Aurin Squire facts for kids

Aurin Squire is a talented African-American playwright, screenwriter, and reporter. He writes many plays for the stage and also works on TV shows and movies. His articles have appeared in well-known publications like The New Republic, Chicago Tribune, and Miami Herald.

Aurin Squire's Early Life and Education

Aurin Squire grew up in Opa-locka, Florida. He went to several great schools, including The Juilliard School, New School University, and Northwestern University. At Northwestern, he studied radio, TV, and film, and also worked as a journalist for big newspapers like the Chicago Tribune and the Miami Herald.

While he was still in college, one of his plays, Shadows in the Light, was performed in Chicago. This play was about Cuban immigrants living in Miami. Later, at Juilliard, he focused on playwriting while also continuing his journalism work.

Aurin Squire's Playwriting Career

Many of Aurin Squire's plays explore different cultures and how America's population is changing. His work often shows the mix of Latino, African, Caribbean, African-American, and Jewish cultures he experienced growing up in South Florida.

His comedy "The Great Black Sambo Machine" was shown at the Lincoln Center Lab.

In 2007, Squire spent a year in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He worked with other artists to create a special play called A Light In My Soul/Una Luz En Mi Alma. This play was based on true stories of families who had to leave their homes a long time ago and settled in Arizona and New Mexico. Squire interviewed these families and helped create the play, which was performed at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.

Squire's plays have been performed in many places, including off-Broadway theaters in New York City and other theaters across the United States. Some of his well-known plays include Matthew Takes Mannahatta and To Whom It May Concern.

His play "Obama-ology" was first developed at The Juilliard School in 2014. It later opened to great reviews in London's West End at the Finborough Theatre and then at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).

Another play, "Freefalling," was first shown at Barrington Stage. It later had another run at InspiraTO Theatre in Toronto.

In January 2019, his play Fire Season had its first performance at the Seattle Public Theater.

Squire also helped write "Confessions of a ... Cowboy," a unique play based on true stories from documentaries. This play was created for Miami New Drama, a theater company in South Florida. It was very popular and played to sold-out audiences at the Colony Theatre in 2019.

Aurin Squire is also the writer for A Wonderful World, a new musical about the life of famous musician Louis Armstrong. The story is told from the viewpoints of Armstrong's four wives. This musical was part of Miami New Drama's season at the Colony Theatre. It opened in December 2021 and ran until January 2022. The show is planned to open on Broadway in 2024.

Multimedia Projects by Aurin Squire

In recent years, Aurin Squire has also worked on projects beyond traditional plays. He has written and produced online videos, including a popular series for a social app. These videos, like "Evil Twink" and "Boyfriend Shopping," humorously look at dating expectations.

Squire also wrote the script for Dreams of Freedom for the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. This is an interactive project based on interviews with Jewish immigrants who came to America.

In October 2012, Squire organized the Vote It Forward Festival. This event encouraged people to create videos about voting, offering prizes for the best ones.

He has also written books for others (ghostwritten) and had his work published in online cultural magazines.

Aurin Squire's Television and Film Work

Aurin Squire has become a successful writer in television. He was a staff writer for the CBS show BrainDead in 2016. He also worked as a story editor and writer for the first season of the popular NBC drama This Is Us. Currently, he is a Co-Executive Producer for the CBS dramas The Good Fight and Evil (TV series).

He is also writing a feature film for Amazon and Ridley Scott's Scott Free company. This movie is based on the life of Reginald Dwayne Betts. Before working in TV, he adapted novels into screenplays for independent film companies in New York.

Awards and Recognition for Aurin Squire

Many of Aurin Squire's plays have received excellent reviews. His play To Whom It May Concern was performed off-Broadway in 2009. Critics have called his writing "a true gem," "brilliant," and "engaging and provocative."

His dark comedy To Whom It May Concern won awards for best play and best playwright at the Fresh Fruit Festival.

In 2009, Squire wrote the children's musical Matthew Takes Mannahatta. The New York Times called it "refreshingly clever" and a "cheerful tribute to our multiracial, multicultural America."

Squire has won several awards for his plays about Jewish history. His multimedia piece Dreams of Freedom won a Core 77 Design Award, NMAJ's Communication Award, and an AIGA Design Effectiveness Award.

In 2013, Freefalling won the Fiat Lux Play Award. Squire has also received the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwright Fellowship at The Juilliard School and has won the Le Comte du Nuoy Prize from Lincoln Center twice.

In 2014, his work won first prize at InspiraTO Theatre's International Play Festival in Toronto and Lincoln Center's Act One Prize.

In 2015, Squire was a playwriting fellow with the Dramatists Guild of America. He was also an artist in residence at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange and received a playwriting fellowship at the National Black Theatre. He was also part of the US Writers' Residency at the Royal Court Theatre in London.

His play "Obama-ology" received rave reviews when it premiered in London. He returned to the Finborough Theatre in 2016 with another successful play, his dark comedy "Don't Smoke in Bed."

In 2016, Squire won the Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights. In 2017, he was nominated for a WGA Award and a Black Reel TV award for his writing on THIS IS US. In theater, he won the Emerald Prize from Seattle Public Theatre for new American plays.

In 2018, Squire's play "Running on Fire" was produced in North Carolina. His plays "Defacing Michael Jackson" and "Don't Smoke in Bed" were also performed in Chicago to great reviews. In 2019, his play "Fire Season" premiered in Seattle. Squire also co-wrote "Confessions of a ... Cowboy," which became the highest-grossing play in Miami New Drama's history.

Published Plays

• Obama-ology (2015)
• Don't Smoke in Bed (2017)
• To Whom It May Concern (2018)
• Defacing Michael Jackson (2019)
• Defacing Michael Jackson (short play)
• Freefalling