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Donja R. Love

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Donja R. Love
BornPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
OccupationPlaywright, Film Maker
EducationTemple University (African American Studies and Theater, undergraduate incomplete), Juilliard (Playwriting, Artist Diploma)
Notable awards2018 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award, 2017 Princess Grace Playwriting Award, Lark's 2016 Van Lier New Voices Playwriting Fellow, Playwrights Realm’s 2016/2017 Writing Fellow

Donja R. Love is an American playwright. Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Love identifies himself as an Afro-Queer, HIV positive playwright and filmmaker. His work has been produced in multiple states around the United States, but he is mainly based in New York City and Philadelphia. He is best known for his 2019 play one in two based on the 2017 CDC study that found that one in two black gay or bisexual men will be diagnosed with HIV at some point in their life.[1]

Early life

[edit]

Donja R. Love grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later graduated from high school there. He then attended Temple University, majoring in African American Studies and Theater but did not complete his degree.[1] In 2008, Love was diagnosed with HIV after going to the doctor for a cough. Struggling with his condition, Love recalls turning to sex and drinking for comfort before finding recovery through the Christian church and playwriting. His mother, who lives in Philadelphia, taught him that life would be difficult due to his identity. Love began writing, producing, and directing his own plays in the Philadelphia area.[2]

After establishing himself in Pennsylvania, Love moved to New York City to pursue his career as a playwright. While in New York, he completed several playwriting fellowships to further his craft before being accepted to Juilliard for playwriting for the 2018–2019 term.[2]

Career

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Love began playwriting in the late 2000s. His most well-known piece, One in Two was written around the tenth anniversary of his HIV diagnosis. He wrote this play using the notes app on his phone from his bed to therapeutically process his emotions. Initially, it was not intended for production, but it has become his most well-known work produced Off-Broadway.[3]

In the past few years, Donja R. Love has begun working in film and television. His most notable works include Modern Day Black Gay, a web series, and Once a Star, a short film.[4]

In 2020, Love began a writing workshop specifically for writers with HIV named Write It Out! This project is partially inspired by Love's experience, having turned to writing as his career after his diagnosis. One in two established Love as a leader in the HIV-positive realm of theatre, especially for narratives involving queer people of color. The National Queer Theater is putting on the writing-intensive Write It Out!. Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is in collaboration with this project.[5]

Philosophy

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Love is particularly interested in sharing the stories of marginalized people. As a black, queer, HIV-positive playwright, he often writes from his own experience in order to pursue this goal. Starting out as a performer, writing was not Love's original position in the theatre. Yet, through his writing, Love has presented more specific narratives of HIV-positive people in a way not seen in theater before. He draws his inspiration from influential writers such as Toni Morrison and James Baldwin, two highly influential Black writers.[2]

He writes plays that tell the stories of Black Queer Folx for the audiences made of Black Queer Folx.[6] His work focuses on normalizing these marginalized identities and bringing joy as well as depth to the typical monolithic portrayal of LGBTQ+ people of color. Through his productions, he emphasizes collaboration with directors and actors of color who help highlight these stories.[3]

List of plays

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Following is a list of plays by Donja R. Love[6]

  • Sugar in Our Wounds[7]
  • Fireflies[8]
  • In the Middle
  • One in Two
  • The Trade
  • Soft
  • The North Star
  • A Ugandan Family
  • The Review

Accolades

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Love has received extensive media coverage for his work as an activist and playwright with profiles in TheBody.com,[9][10] American Theatre Magazine,[11][12] them,[13] The Philadelphia Inquirer,[14][15] TDF Stages,[16] BroadwayWorld,[17] and Playbill.[18][19]

