Robert Frederic Schenkkan Jr. (born March 19, 1953) is an American
playwright, screenwriter, and actor. He received the Pulitzer Prize
for Drama in 1992 for his play The Kentucky Cycle and his play All the
Way earned the 2014 Tony Award for Best Play. He has three Emmy
nominations and one WGA Award.Schenkkan was born in Chapel Hill, North
Carolina, the son of Jean Gregory (née McKenzie) and Robert Frederic
Schenkkan, a professor in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at
The University of Texas at Austin, and public television executive. He
grew up in Austin, Texas. As a Plan II Honors student he received a
B.A. in Drama, magna cum laude, from the University of Texas, Austin
in 1975 (Phi Beta Kappa, Friars' Society, UT Texas Exes Distinguished
Young Alumnus Award and E. William Doty College of Fine Arts
Distinguished Alumnus Award), and an M.F.A. in Theatre Arts from
Cornell University in 1977. For many years, he lived in New York City
and then Los Angeles, California, working both as a writer and an
actor in film, television, and theatre. Since 1990 he has focused
exclusively on his writing and divides his time between New York City
and Seattle. Schenkkan is of Dutch Jewish (father) and Scottish and
English (mother) descent.Schenkkan is the author of ten full-length
plays. By the Waters of Babylon premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare
Festival in February, 2005. The play is unrelated to the Stephen
Vincent Benét short story By the Waters of Babylon or its subsequent
adaptation. Lewis and Clark Reach the Euphrates premiered at the Mark
Taper Forum in Los Angeles in December 2005. The Marriage of Miss
Hollywood and King Neptune premiered at the University of Texas at
Austin in November 2005. The Devil and Daniel Webster premiered at the
Seattle Children's Theatre in February 2006.Handler, a play dealing
with a snake handling church, premiered at the Actors Express Theatre
in Atlanta, Georgia. Heaven On Earth won the Julie Harris/Beverly
Hills Theatre Guild Award, participated in the Eugene O'Neill
Playwright's Conference, and premiered Off-Broadway at the WPA
Theatre. Final Passages premiered at the Studio Arena theatre.
Tachinoki premiered at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in Los Angeles and
was designated a Critic's Choice by the LA Weekly. His other play for
young audiences, The Dream Thief, had its premier at Milwaukee's First
Stage.
playwright, screenwriter, and actor. He received the Pulitzer Prize
for Drama in 1992 for his play The Kentucky Cycle and his play All the
Way earned the 2014 Tony Award for Best Play. He has three Emmy
nominations and one WGA Award.Schenkkan was born in Chapel Hill, North
Carolina, the son of Jean Gregory (née McKenzie) and Robert Frederic
Schenkkan, a professor in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at
The University of Texas at Austin, and public television executive. He
grew up in Austin, Texas. As a Plan II Honors student he received a
B.A. in Drama, magna cum laude, from the University of Texas, Austin
in 1975 (Phi Beta Kappa, Friars' Society, UT Texas Exes Distinguished
Young Alumnus Award and E. William Doty College of Fine Arts
Distinguished Alumnus Award), and an M.F.A. in Theatre Arts from
Cornell University in 1977. For many years, he lived in New York City
and then Los Angeles, California, working both as a writer and an
actor in film, television, and theatre. Since 1990 he has focused
exclusively on his writing and divides his time between New York City
and Seattle. Schenkkan is of Dutch Jewish (father) and Scottish and
English (mother) descent.Schenkkan is the author of ten full-length
plays. By the Waters of Babylon premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare
Festival in February, 2005. The play is unrelated to the Stephen
Vincent Benét short story By the Waters of Babylon or its subsequent
adaptation. Lewis and Clark Reach the Euphrates premiered at the Mark
Taper Forum in Los Angeles in December 2005. The Marriage of Miss
Hollywood and King Neptune premiered at the University of Texas at
Austin in November 2005. The Devil and Daniel Webster premiered at the
Seattle Children's Theatre in February 2006.Handler, a play dealing
with a snake handling church, premiered at the Actors Express Theatre
in Atlanta, Georgia. Heaven On Earth won the Julie Harris/Beverly
Hills Theatre Guild Award, participated in the Eugene O'Neill
Playwright's Conference, and premiered Off-Broadway at the WPA
Theatre. Final Passages premiered at the Studio Arena theatre.
Tachinoki premiered at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in Los Angeles and
was designated a Critic's Choice by the LA Weekly. His other play for
young audiences, The Dream Thief, had its premier at Milwaukee's First
Stage.
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