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Robert O'Hara

ROBERT O'HARA

  
Nationality:    African American
email:    n/a     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    n/a

Robert O'Hara received a 2006 Obie Award for his Direction of the World Premiere production of In the Continuum. He wrote and directed Insurrection: Holding Historyat the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater. the piece received the Oppenheimer Award for Best New American Play and was subsequently published by both Theater Communications Group and Dramatist Play Service. It has been produced around the country including at Mark Taper Forum and American Conservatory Theater. His new play, antebellum, was workshopped at the O'Neill Theater Conference; American Ma(u)l was produced by ACT/Magic Theater and the Culture Project; the Spot,produced at Mark Taper Forum and NYSF; Down Low, produced by Mixed Blood Theater; and B.CAndy, produced by Partial Comfort Productions. Current and recent writing projects are a rewrite (uncredited) forthe Wiz, directed by Des McAnuff; Raw Pearl, Broadway bio-musical of Pearl Bailey, to be produced by Bill and Camille Cosby; a New Play Commission from LaJolla Playhouse; Good Breeding, (afterthe Oresteia), currently in production at UCSD; as well as My Place in the Horror,to be produced by Duly Noted Inc., as his feature film directing debut. He has written films for Martin Scorsese/Universal Pictures (Live, a biopic of Richard Pryor); Spike Lee/HBO (Micheaux, biopic of Oscar Micheaux); Avnet/Kerner/ABC (Parting the Waters); Sony Pictures (the Journey is the Destination); New Line/Fine Line Cinema (Boorda); and Artisan Entertainment (White Folks). His plays have been produced around the world and he has been awarded a Rockefeller Fellowship, TCG Extended Collaboration Grant, NEA/TCG Fellowship, a Van Lier Fellow at New Dramatists, the first Mark Taper Forum's Sherwood Award, and the TAnne Award for Exceptional Body of Work. He is currently directing the World Tour of the Off-Broadway hit play, In the Continuum. He has been an artist in residence at the American Conservatory Theater, New York Shakespeare Festival, and Theater Emory, as well as a visiting Professor at DePaul University School of the Arts. His work has been developed at Seattle Rep., Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, NYSF, ACT, and CTG. He has been commissioned by Mark Taper Forum, National Endowment of the Arts, McCarter Theatre, Theatres de Nimes, Le Theatre l'Odeon, Theaterworks/usa, and Theater Emory

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below is a list of Robert O'Hara's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         American Ma(u)l         Antebellum         Barbecue         Bootycandy         Brave Blood         Etiquette Of Vigalance, The         Good Breeding         Insurrection: Holding History         Light & Shadow         Mankind         Our War         Point of Revue         Ten         Which Wolf Is Which?         Zombie: The American
American Ma(u)l

Synopsis:
the Jeffersons - a black family live next door to the Franklins - who apart from one son, Wesson, are white. the Jefferson's daughter, Juliet is dating Wesson - but she dumps him for his white brother Smith. then the President repeals the 14th Ammendment and re-introduces slavery

Notes:
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1st Produced:
45 Bleecker, New York     14 Apr 2003

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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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

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Genre:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Antebellum

Antebellum
Post Civil War Atlanta and pre World War Two Berlin

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Contained in: "Post-Black Plays" published by Methuen Drama 2012   

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

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Genre:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Barbecue

Barbecue
The O'Mallerys have gathered in their local park to share some barbecue and straight talk with their sister Barbara, whose spiral of drugs and recklessness has forced her siblings to stage an open-air intervention. But the event becomes raucous and unpredictable as familial stereotypes collide with hard realities, and racial politics slam up against the stories we telland maybe even believeabout who we were and who we become.

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Theatre Communications Group 2016   

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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bootycandy

Bootycandy
Behind a tall church pulpit, a fire-and-brimstone preacher delivers a shocking sermon to his congregation. On the tropical sands of a deserted island, two lesbians come together. And at the home of a young boy Sutter, a mother scolds him for reading Jackie Collins romance novels. This is just a taste of playwright Robert O'Hara's wildly imaginative anthology of sassy lessons in sex ed, a kaleidoscope of sketches that interconnect to portray growing up gay and African-American. With variety-show vivacity, outrageous humor, and real heart and soul, it tests how we talk about human desire and racial stereotypes at home, in church, and on the corner. Shantay! Sashay!