Love has received numerous awards for his work including leading POZ Magazine's POZ 100 List for 2021,[20] the 2021 Terrence McNally Award for What Will Happen to All That Beauty?,[21] POZ Magazine's 2020 Best New Play Award for one in two,[22] the 2018 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for Sugar in Our Wounds,[23] the 2017 Princess Grace Award Playwrighting Fellowship,[24] the 2016 Lark Theatre's Van Lier New Voices Playwrighting Fellowship,[25] and the 2016/2017 Playwrights Realm's Writing Fellowship.[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b Kim, Michelle. "Afro-Queer Playwright Donja R. Love is One of Theatre's Boldest New Voices" them., January 20, 2020
  2. ^ a b c Love, Donja R. "How Becoming HIV+ Turned Me Into a Playwright" American Theatre, February 26, 2019
  3. ^ a b TheNEwGroupNYC. "A chat with one in two playwright Donja R. Love" The New Group NYC, November 25, 2019
  4. ^ ThePlaywright'sRealm. "Donja R. Love Biography" The Playwright's Realm, 2019
  5. ^ McPhee, Ryan. "Donja R. Love and More Launch New Playwriting Workshop for People Living With HIV" Playbill, July 30, 2020
  6. ^ a b Julliard. "Donja R. Love" Juliard, 2019
  7. ^ "Donja R. Love's Sugar in Our Wounds Opens Off-Broadway". 19 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Donja R. Love's Fireflies Begins at Atlantic Theater Company". 26 September 2018.
  9. ^ Porter II, Juan Michael (May 28, 2021). "What if HIV Messaging Focused on Joy?". TheBody.com. Archived from the original on 2021-05-28.
  10. ^ Porter II, Juan Michael (November 18, 2019). "New Play Seeks to Go Beyond the Statistics for Black Queer Men Living With HIV". TheBody.com. Archived from the original on 2019-11-19.
  11. ^ II, Juan Michael Porter (2021-08-03). "Playwrights Living With HIV Have His Love, and Now Support". AMERICAN THEATRE. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  12. ^ Love, Donja R. (2019-02-26). "How Becoming HIV+ Turned Me Into a Playwright". AMERICAN THEATRE. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  13. ^ "Afro-Queer Playwright Donja R. Love is One of Theatre's Boldest New Voices". them. 2020-01-20. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  14. ^ Inquirer, Abdul-Aliy Muhammad, For The (9 August 2021). "Reject DaBaby's bigotry on HIV and celebrate authentic work from Southwest Philly's Donja R. Love | Opinion". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2021-08-09. Retrieved 2021-11-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Gray, Ellen (3 May 2021). "Playwright Donja R. Love wins Philadelphia Theatre Company's Terrence McNally Award". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2021-05-03. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  16. ^ "TDF Stages: As a Black Man with HIV, He Didn't See Himself On Stage, So He Wrote a Play". www.tdf.org. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  17. ^ Cristi, A. A. "Billy Porter to Fund Inaugural WIO! Playwriting Prize For People Living With HIV, Launched by Playwright Donja R. Love". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  18. ^ Staff, Playbill (December 10, 2020). "Revisit Donja R. Love's one in two Off-Broadway". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  19. ^ Fierberg, Ruthie (June 8, 2021). "Casting Announced for Pride Plays' Presentation of Donja R. Love's one in two". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  20. ^ Strub, Sean (2021-11-15). "Visibility Is Survival". POZ. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  21. ^ "One in Two Playwright Donja R. Love Wins Terrence McNally Award for New Play About AIDS in the '80s | TheaterMania". www.theatermania.com. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  22. ^ "POZ Awards 2020 / Best in Performing Arts". POZ. 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  23. ^ Editors, American Theatre (2018-02-07). "Donja R. Love Wins 2018 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award". AMERICAN THEATRE. Retrieved 2021-11-15. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  24. ^ "Donja Love, Princess Grace Award". Princess Grace Award. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  25. ^ "Announcing the 2016-17 Van Lier New Voices Fellows". The Lark. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  26. ^ "Donja R. Love". The Playwrights Realm. 19 June 2016. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
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