Zakiyyah Alexander

Zakiyyah Alexander is a writer and actor who attempts to reinvent her voice with each play. Current plays include, 10 Things To Do Before I Die(Second Stage Uptown), Sick? (Summer Play Festival), The Etymology Of Bird (Hip Hop Theater Festival; Providence Black Repertory Company), Blurring Shine (Market Theatre, Johannesburg), Sweet Maladies (Darius Rucker Riverside Theatre),After The Show: A Play In Mask, something new, and (900). She has received developmental support from Bristol Riverside Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Hartford Stage, The Providence Black Repertory Company, 24/7 Theater Company, Hip Hop Theater Festival, Vineyard Theatre, the Women’s Project, GAle GAtes et al., La MaMa E.T.C., Greenwich Street Theatre, etc. Awards include, Helen Merrill Award, ACT New Play Award/Lorraine Hansberry Award, Stellar Network Award, the Theodore Ward Prize, Jackson Phelan Award, Drama League New Directors/New Works, New Professional Theatre Playwriting Award, Young Playwrights Inc., etc. Her work is included in the current edition of New Monologues for Women by Women, featured in the book of essays,Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys, and Game on: The Humana Festival ‘08 Anthology. Past residencies and fellowships include, EST’s Youngblood, the Women’s Project Playwrights Lab, the Women’s Work Project, and the Drama League. She has received commissions from Second Stage, The Philadelphia Theatre Company and the Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama (MFA in playwriting), she is currently on faculty at Bard College where she teaches undergraduate playwriting. Zakiyyah is a native New Yorker and was raised in Queens and Brooklyn.