations:
Atlantic Theatre Company

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, Inc. NY (2015)
Oberon Books (2017) >>>   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Huck And Holden

Synopsis:
Receiving rave reviews for both its New York and Los Angeles productions, Rajiv Joseph's Huck & Holden tells the story of Navin, an Indian college student who's fresh off the boat and trying to remain focused on his studies while the temptations of America and college life start beating down his door. When Navin falls for Michelle, a young African-American woman, he finds that his perceptions of the world begin to expand- and crumble. Called '&a comingof-age story with comedy, pathos, and a distinct emotional core,' by offoffline.com, Huck & Holden is a romantic comedy that wrestles with cultural stereotypes, racism, the Kama Sutra, the Catcher in the Rye, and how losing our innocence doesn't always make us wiser.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Cherry Lane Theatre

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Romantic Comedy Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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In The Sick Bay Of The Santa Maria

Synopsis:
1492. The "Santa Maria" sets sail for the New World. In the bowels of the ship a young man has visions of sea monsters

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Goodman's Owen Theatre, Chicago     2019

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Historical drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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In Your Arms

Synopsis:
A company that has amassed an astounding 18 Tony Awards, 4 Pulitzer Prizes, 6 Pulitzer finalist distinctions, 3 Emmys, and 2 Academy Awards joins forces at the Globe for an exuberant world premiere dance-theatre musical! Ten of America's best theatrical storytellers (the minds behind such hits as The Full Monty, Driving Miss Daisy, M. Butterfly, and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) join director-choreographer Christopher Gattelli (Newsies, The King and I) and composer Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime) to create a ravishing evening that glides, leaps, and twirls through the giddy extremes of romantic love. This unique event ranges across eras and cultures and tells its stories through the universal language of dance, from classical ballet to swing to tap to ballroom to jazz to flamenco and more. In Your Arms is as intoxicating as a sunset cocktail and as exhilarating as a first kiss.

Notes:
Music by Stephen Flaherty; Vignettes by Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred UhryDirection and Choreography by Christopher Gattelli; Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; Conceived by Christopher Gattelli and Jennifer Manocherian

1st Produced:
Old Globe Theatre, CA, USA >>>     24 Sep 2015

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
dance theatre

Parts:
Male:  11            Female:  12            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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King James

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Lake Effect, The

Synopsis:
Vijay's Father is dying. Vijay is at his father's restaurant going through the books and is surprised to discover that his Father is on the verge of bankruptcy. A man comes into the restaurant and demands a meal. Vijay tells him the restaurant is closed - but the man refuses to leave

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Pierce Hall, Chicago     04 May 2013

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Leopard And the Fox, The

Synopsis:
the Leopard and the Fox is a political Drama that follows the last days of Zulfiqar ali Bhutto, Pakistan's first popularly elected Prime Minister, betrayed by his closest confidante, his army chief General Zia ul Haq, who imprisoned and then executed Bhutto in 1979, installing himself as the President at the behest of the U.S. the adaptation contextualizes these historical events with Pakistan's rapidly changing political landscape
- press release

Notes:
from the book by Tariq Ali

1st Produced:
TBG Arts Complex, 312 West 36th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10018     2007

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Monster At The Door

Synopsis:
Artist Maya is being interviewed about a painting to be hung in the entrance hall of an investment firm

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Alley Theatre, Houston     29 Apr 2011

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mr Wolf

Synopsis:
A fifteen year old girl says she has never been to a store; has only just tasted chocolate but knows theoretical astrophysics concepts

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
18th Annual Pacific Playwrights Festival     2015

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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North Pool

Synopsis:
Syrian born Khadim is called into the High School principal's office. He is caught up in a web of lies about his absences from school

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play service, Inc   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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