Marcus Gardley facts for kids

Marcus Gardley is an American poet, playwright, and screenwriter. He was born in 1977 or 1978 in West Oakland, California. He is known for his creative plays and for writing for TV shows and movies. Gardley is also a professor at Brown University, where he teaches about theater. He is a playwright at Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago.

Early Life and Learning

Marcus Gardley grew up in Oakland, California. His mother was a nurse, and his father was a minister. Their home was full of books. This love for reading led him to his studies. At first, he thought about becoming a doctor who helps people sleep during surgery.

Gardley started by studying and writing poetry. He went to San Francisco State University (SFSU). His poetry teachers noticed something special. They told him his poems sounded like plays. He later realized they were right. He enjoyed hearing his words performed by different people. He thought of his plays like musical pieces with many sounds.

In 2001, Gardley earned an award at SFSU. He then got his Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree. After that, he went to Yale School of Drama. He earned his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in playwriting in 2004. After graduating, Gardley began teaching creative writing at Columbia University.

Marcus Gardley's Career

Marcus Gardley is part of a new group of African-American playwrights. These writers became well-known around the time Barack Obama was president. They are sometimes called "postblack" artists. Gardley says the art scene in Harlem, New York, greatly influenced his work. He also looks up to the famous writer James Baldwin.

Famous Plays by Gardley

One of Gardley's plays is ...And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi. This play tells a poetic story about forgiveness. It is inspired by an old Greek myth. The play uses traditional storytelling, gospel music, and humor. It creates a rich and imaginative world for the audience. Gardley said this play is very special to him. It is based on a story his great-grandmother told. It was about her father, who escaped slavery. He traveled to find his family. In 2010, this play was named one of the top ten plays in the Bay Area.

Another play, The House That Will Not Stand, premiered in 2014. It was shown at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. This play is set in 1813 New Orleans. It is about a black Creole woman who loses her husband. She then faces losing her home and her special status. The play uses dark humor to explore themes of female power and race. It was also performed in London and New York City.

In 2017, Gardley's play black odyssey was revised. It was first shown in Denver in 2014. The new version was set in Oakland. It included new music. This production won many awards. It received 11 nominations and seven Theatre Bay Area Awards. These awards included Best Production and Best Direction. The play was Gardley's adaptation of Homer's famous story, Odyssey.

Writing for TV and Film

Besides writing plays, Gardley has also written for television. He worked as a writer for the Amazon Prime series Z: The Beginning of Everything. He also worked on The Chi, which started on Showtime in 2018. He was an executive story editor and writer for that show. Gardley also wrote for The Exorcist TV series.

More recently, Gardley made a deal with Amazon Studios. He wrote the screenplay for the 2023 movie The Color Purple.

Awards and Honors

Marcus Gardley has received many awards for his writing. In 2008, he won the Helen Merrill Award. He also received the Kesselring honor award. His plays This World in a Woman's Hands (2009) and Love is a Dream House in Lorin (2007) were named best plays in the Bay Area. Love is a Dream House in Lorin was even nominated for a national award.

Gardley wrote the box: play about the prison industrial complex. It premiered in Brooklyn in 2014. His play black odyssey also premiered that year. The Road Weeps, the Well Runs Dry toured nationally in 2013. His play Dance of the Holy Ghosts premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 2004.

In 2014, Gardley won the Glickman Award for The House That Will Not Stand. This play was also a finalist for the 2015 Kennedy Prize. In 2013, he was named the USA James Baldwin Fellow. In 2011, he won the PEN Laura Pels award for Mid-Career Playwright. Gardley has also won the Gerbode Emerging Playwright Award. Other awards include the National Alliance for Musical Theatre Award and the ASCAP Cole Porter Prize. He is a member of several important theater groups. These include New Dramatists and The Dramatists Guild. Dramatists Magazine chose him as one of 50 talented playwrights to watch.