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 641 D Street Nw, Washington, Dc.     01 Jun 2011

Organisations:
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

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

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Genre:
Gay full length

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Brave Blood

Synopsis:
A psychiatrist takes in a group of women prostitutes to try and make better lives for them

Notes:
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1st Produced:
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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:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Etiquette Of Vigalance, The

Synopsis:
Travis Young's daughter Lorraine is the first in the family to go to college. At last they are living the American Dream

Notes:
Inspired by "Raisin In The Sun" by Lorraine Hansbury

1st Produced:
Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago     22 Oct 2010

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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Good Breeding

Synopsis:
Setting now moved to New York and Studio 54.

Notes:
Based on "the Oresteia"

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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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:
Gay, full length

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Insurrection: Holding History

Synopsis:
a wild, thrilling ride down one of history's darkest, scariest corridors. Robert O'Hara employs a language of wicked wit, of deliberate and immensely provocative outrageousness to speak to a vast, bloody, unapproachable outrage. He shatters the funereal hush that usually surrounds the representation of atrocity and holocaust, in the process waking his audience up. He knocks us out of the respectful, repetition-dulled stupor with which we are accustomed to contemplate slavery, eschewing and, even better, savaging all cliches. Through comedy, poetry and pure chutzpah, he teaches us all over again how to be truly frightened and appalled. This is a gorgeous, fresh and vital play from a very exciting playwright." -Tony Kushner.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
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1st Published:
American Theatre Magazine, NY - February, 1998    

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

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Genre:
Comedy/Drama Comedy. - - Gay, full length

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Light & Shadow

Synopsis:
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Notes:
On the night of the US Presidential Election, multi-award-winning playwrights from across the UK and US will have rehearsed readings of their work staged at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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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

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Genre:
rehearsed reading

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mankind

Synopsis:
The future. Women are extinct there are only men. Mark and Jason thought that they were only having a casual thing. Then Jason got pregnant

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Playwrights Horizons Main Stage, New York     15 Dec 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:
Gay drama full length

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  -            Other:  doubling

Further Reference:
-

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Our War

Synopsis:
While the plays that took the perspective of participants were some of the most crisp, the last kind of play in the evening, plays that look at today with the eyes of the present (but through the lens or with the lighting of the Civil War), hit the hardest. Most of them use the Civil War as a way to talk about race in America, from Ken Narasaki's thoughts on racism that isn't divided into Black and White to Lydia Diamond's chastisement of White liberal guilt. - http://dctheatrescene.com/2014/10/28/war-arena-stage-resounding-success/

Notes:
An esteemed collection of American playwrights, including winners of the Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award and Olivier Award, creates a dynamic new theatrical event reflecting on the repercussions of the U.S. Civil War. Through a rich tapestry of short monologues, a core ensemble of gifted actors, accompanied by notable Washingtonians such as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Eleanor Holmes Norton and Chris Matthews, explorethrough diverse perspectivesthe historical memory and present-day reverberations of the U.S. Civil War. Our War, commissioned by Arena Stage for the National Civil War Project, uses the power of live theater to bring new understanding to the shades of Blue and Gray that define one of the most significant periods of American history.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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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:
monologue

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Point of Revue

Synopsis:
A composite shot of African America. . .with attitude. Through a riveting series of short plays and songs, this vaudeville defies stereotype as it explores a myriad of topics and places, from Northern Uganda to the American South, HIV to Condoleeza Rice. Swinging from the serious to the absurd, there's plenty to laugh and cry about in this powerful piece.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Mixed Blood Theatre Company (Minneapolis, Mn, United States)     2006

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Playscripts, Inc - New York   

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:
90-115 min Dramatic/Comedic vaudeville

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  6            Other:  6 males, 6 females, 3 either (12-60 actors possible: 6-40 males, 6-20 females)

Further Reference:
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Ten

Synopsis:
To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Partial Comfort Productions will present TEN, is a single evening of 10 short plays by 10 writers helmed by 10 directors and featuring a cast of 10 actors.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
written by Samuel D. Hunter, Thomas Bradshaw, Robert O'Hara, Laura Marks, Chad Beckim, Ross Maxwell, Edith Freni, Jonathan Caren, Greg Keller, Sam Marks

1st Produced:
Wild Project
195 East 3rd Street, New York, NY 10009     18 Sep 2012

Organisations:
Partial Comfort Productions

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:
short play

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Which Wolf Is Which?

Synopsis:
Terrence is about to fail mathematics and to be sent back on a "work programme".

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
Partial Comfort Productions

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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Zombie: The American

Synopsis:
The future. Due to coastal erosion the White House has moved to Mount Rushmore. The President is tired of his husband but has other troubles when there is an insurrection in the Southern States. The United African Nations send troops as a peace keeping force - uninvited. The Secretary of State tells the President that there are zombies in the White House basement and maybe he could use them

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Woolly Mammoth, Washington D C    

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:
Gay full length

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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