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A writer exposes the anger and pain underlying his ethnic community’s post-war American experience through deeply flawed characters and cutting humor—bringing him equal parts adulation for his work and criticism for his portrayal of his people. This is the story of Ayad Akhtar and Disgraced, the most produced play in the country, which is onsta...

Ayad Akhtar Exposes Cultural Cracks

Playwright Ayad Akhtar knew he wanted to be a writer at the age of 15. Until that time, Akhtar—the son of two doctors—was sure that his destiny lay in the world of medicine. Then his high school literature teacher changed his life. When I met her, she was in her late 50s. She’d been through five husbands. She lived on 40 acres of land north o...

Asking the Deep Questions with Ayad Akhtar

Critics and audiences across the country (including the Pulitzer Prize committee) have been raving about Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced since its 2012 premiere. But Disgraced and the actions of its characters are not without controversy and can be difficult to watch at times....

‘Disgraced’ Does Not Apologize

On June 5, 1951, a Latino African-American surfer named Nick Gabaldon paddled 12 or 13 miles north from the Santa Monica-Venice border to the Malibu Pier—a journey that cost him his life. Gabaldon had taught himself to surf at the Ink Well, a section of beach at the end of the Santa Monica Pier reserved for African-Americans; he couldn't sim...

Richard Montoya and Roger Guenveur Smith Excavate ‘American Venice’

Since the late 1980s, Suzan-Lori Parks’ plays have graced stages in every major American city. She is a recipient of the coveted MacArthur “Genius” Award, the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and the first Master Writer Chair at New York City’s Public Theater. Her newest play, Father Comes Home From The W...

Suzan-Lori Parks’ Journey from a New York Bar to Household Name

Suzan-Lori Parks has been named one of Time magazine’s “100 Innovators for the Next New Wave.” She is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and a MacArthur “Genius” award recipient. Her plays, screenplays, poems, and songs have garnered countless awards from organizations across the United States. Her most recent play, Father Comes Hom...

Creating Roads: a Conversation with Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks