Annie Baker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Annie Baker
|
|
|---|---|
Baker at the 2014
Brooklyn Book Festival |
|
| Born | April 1981 (age 44) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Playwright, teacher |
| Education | New York University (BFA) Brooklyn College (MFA) |
| Notable works | Body Awareness (2008) Circle Mirror Transformation (2009) The Aliens (2010) The Flick (2013) John (2015) Janet Planet (2023) |
| Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize for Drama Steinberg Playwright Award |
| Spouse | Nico Baumbach |
| Children | 1 |
Annie Baker (born in April 1981) is an American writer who creates plays and directs movies. She is famous for her play The Flick (2013), which won a special award called the Pulitzer Prize. Annie Baker has written several plays that take place in a made-up town called Shirley. These plays include Body Awareness (2008), Circle Mirror Transformation (2009), The Aliens (2010), and Nocturama (2014). In 2023, she directed her first full-length movie, a coming-of-age story called Janet Planet.
Contents
Annie Baker's Early Life and School
Annie Baker was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her family soon moved to Amherst, Massachusetts, where she grew up. Her father, Conn Nugent, worked for a group of colleges. Her mother, Linda Baker, studied psychology. Annie has a brother named Benjamin Baker Nugent, who is also a writer.
Annie went to New York University and studied dramatic writing. She later earned a special degree in playwriting from Brooklyn College in 2009. One of her first jobs was helping with contestants on a TV show called The Bachelor.
Annie Baker's Career in Theater and Film
Early Plays (2008–2012)
Annie Baker's first play to be shown in New York City was Body Awareness. It was performed in 2008. Her play Circle Mirror Transformation opened in 2009. It won an Obie Award for being a great new American play.
In 2010, three of Baker's plays that are set in the fictional town of Shirley, Vermont, were performed in Boston. These plays were Circle Mirror Transformation, Body Awareness, and The Aliens. The Aliens also won an Obie Award in 2010.
In 2012, Annie Baker created her own version of a classic play called Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov. This play was shown in New York City and was praised by The New York Times.
Famous Plays (2013–2019)
The Flick first opened in 2013. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2014. This is a very important award for plays. It also won the Critics’ Circle Theatre Award in 2016.
Her play John started in 2015. It was directed by Sam Gold, who has worked with Annie Baker many times. The play takes place at a bed and breakfast in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Time magazine called it one of the best plays of 2015. Critics said the play was about loneliness and finding connections with others.
John was nominated for many awards, including the Lucille Lortel Awards and the Drama Desk Awards. It won Obie Awards for its actors and for the teamwork involved in creating the play.
In 2017, Baker's play The Antipodes premiered. It was also shown at the Signature Theatre Company. In 2018, John was performed in London's West End.
Directing Movies (2020–Present)
In 2023, Annie Baker's new play, Infinite Life, opened in New York City. In the same year, she directed her first movie, Janet Planet. This film stars Julianne Nicholson, Zoe Zeigler, and Sophie Okonedo. It was shown at the 50th Telluride Film Festival. Critics called it an "exquisite debut" and an "oddball marvel." Annie Baker was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards for her work on Janet Planet.
Teaching and Sharing Knowledge
Annie Baker also teaches playwriting to students. She teaches at New York University, Barnard College, and Stony Brook Southampton. She is also a professor at Hunter College and the University of Texas at Austin.
Annie Baker's Personal Life
Annie Baker is married to Nico Baumbach. They have one child together. Her husband's family includes famous filmmakers Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig.
Annie Baker has also used her voice to support causes she believes in.
Annie Baker's Style and Recognition
Critics have praised Annie Baker's unique style. Time Out New York said that she writes about "normal individuals coping with everyday issues." Her plays show real life and feelings. The New Yorker noted that she makes her plays feel very real, almost like you are overhearing a conversation. She uses stage tools to make the audience pay close attention.
The Daily Beast said that Baker's plays make the audience think deeply. They are not simple stories with easy answers. Instead, her plays are like a mirror, showing us parts of ourselves.
Annie Baker's Works
Plays
As a playwright
| Year | Title | Premiered Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Body Awareness | Atlantic Theater Company (Off-Broadway) |
| 2009 | Circle Mirror Transformation | Playwrights Horizons (Off-Broadway) |
| 2010 | The Aliens | Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (Off-Broadway) |
| 2010 | Nocturama | Manhattan Theatre Club (Off-Broadway) |
| 2012 | Uncle Vanya (adaptation) | Soho Repertory Theatre (Off-Broadway) |
| 2013 | The Flick | Playwrights Horizons (Off-Broadway) |
| 2015 | John | Signature Theatre Company (Off-Broadway) |
| 2017 | The Antipodes | Signature Theatre Company (Off-Broadway) |
| 2023 | Infinite Life | Atlantic Theatre Company (Off-Broadway) |
Movies and TV
| Year | Title | Writer | Director | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | While We're Young | No | No | No | Acting role; played Elise |
| 2017 | ... Love Dick | Yes | No | Consulting | Episode: "A Short History of Weird Girls" |
| 2023 | Janet Planet | Yes | Yes | Yes | Feature film debut |
Awards and Special Recognitions
In 2008, Annie Baker was chosen to work on a new play at the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab. She also directed her own play, The Last of the Little Hours, there in 2014. Annie Baker is part of a special program at the Signature Theatre that guarantees her three new plays will be produced. John and The Antipodes were two of these plays.
Honors
- 2009 - MacDowell Colony Fellow (a special artist residency)
- 2011 - United States Artists Fellow
- 2013 - The Steinberg Playwright Award
- 2013 - Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
- 2014 - Pulitzer Prize for Drama for The Flick
- 2014 - MacDowell Colony Fellow
- 2014 - Guggenheim Fellow, Creative Arts Drama & Performance Art
- 2015 - New York Public Library Cullman Center Fellow
- 2017 - MacArthur Fellow (a very prestigious award)
- 2024 - Independent Spirit Award nominee for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay
