Kirsten Childs Explained

Kirsten Childs
Birth Place:Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality:American
Occupation:Playwright, librettist
Notableworks:The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin;
Bella: An American Tall Tale
Relatives:Billy Childs (brother)

Kirsten J. Childs is an American playwright, librettist, and former actress.[1]

Early life and performing career

Childs was born in Los Angeles, California.[2] Her parents were schoolteachers. Her younger brother is the jazz musician Billy Childs.[3] [4] She began her theatrical career in the late 1970s as a Broadway performer. In 1977, Bob Fosse cast her in the lead role of Velma Kelly in the first national tour of the musical Chicago. She went on to appear in productions of Dancin', Jerry's Girls, and Sweet Charity in the 1980s. Primarily a stage actress, her one major film role was the 1989 comedy See No Evil, Hear No Evil, in which she played Adele, the long-suffering sister of Richard Pryor's character.[5] [6]

Later writing career

Childs subsequently turned to writing her own theatrical productions, beginning with the semi-autobiographical work The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin (2000),[7] [8] an off-Broadway musical that received an Obie Award.[9] Her other musicals include Miracle Brothers (2005),[10] Funked Up Fairy Tales (2007),[11] and (2016), a winner of the Weston Playhouse New Musical Award.[12] [13]

Childs has also served as an assistant professor in New York University Tisch School of the Arts' Graduate Musical Theatre Writing program.[14]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Artist Interview: Kirsten Childs. Playwrights Horizons. 18 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170618230757/https://www.playwrightshorizons.org/shows/trailers/artist-interview-kirsten-childs/. 18 June 2017. en.
  2. Web site: Aaron Dobbs. Lily Oei. Kirsten Childs, Musical Theater Writer. Gothamist. https://web.archive.org/web/20161021133258/http://gothamist.com/2005/08/11/kirsten_childs_musical_theater_writer.php. 21 October 2016. 11 August 2005.
  3. Web site: Nesti. Robert. Kirsten Childs on "Bubbly Black Girl". EDGE Media Network. https://web.archive.org/web/20170831112839/https://www.edgemedianetwork.com/entertainment///39937. 31 August 2017. en-us. 16 November 2006.
  4. News: Luppi. Kathleen. Tapping the 'Treasure' of singer-songwriter Laura Nyro. Los Angeles Times. 17 October 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20170831113650/http://www.latimes.com/tn-dpt-et-1017-billy-childs-20141017-25-story.html. 31 August 2017.
  5. News: Mandell. Jonathan. Theater: Beyond Black, Just Herself. The New York Times. 18 June 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20161229170649/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/18/theater/theater-beyond-black-just-herself.html. 29 December 2016.
  6. News: Klein. Alvin. Alvin Klein. When 'Chicago' Is in Trouble, It Goes Into a Dance. The New York Times. 15 July 1979. https://archive.today/20170618135224/http://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/15/archives/long-island-weekly-when-chicago-is-in-trouble-it-goes-into-a-dance.html?_r=0. 18 June 2017.
  7. News: Brantley. Ben. Ben Brantley. Theater Review: Wearing Perkiness That's Cut on the Bias. The New York Times. 21 June 2000.
  8. News: Billington. Michael. Michael Billington (critic). The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin review – witty, vivacious musical. The Guardian. 8 February 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170328055117/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/feb/08/the-bubbly-black-girl-sheds-her-chameleon-skin-review-theatre-royal-stratford-east-london. live. 28 March 2017.
  9. Web site: 2001 Obie Awards. Obie Awards. 18 June 2017.
  10. News: Brantley. Ben. Ben Brantley. Dolphins Turn Human and Trouble Ensues. The New York Times. 19 September 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20150529185812/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/19/theater/reviews/dolphins-turn-human-and-trouble-ensues.html. 29 May 2015.
  11. Web site: Rizzo. Frank. Funked Up Fairy Tales. Variety. https://web.archive.org/web/20180128214224/http://variety.com/2007/legit/reviews/funked-up-fairy-tales-1200557245/. 28 January 2018. 10 August 2007.
  12. Web site: Murray. Larry. Kirsten Childs' "Bella: An American Tall Tale" wins Weston Playhouse New Musical Award. Berkshire on Stage. https://web.archive.org/web/20161218222505/https://berkshireonstage.com/2016/01/29/kirsten-childs-bella-an-american-tall-tale-wins-weston-playhouse-new-musical-award/. 18 December 2016. 29 January 2016.
  13. News: Brantley. Ben. Ben Brantley. Review: In 'Bella,' an Indomitable Heroine Goes West. The New York Times. 12 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170617081710/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/12/theater/bella-an-american-tall-tale-review.html. 17 June 2017.
  14. Web site: Kirsten J. Childs - Adjunct Assistant Professor. NYU Tisch School of the Arts. 18 June 2017.

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