JANET NEIPRIS
Janet Neipris was born in Boston, graduated from Tufts University and received an M A in English from Simmons College and an M F A in Playwriting from Brandeis University. Her plays have been produced at theaters in the U S and internationally, including the Manhattan Theater Club, Arena Stage, in DC, Studio Theater in DC, Goodman Theater in Chicago, Center Stage in Baltimore, Milwaukee Repertory, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Manhattan Punch Line Theater, The Women's Project in New York, and the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia. In spring, 1995, her play A SMALL DELEGATION was produced by the China Youth Arts Theater in Beijing, directed by Shi Zheng Chen.
Her other plays include STATUES, EXHIBITION, THE BRIDGE AT BEL HARBOUR, OUT OF ORDER, SEPARATIONS, NOTES ON A LIFE (music and lyrics), SOUTHERNMOST TIP, 703 WALK HILL, NATIVES, and a collection of one-act plays, ACTS OF LOVE.
A composer as well as a playwright, she co-authored and wrote the score for the musical JEREMY AND THE THINKING MACHINE. She also has written music for Kevin O'Morrison's play, REQUIEM, music for Circle Rep, New York, and scored music for piano and flute for the Sharon, CT Playhouse production of Arthur Miller's DEATH OF A SALESMAN, called by
The New York Times "translucent", "haunting and delicate, capturing the pains and charms of Miller's work."
Born into a family of musicians going back three generations, the playwright's father was both a part-time cantor and a salesman.
Janet Neipris has also written for film, television, National Public Radio, and the B B C.
As a Professor at New York University, she has served as chair of the Department of Dramatic Writing from 1983-1999. She has been active in international education, teaching writers in China, Indonesia, Australia, England, and Italy. A recipient of grants, including a Schubert Fellowship, an N E A in Playwriting in 1981 and 1997, a Rockefeller Grant to Bellagio, a W Alton Jones Production Grant, a U S I A grant, and Virginia Center for The Creative Arts grants, she is a member of PEN, the Writers Guild of America East, and the Dramatists Guild Council.