Lydia R. Diamond facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lydia Diamond
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| Born | Lydia Gartin April 14, 1969 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Occupation | Playwright, professor |
| Education | Northwestern University (BA) |
| Notable works | Stick Fly Harriet Jacobs |
| Children | 1 |
Lydia R. Diamond (born April 14, 1969) is an American writer who creates plays. She is also a professor. She was born in Detroit, Michigan.
Some of her most famous plays include The Bluest Eye (2007), which is based on a book by Toni Morrison. Other popular plays are Stick Fly (2008), Harriet Jacobs (2011), and Smart People (2016). Her plays have won many awards across the country. These include the Lorraine Hansberry Award and the Horton Foote Playwriting Award.
Lydia Diamond has taught playwriting at several universities. These include DePaul University and Boston University. She is also a special writer for the Huntington Theatre.
Contents
Early Life and Discovering Theatre
Lydia Diamond was born Lydia Gartin in Detroit, Michigan, in April 1969. Her parents divorced when she was three. She was mostly raised by her mother. Her family was very artistic. Her mother and grandparents were all musicians and teachers.
Her family moved often because of her mother's work. They lived in places like Amherst, Massachusetts, and Waco, Texas. Lydia settled in Waco for high school. Her family hoped she would play the violin, like her grandfather. But in high school, she joined the drama club. There, she found her love for theatre.
She later got into Northwestern University. While studying there, she decided to switch from acting to writing plays.
Her Journey as a Playwright
Starting Her Career
Near the end of her time at college, Lydia wrote her first play. It was called "Solitaire." This play won an award at Northwestern University. After graduating in 1991, she met John Diamond. They got married in 1996.
Soon after college, she started her own theatre company. It was called "Another Small Black Theatre Company With Good Things To Say and A lot of Nerve Productions." Through her company, she put on "Solitaire" and other shows. Her acting and writing career grew in Chicago.
Important Plays and Recognition
In 2004, Lydia had her son, Baylor. Her husband got a teaching job at Harvard. So, they moved to Boston. Lydia had been a well-known playwright in Chicago. Now, she had to restart her career in a new city. She was also caring for a new baby.
Slowly, Lydia started to become known in Boston. In 2006, the Huntington Theatre chose her for a special writing program. A theatre company called Company One produced her play The Bluest Eye. This play is based on a book by Toni Morrison. It tells the story of a young Black girl who wishes for blue eyes. Around this time, Lydia also began teaching at Boston University.
In 2008, Company One produced her play "... de Venus." This play is about a young scientist. She studies the life of Sarah Baartman. Sarah was an African woman who was shown off in Europe in the 1800s.
From 2011 to 2012, her play Stick Fly was shown on Broadway. The famous singer Alicia Keys helped produce this show. Her play "Smart People" first appeared at the Huntington Theater in May 2014. In 2017, The Bluest Eye was also produced by the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.
List of Plays
- Here I Am…See Can You Handle It
- The Gift Horse (2001)
- ... de Venus (2006)
- The Bluest Eye (2007)
- Stick Fly (2008)
- Lizzie Stranton (2009)
- Harriet Jacobs (2011)
- Smart People (2016)
- Toni Stone (2019)
