Moisés Kaufman facts for kids

Moisés Kaufman (born November 21, 1963) is a Venezuelan American theater director and playwright. He is also a filmmaker. He started the Tectonic Theater Project in New York City. He also helped create Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre.

In 2016, President Barack Obama gave him the National Medal of Arts. Moisés Kaufman is very well known for creating The Laramie Project in 2000. He worked on this play with other members of the Tectonic Theater Project. He has directed many shows on Broadway and around the world. He has also written several plays. These include Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde and 33 Variations.

Moisés Kaufman was born and grew up in Caracas, Venezuela. He moved to New York City in 1987 when he was a young man.

About Moisés Kaufman

Moisés Kaufman's family has Romanian-Jewish and Ukrainian-Jewish roots. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He went to Universidad Metropolitana in Venezuela. There, he began to study theater. After moving to the United States, he studied at NYU. He earned his degree there.

In 2002, Kaufman received a Guggenheim Fellowship. This was after his play The Laramie Project first came out. This play was based on many interviews. These interviews were with people living in and around Wyoming. They talked about what happened after a student named Matthew Shepard was killed.

Kaufman directed his first Broadway show in 2004. It was called I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright. For this work, he was nominated for a Tony Award. This award was for Best Direction of a Play.

On September 22, 2016, Kaufman received the National Medal of Arts. U.S. President Barack Obama gave him this award. He is the first person from Venezuela to get this special honor.

Plays Written by Moisés Kaufman

Moisés Kaufman has written many plays. Here are some of them:

• Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde (1997)
• The Laramie Project (2000)
• 33 Variations (2009)
• One Arm (2011) (an adaptation)
• London Mosquitoes (2011)
• Here There Are Blueberries (2018)
• Greed (2021)

Plays Directed by Moisés Kaufman

Moisés Kaufman has also directed many plays. Some of his directing work includes:

• Women in Beckett (1991)
• The Nest (1994)
• Marlowe's Eyes (1996)
• Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde (1997)
• The Laramie Project (2000)
• I Am My Own Wife (2003) (his first Broadway show)
• Master Class (2004) with Rita Moreno
• Lady Windermere's Fan (2005)
• This Is How It Goes (2005) (at Donmar Warehouse)
• Macbeth (2006) (for The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park)
• 33 Variations (2009) (on Broadway)
• Into the Woods (2009)
• Puss in Boots (El Gato con Botas) (2010)
• Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (2011) (on Broadway)
• One Arm (2011)
• The Nightingale (2012)
• The Heiress (2012) (on Broadway)
• Torch Song (2018) (on Broadway)
• Paradise Square (2018)
• Here There Are Blueberries (2018)
• Seven Deadly Sins (2021)

Film and TV Work

Moisés Kaufman has also worked in film and television:

• The Laramie Project (2002) (a film version of his play)
• The L Word (2006–07, 2 episodes)

Awards and Honors

Moisés Kaufman has won many awards for his work:

• 1997 Joe A. Callaway Award for directing Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde
• 1998 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play: Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde
• Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Award: Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde
• 2002 Primetime Emmy Award Nomination for Best Director: The Laramie Project (HBO)
• 2002 Primetime Emmy Award Nomination for Best Writing: The Laramie Project (HBO)
• 2002 Golden Bear Award from the Berlin Film Festival: The Laramie Project (HBO)
• 2002 National Board of Review Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie: The Laramie Project (HBO)
• 2002 Humanitas Prize: The Laramie Project (HBO)
• 2002 GLAAD Media Award: The Laramie Project (HBO)
• 2004 Obie Award for Best Director: I Am My Own Wife
• 2004 Tony Award Nomination for Best Director: I Am My Own Wife
• 2004 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Director: I Am My Own Wife
• 2007 2007 Edgerton New American Play Award: 33 Variations
• 2008 Harold and Mimi Steinberg / American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award: 33 Variations
• 2009 Tony Award Nomination for Best Play: 33 Variations
• 2016 National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama
• 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama Nomination: Here There Are Blueberries
• Guggenheim Fellowship
• Lambda Book Award
• Venezuela's Casa del Artista
• American Library Association's LGBT Literature Award
• Matthew Shepard Foundation's "Making A Difference Award"
• Artistic Integrity Award from the Human Rights Campaign
• Carbonell Award
• 2024 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama: 'Here There Are Blueberries'
• 2024 Helen Hayes Award: Best Direction ' Here There Are Blueberries' Shakespeare Theater Company