Naomi Iizuka
Naomi Iizuka (born 1965) is a playwright. Iizuka's works often have a non-linear storyline and are influenced by her multicultural background.
Iizuka's mother is an American Latina and her father is a Japanese banker. Born in Tokyo, Iizuka grew up in Japan, Indonesia, the Netherlands, and Washington, D.C., United States. She has lived in Iowa and currently lives in Los Angeles, California.
Iizuka attended the National Cathedral School and has a B.A. in Classics from Yale University. She is a University of California, San Diego Alumna and has a MFA from the UC San Diego (1992), has taught playwriting at the University of Iowa and the University of Texas, Austin, and was a Professor of Dramatic Arts and Director of the Playwriting Program at UC Santa Barbara until January 2008 when she took over as the head of M.F.A playwrighting at UCSD.
Works
- The Last Firefly (2011)
- Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West (2010)
- Ghostwritten (2009)
- Anon(ymous) (2006)
- Hamlet: Blood in the Brain (2006)
- Strike-Slip (2006)
- At the Vanishing Point (2004)
- 17 Reasons (Why) (2003)
- 36 Views (2001)
- War of the Worlds (Written in collaboration with Anne Bogart) (2000)
- Language of Angels (2000)
- Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls (1999)
- Polaroid Stories (1997)
- Marolowe's Eye (1996)
- Skin (1995)
- Tattoo Girl (1994)
- Carthage (1994)
- Coxinga (1994)
- Ikeniye (1994)
- Crazy Jane (1992)
- Portrait of Bianca (1992)
- Greenland (1992)
- Lizzy Vinyl (1990)
- And Then She Was Screaming (1990)
- Body Beautiful (1990)
- After a Hundred Years
Awards
- 2007 PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award winner for a playwright in mid-career
- 2006 Joyce Award winner
- Whiting Writers' Award, 1999
- McKnight Advancement Grand
- NEA/TCG Artist-in-Residence Fellowship
- Princeton University’s Hodder Fellowship
- 2005 Alpert Award in the Arts
- Stavis Award from the National Theatre Conference
- Rockefeller Foundation MAP grant
- Gerobe Foundation Fellowship
- Jerome Fellowship
- PEN Center USA West Award for Drama
References
- New Dramatists: Naomi Iizuka
- Profile: Naomi Iizuka
- Interview with Iizuka from AsianWeek.com
- Interview with Iizuka about "36 Views"
- Profile from CalArts
- Profile from Playscripts