Leslie Lee (playwright) facts for kids
Leslie Lee (1930 – January 20, 2014) was an American playwright, director, and teacher. He was known for writing plays and screenplays that explored important stories, especially about African-American life and history.
Life and Work
Leslie Lee grew up in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania and Villanova University.
His early theatre work began at Ellen Stewart's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York City. This is a famous place where many new and exciting plays are first shown. His play Elegy for a Down Queen was performed there in 1970. Another play, Cops and Robbers, was also produced at La MaMa in 1971.
Starting in 1997, Mr. Lee worked closely with Sophia Romma, who was his student at New York University. He directed several of her plays at La MaMa, including Love, In the Eyes of Hope, Dies Last (1997), Coyote Take Me There! (1999), and Defenses of Prague (2004). He also directed her play Shoot Them In the Cornfields! in 2006. Mr. Lee admired Ms. Romma's unique writing style and her focus on themes like multicultural tolerance and the challenges of immigration.
Lee also worked with the Negro Ensemble Company, an important theatre group that tells stories about the African-American experience. Sophia Romma also served as a literary manager for this company.
Famous Plays and Awards
One of Leslie Lee's most important plays was Colored People's Time. This was a history play that featured famous actors like Angela Bassett and Samuel L. Jackson.
He received several awards for his play First Breeze of Summer. In 1975, he won an Obie Award for Best Play. He was also nominated for a Tony Award in 1976, which is one of the highest honors in American theatre. He also won an Outer Critics Circle Award.
In 2006, the Negro Ensemble Company produced his play Sundown Names and Night Gone Things. This play was based on the life of writer Richard Wright in 1930s Chicago. In 2008, a new version of First Breeze of Summer was performed, starring Leslie Uggams.
Film Work
Leslie Lee also wrote for movies. He adapted a story by Richard Wright into the film Almos' A Man, starring LeVar Burton. He also wrote The Killing Floor, which won a top award at the National Black Film Consortium. He helped adapt James Baldwin's novel Go Tell It On The Mountain for the screen, which starred Paul Winfield.
Teaching and Grants
Leslie Lee was also a dedicated teacher. He taught playwriting at several universities, including the College of Old Westbury and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He also taught workshops at the Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center, where he and Sophia Romma taught playwriting and screenwriting.
He was a playwright-in-residence at the University of Pennsylvania. This means he worked as a writer at the university. He also received grants, which are funds to help artists create their work, from important groups like the Shubert Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. He also received a fellowship from the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, which supports new plays.
In 2009, he traveled to Russia with a special grant to work on a screenplay about the famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.
Death and Legacy
Leslie Lee passed away on January 20, 2014, due to health reasons. He left behind a family who loved him.
After his death, the Negro Ensemble Company and Signature Theatre Company held a special event in March 2014 to celebrate his life and his important contributions to theatre and film. His work continues to be remembered and studied.
