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Early Childhood/Influence
She grew up in the neighborhood known as Boerum Hill, in the borough of Brooklyn. Both of her parents were consciously engaged in the ongoing movement for social justice and the full civil rights of African Americans. Along with her friends Eugenia Clarke (the wife of African American historian John Henrik Clarke), and Betty Shabazz (the widow of Malcolm X), Mrs. Nottage started a weekend school to teach local children African and African American history and culture. -
The Birth of Lynn
Lynn Nottage, an award-winning American playwright, was born on November 2, 1964 in Brooklyn, New York. Her mother was a schoolteacher and her father was a child psychologist. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/nottage-lynn-1964/ -
Her first play written
At age eight, she had already written her first play. Her inspiration came from the women in her family. Her grandmother, mother, and other women were the nurses, teachers, activists and artists in the Brooklyn neighborhood where she grew up. https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/lynn-nottage-41#:~:text=Playwright%20Lynn%20Nottage%20was%20born,neighborhood%20where%20she%20grew%20up. -
Brown University
Nottage received a Bachelor's in Arts degree from Brown University in 1986 -
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Other Career
On completing her studies, Nottage moved to New York City, where she worked in the press office of Amnesty International for four years while writing plays in her spare time. https://achievement.org/achiever/lynn-nottage/#:~:text=On%20completing%20her%20studies%2C%20Nottage,plays%20in%20her%20spare%20time. -
Yale School Of Drama
Lynn continued her studies to earn a Master’s in Fine Arts degree in playwriting. -
A...My Name Is Alice
The critically-acclaimed sequel to the hit musical revue A...My Name Is Alice is similar in format. Written by a wide variety of writers, lyricists, and composers, this lively entertainment continues to explore contemporary women - this time in the 1990s. The music ranges from gospel to country western to rock to some glorious pop ballads. https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/2687/a-my-name-is-still-alice -
POOF!
In 1993, her short play, Poof!, about a woman whose husband spontaneously combusts premiered at the Actors Theater in Louisville, Kentucky. -
Heidmen Award
Her short play Poof! (Heideman Award) was presented in 1993 at the Actors Theatre Of Louisville during the Humana Festival of New American Plays.[34][35] It was then broadcast on PBS in 2002, with a cast that featured Rosie Perez and Viola Davis.[36][37] Poof! was also recorded for podcast and public radio by Playing on Air, with a cast that featured Audra McDonald, Tonya Pinkins, and Keith Randolph Smith with direction by Seret Scott. -
Por'knockers
Por'knockers (1995) dealt with the theme of African-American activism. The play, veering between comedy and tragedy, depicts a group of revolutionaries whose plan to set fire to a government office building goes seriously wrong, and it juxtaposes their story with that of a Guyanese gold miner, the original “por'knocker” of the title. https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/nottage-lynn-1964 -
Crumbs from the Table of Joy
In 1996, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois, produced one of her most known plays, Crumbs from the Table of Joy, in its family outreach series. -
Mud, River, Stone
Her play Mud, River, Stone portrayed the misadventures of an African-American couple on vacation in Africa, forced to confront the realities of extreme poverty and political violence. First produced on tour by The Acting Company, it received its New York premiere at Playwrights Horizon in 1997. https://achievement.org/achiever/lynn-nottage/ -
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Marriage and Children
Lynn took a five year hiatus in the late 90's, only creating a children's musical, "A Walk Through Time", in 2000. During this short break she got married to Tony Gerber, a film maker, and had a daughter, Ruby Gerber. https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/playwright-lynn-nottage -
Intimate Apparel Actress Award
Intimate Apparel reached New York the following year in a production starring Viola Davis at Roundabout Theatre Company. It has since become one of the most produced plays in America. The play received its world premiere at New York’s Playwrights Horizon in 2004, in a production starring Charlayne Woodard, directed by Kate Whoriskey. https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/lynn-nottage-41#:~:text=Playwright%20Lynn%20Nottage%20was%20born,neighborhood%20where%20she%20grew%20up. -
Second Child
Lynn gave birth to her son Melkamu Gerber. -
First Pulitzer Prize and Obie Award for Ruined
Lynn Nottage has been awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Ruined, a moving play about the plight of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
https://www.broadway.com/buzz/98417/lynn-nottage-wins-2009-pulitzer-prize-for-ruined/#:~:text=Lynn%20Nottage%20has%20been%20awarded,the%20Democratic%20Republic%20of%20Congo. -
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark is a seventy-year journey through the life of Vera Stark, a headstrong African-American maid and budding actress, and her tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star desperately grasping to hold on to her career. When both women land roles in the same Southern epic, the story behind the camera leaves Vera with a surprising and controversial legacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Nottage -
New Columbia University Staff
Columbia University Adds Lynn Nottage and David Henry Hwang to Playwriting Progam's Staff. After serving as mentors in the Columbia University School of the Arts playwriting program, Lynn Nottage and David Henry Hwang have joined the school's faculty, the New York Times reports. https://www.playbill.com/article/columbia-university-adds-lynn-nottage-and-david-henry-hwang-to-playwriting-progams-staff-com-322628 -
Second Pulitzer Prize
Nottage won her second Pulitzer Prize for her 2015 play Sweat. She is the first woman playwright to be honored twice. Sweat is based on Nottage's extensive research and interviews with steelworkers in Reading, Pennsylvania. https://achievement.org/achiever/lynn-nottage/#:~:text=Nottage%20won%20her%20second%20Pulitzer,with%20steelworkers%20in%20Reading%2C%20Pennsylvania. -
Ruby Aiyo Gerber graduated at Brown University
Ruby, Lynn's oldest daughter attended the same university as her mother's. She concentrated on Africana Studies and poetry through the lens of Black temporality. Gerber was President of Students for Sensible Drug Policy and co-editor of Bluestockings Magazine. She graduated amidst the covid-19 pandemic. -
Current Activities/Life
Lynn is featured on the interview podcast series, Your Hometown, giving an in-depth look on her life in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, and the legacy of her childhood home, where she still currently resides. Your Hometown is co-presented by the Museum of New York.