Kirsten Childs
BornLos Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationPlaywright, librettist
NationalityAmerican
Notable worksThe Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin;
Bella: An American Tall Tale

Kirsten J. Childs is an American playwright, librettist, and former actress.[1]

Early life and performing career

Childs was born in Los Angeles, California.[2] Her parents were schoolteachers.[3] Her younger brother is the jazz musician Billy Childs.[4][5] She began her theatrical career in the late 1970s as a Broadway performer. In 1977 Bob Fosse cast her in the lead role of Velma Kelly in the first national tour of Chicago. She went on to appear in productions of Dancin', Jerry's Girls, and Sweet Charity in the 1980s. Primarily a stage actress, her one major film role was the 1989 comedy See No Evil, Hear No Evil, in which she played the long-suffering sister of Richard Pryor's character.[3][6]

Later writing career

Childs subsequently turned to writing her own theatrical productions, beginning with the semi-autobiographical work The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin (2000),[7][8] an off-Broadway musical which received an Obie Award.[9] Her other musicals include Miracle Brothers (2005),[10] Funked Up Fairy Tales (2007),[11] and Bella: An American Tall Tale (2016), a winner of the Weston Playhouse New Musical Award.[12][13]

Childs has also served as an assistant professor in New York University Tisch School of the Arts' Graduate Musical Theatre Writing program.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Artist Interview: Kirsten Childs". Playwrights Horizons. Archived from the original on 18 June 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  2. ↑ Aaron Dobbs; Lily Oei (11 August 2005). "Kirsten Childs, Musical Theater Writer". Gothamist. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016.
  3. 1 2 Mandell, Jonathan (18 June 2000). "Theater: Beyond Black, Just Herself". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 December 2016.
  4. ↑ Nesti, Robert (16 November 2006). "Kirsten Childs on "Bubbly Black Girl"". EDGE Media Network. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017.
  5. ↑ Luppi, Kathleen (17 October 2014). "Tapping the 'Treasure' of singer-songwriter Laura Nyro". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017.
  6. ↑ Klein, Alvin (15 July 1979). "When 'Chicago' Is in Trouble, It Goes Into a Dance". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 June 2017.
  7. ↑ Brantley, Ben (21 June 2000). "Theater Review: Wearing Perkiness That's Cut on the Bias". The New York Times.
  8. ↑ Billington, Michael (8 February 2017). "The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin review – witty, vivacious musical". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017.
  9. ↑ "2001 Obie Awards". Obie Awards. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  10. ↑ Brantley, Ben (19 September 2005). "Dolphins Turn Human and Trouble Ensues". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015.
  11. ↑ Rizzo, Frank (10 August 2007). "Funked Up Fairy Tales". Variety. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018.
  12. ↑ Murray, Larry (29 January 2016). "Kirsten Childs' "Bella: An American Tall Tale" wins Weston Playhouse New Musical Award". Berkshire on Stage. Archived from the original on 18 December 2016.
  13. ↑ Brantley, Ben (12 June 2017). "Review: In 'Bella,' an Indomitable Heroine Goes West". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017.
  14. ↑ "Kirsten J. Childs - Adjunct Assistant Professor". NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
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