Theatre maker and writer
Haruna Lee , formerly Kristine Haruna Lee , is a Taiwanese Japanese American theatre maker and writer.
Early life and education
Lee was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Japan.[ 1] They moved from Japan to the United States when they were eight. They did an undergraduate degree at NYU .[ 2]
Career
Inspired by a myth about Sedna , Lee wrote War Lesbian . The musical, composed by Katie Hathaway, who Lee met at New Dramatists,[ 3] premiered at Dixon Place in 2014, co-presented by Lee's company, harunalee.[ 4] [ 5] Lee appeared in the show playing Ellen DeGeneres .[ 6] In 2016, Lee performed Communing with You with their mother, Aoi Lee. The 30-minute Butoh piece was performed at Brooklyn Arts Exchange.[ 7] Lee played Jackie in The Offending Gesture at the Connelly Theater in 2016.[ 8] They played Meryl Streep as Francesca from The Bridges of Madison County in STREEPSHOW! in 2017.[ 9]
Lee's play, Suicide Forest , premiered in 2019 with Ma-Yi Theater Company and directed by Aya Ogawa.[ 10] Lee played the schoolgirl, Azusa, in this production.[ 11] [ 12] Lee's mother, Aoi, also appeared in the show, which Ma-Yi remounted in 2020.[ 13]
In 2023, Lee was invited to join the New Dramatists ' resident playwright company until 2030.[ 14]
Personal life
Lee is half Japanese and half Taiwanese.[ 15]
Plays
Suicide Forest
plural (love) , with Jen Goma and Morgan Green[ 16]
Communing with You
Memory Retrograde [ 16]
to the left of the pantry and under the sugar shack [ 17]
War Lesbian
Drunkfish Oceanrant
Plum de Force [ 18]
Troika
Filmography
Television
Awards and nominations
Year
Award
Category
Work
Result
Ref.
2020
Obie Awards
Playwrighting
Suicide Forest
Won
[ 19]
2021
Steinberg Playwright Awards
n/a
n/a
Won
[ 20]
References
^ Szymkowicz, Adam (2017-04-23). "Adam Szymkowicz: I Interview Playwrights Part 925: Kristine Haruna Lee" . Adam Szymkowicz . Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ Polak, Brian James (2021-12-21). "The Subtext: Toward Liberation With Haruna Lee" . AMERICAN THEATRE . Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ Almasy, Jessica (2014-12-19). "Kristine Haruna Lee's WAR LESBIAN: the type of theatre that'll get lodged in yr throat" . Culturebot . Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ "Review: War Lesbian" . StageBuddy.com . 2014-12-16. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ Shaw, Helen (2014-12-11). "War Lesbian" . Time Out New York . Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ Kerry, Rachel (2014-12-15). "A Journey Down A Crazy Queer Rabbit Hole: Rachel Kerry on War Lesbian Presented by Harunalee and Dixon Place" . New York Theatre Review . Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ Cuba, Julianne (2016-11-15). "Body language: Mother-daughter dance closes language barrier • Brooklyn Paper" . www.brooklynpaper.com . Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ Genzlinger, Neil (2016-01-11). "Review: 'The Offending Gesture' Takes On Foreign Policy's Barking Madness" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ Solis, Jose (2017-06-08). "Daniel Dabdoub on Creating all the Meryl Looks in 'STREEPSHOW!' " . StageBuddy.com . Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ Clement, Olivia (2019-03-27). "Kristine Haruna Lee's Suicide Forest Begins at the Bushwick Starr" . Playbill . Archived from the original on 2024-04-04. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ Rine, Natalie (2020-03-09). "Off-Broadway Review: Ma-Yi Theater Company presents The Bushwick Starr Production of "Suicide Forest" " . OnStage Blog . Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ Shaw, Helen (2019-12-18). "The Best Theater of 2019" . Vulture . Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ Shaw, Helen (2020-03-06). "That's Really Mom Up There: Suicide Forest and SKiNFoLK" . Vulture . Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ "Seven Playwrights Granted New Dramatists Residencies" . AMERICAN THEATRE . 2023-08-02. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ Barbagallo, Jess (2016-11-01). " "A current gaining more wave:" 25 Years of Artist Development at Brooklyn Arts Exchange" . The Brooklyn Rail . Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ a b Christopherson, Jody (2019-02-01). "An Interview With Playwright Kristine Haruna Lee" . New York Theatre Reivew . Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ Einerson, Katy (2016-02-09). "Talking to the left of the pantry and under the sugar shack: an interview with Kristine Haruna Lee" . Culturebot . Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ Smith, Olivia Jane (2013-09-10). "Olivia Jane Smith on Plum de Force, written and directed by Kristine Haruna Lee at the Bushwick Starr" . New York Theatre Review . Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ McPhee, Ryan (2020-07-14). "Heroes of the Fourth Turning, A Strange Loop Among 2020 Obie Award Winners" . Playbill . Archived from the original on 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .
^ "2021 Steinberg Playwright Awardees Announced" . AMERICAN THEATRE . 2021-12-14. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03 .