Morgan Jenness[1] was an American freelance dramaturg based in New York City.
Biography
editFor over ten years, Jenness worked at The Public Theater, under both George C. Wolfe and Joseph Papp in roles ranging from literary manager to director of play development to associate producer of the New York Shakespeare Festival. They were also associate artistic director at the New York Theatre Workshop, and an associate director at the Los Angeles Theater Center in charge of new projects. They have worked with the Young Playwrights Festival, the Mark Taper Forum, the Playwrights Center/Playlabs, the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Double Image/New York Stage and Film, CSC, Victory Gardens, Hartford Stage, and Center Stage as a dramaturg, workshop director, and/or artistic consultant.[2] They participated as a visiting artist and adjunct in playwriting programs at the University of Iowa, Brown University, Bread Loaf, Columbia, and NYU and served on the faculty at Fordham University at Lincoln Center, Pace University, and Columbia University School of The Arts where they taught theater history and adaptation.[3]
Jenness served on peer panels for various funding institutions, including NYSCA and the National Endowment for the Arts, with whom they served as a site evaluator for almost a decade. In 1998 Jenness joined Helen Merrill Ltd., an agency representing writers, directors, composers, and designers, as creative director. They most recently worked at Abrams Artist Agency as an agent representing writers for stage and screen, directors, composers, and lyricists. In 2003, Jenness was presented with an Obie Award Special Citation for Longtime Support of Playwrights.[4] At its 30th Anniversary Conference in New York City, the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas presented the G. E. Lessing Award for Career Achievement to Morgan Jenness. The Lessing Award is LMDA's most prestigious award, given for lifetime achievement in the field of dramaturgy. As of 2015, Jenness was only the sixth recipient of the award in LMDA's 30-year history.[5]
Jenness was a recipient of a prestigious 2015 Doris Duke Impact Award[6] and worked as an activist and artistic consultant via In This Distracted Globe.
After a brief illness, Morgan Jeness died peacefully at home on Nov. 12th, 2024, in New York City.
References
edit- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-10-26. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ http://www.pwcenter.org/members/morganjenness[dead link]
- ^ "Theatre Faculty". Fordham University. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^ Sellar, Tom (May 20, 2003). "The 48th Annual Obie Awards". The Village Voice. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
- ^ Sobeck, Janine. "Morgan Jenness Receives Lessing Award". LMDA. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
- ^ Chang, Lia (18 June 2015). "Morgan Jenness receives 2015 Doris Duke Impact Award". Backstage Pass with Lia Chang. Retrieved October 10, 2019.