Senate Resolution No. 1676

BY: Senator MONTGOMERY

HONORING Lynn Nottage upon the occasion of her
designation as recipient of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize
for Drama

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize
those artistic individuals whose creative talents and commitment to
writing contribute to the enrichment of their community and the world,
and to pay homage to a woman whose life of writing stands out as an
inspiration to others; and

WHEREAS, From time to time this Legislative Body takes note of
certain extraordinary individuals it wishes to recognize for their
valued contributions to the success and progress of society and publicly
acknowledge their endeavors which have enhanced the basic humanity among
us all; and

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to honor Lynn Nottage
upon the occasion of her designation as recipient of the 2017 Pulitzer
Prize for Drama for Sweat, her timely play about a steel factory in
Reading, Pennsylvania, and the resulting economic and racial chaos in
that working-class town where friendships and family ties are
irreparably damaged; she is the first female playwright to receive this
prestigious award for the second time; and

WHEREAS, Each year, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama is bestowed upon an
American author who has written an original play dealing with American
life; and

WHEREAS, Lynn Nottage is a Brooklyn-based playwright and a
screenwriter whose plays have been produced widely in the United States
and throughout the world; Sweat, the recipient of the 2015-2016 Susan
Smith Blackburn Prize, was written on commission, and presented at the
Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, in July of 2015, and then at
the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. in January of 2016; and

WHEREAS, On November 3, 2016, Sweat premiered Off Broadway at The
Public Theater; after a sold out run, the play moved to Broadway where
it officially opened at Studio 54 on March 26, 2017; and

WHEREAS, Lynn Nottage's other productions include By The Way, Meet
Vera Stark, Intimate Apparel, Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine,
Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Las Meninas, Mud, River, Stone, as well as
Por'knockers; all of these exceptional plays have won numerous awards;
and

WHEREAS, In 2009, Lynn Nottage won her first Pulitzer Prize for her
play entitled Ruined, which takes a look at the impact of the brutal
civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and its horrific impact
on women; and

WHEREAS, Currently, Lynn Nottage is developing a multimedia
performance installation, This is Reading, which will re-animate the
historic Franklin Street Railroad Station in downtown Reading; and


WHEREAS, Lynn Nottage is also working with composer Ricky Ian Gordon
on adapting her play Intimate Apparel into an opera; and

WHEREAS, Moreover, Lynn Nottage is the co-founder of Market Road
Films, a production company whose most recent projects include "The
Notorious Mr. Bout," "First to Fall," and "Remote Control"; and

WHEREAS, Over the years, Lynn Nottage has developed original
projects for HBO, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Showtime, This is That
and Harpo; she is also the writer/producer on the Netflix series "She's
Gotta Have It," directed by Spike Lee; and

WHEREAS, In addition to her awards for her plays, this incredibly
talented woman has been the recipient of numerous accolades including
the PEN/Laura Pels Master Playwright Award, Literature Award from The
Academy of Arts and Letters, a Columbia University Provost Grant, the
Doris Duke Artist Award, The Joyce Foundation Commission Project and
Grant, the Madge Evans-Sidney Kingsley Award, the MacArthur "Genius
Grant" Fellowship, the Steinberg "Mimi" Distinguished Playwright Award,
the Nelson A. Rockefeller Award for Creativity, The Dramatists Guild
Hull-Warriner Award, the inaugural Horton Foote Prize, the Helen Hayes
Award, the Lee Reynolds Award, and the Jewish World Watch iWitness
Award; and

WHEREAS, Furthermore, Lynn Nottage has earned the National Black
Theatre Fest's August Wilson Playwriting Award, a Guggenheim Grant,
Lucille Lortel Fellowship and Visiting Research Fellowship at Princeton
University; and

WHEREAS, A graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of
Drama, Lynn Nottage serves as an Associate Professor in the Theatre
Department at Columbia School of the Arts; and

WHEREAS, Committed to the cultural enrichment of the citizens of the
State of New York, Lynn Nottage is a vital member of the Boards of
Directors of BRIC Arts Media Bklyn, Donor Direct Action, Second Stage
and the Dramatists Guild; recently, she completed a three-year term as
an Artist Trustee on the Board of the Sundance Institute; and

WHEREAS, This esteemed playwright has given not only of her time and
energies but also of her competence, intelligence and leadership and
consequently has been designated for special honor; and

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when artistic
creators of such remarkable talent and accomplishments are brought to
our attention, they should be celebrated and recognized by all the
citizens of this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Lynn Nottage upon the occasion of her designation as recipient of
the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Lynn Nottage.