3/31/2009: NYS State Senate Honors Brooklyn Artist Lynn Nottage

On the final day of National Women’s History Month 2009, NYS Senator Velamanette Montgomery (D-Brooklyn) and her Senate Colleagues honored Brooklyn playwright, Lynn Nottage, for her outstanding contributions to the arts in New York.

A formal tribute to Ms. Nottage was made in a legislative resolution, introduced by Senator Montgomery and unanimously approved by her Senate colleagues. The resolution Celebrates Nottage’s many artistic achievements, including her award-winning play, Ruined, now running at the Manhattan Theatre Club. She was also lauded for her designation as a MacArthur Genius Award winner.

“Lynn is a constituent, a friend, a ‘sister’ and a daughter of the late Jeannette ‘Ruby’ Nottage. Ruby was a dear friend of mine whose love of the arts contributed to Lynn’s becoming the magnificent woman that she is. If Lynn’s mother were alive today, she would be so very proud of her. I know that I am,” said Senator Montgomery.

“As a fourth generation New Yorker, and proud daughter of Brooklyn, I’m so moved to be receiving this lovely honor from Senator Velmanette Montgomery. Our Brooklyn district is home to many artists and writers, and it’s so refreshing and encouraging to see our creative contributions recognized and celebrated”, said Nottage.

Lynn Nottage’s most recent work, Ruined, is set in a small town in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It follows a shrewd businesswoman, Mama Nadi, and the woman she protects and profits from a land torn apart by civil war.

Other productions of this quintessential artist include Intimate Apparel, Fabulation Or the Re-Education of Undine, Crumbs from the Table of Joy and Las Meninas, which have been produced and developed at theatres throughout the United States and abroad.

In addition to the MacArthur Genius Award, Nottage has received a multitude of note-worthy awards of distinction including the OBIE Award for playwriting in 2005, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play, the John Gassner Award for Best Playwright, and the Outer Critic Circle Award for Best Play. She was also awarded a 2007 Lucille Lortel Foundation Fellowship, a 2005 Guggenheim Fellowship, and the National Black Theater Festival August Wilson Playwriting Award.

Lynn Nottage is a graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Drama, where she is currently a visiting lecturer. She resides in Senator Montgomery’s district with her husband, Tony Gerber and their daughter Ruby.