Nazareth Hassan
| Nazareth Hassan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| 🏫 Education | New York University (BA) Brooklyn College (MFA) |
| 💼 Occupation |
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Nazareth Hassan is an American playwright known for their Off-Broadway plays Bowl EP at Vineyard Theatre,[1] for which Hassan was nominated for the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama,[2] and Practice at Playwrights Horizons, both in 2025.[3]
Early life
Hassan is from Atlanta, Georgia, where both their father and grandmother were musicians, which introduced them to music at a young age. They got involved in musical theatre, but found more interest in directing.[4][5] Hassan has spoken about growing up without much financial support, and how it was a large risk to pursue playwriting.[5] In 2018, they graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drama and directing. They then attended Brooklyn College for creative writing and playwriting, graduating with a Master's of Fine Arts in 2020, as a Truman Capote Fellow.[6]
Hassan notes they began writing plays to supplement their directing experience, calling their artistic model "always the director as the lead artist."[5]
Career
Hassan's first play, VANTABLACK, premiered while attending NYU at the Playwrights Horizons Theater School. The play explored what would happen in African-Americans in modern-day America were paid reparations that were promised in the 19th century—40 acres and a mule. For their work, they received the 2017 Dramatists Guild Young Playwright Award, followed by a staged reading at Theatertreffen in Berlin, Germany in 2019.[7] They also received the Himan Brown Writing Award.[8]
Their next play, Untitled (1-5), premiered as part of The Shed's Open Call Selection in 2020. Hassan co-directed the production with Talia Oliveras there in 2021, calling the piece an "exploration of opacity" involving rhythm and physicality.[6][9][10]
In May 2025, their next play, Bowl EP, debuted Off-Broadway at Vineyard Theatre in a co-production with National Black Theatre. The play followed two teenage friends with aspiring rap careers and a love for skateboarding. Navigating queerness and masculinity, the play took place in a skate bowl.[1] Hassan themself directed the production, which starred Essence Lotus, Oghenero Gbaje and Felicia Curry with original music by Free Fool.[11] The production received critical acclaim, with The New York Times calling it a "messy, poignant and memorable new work"[12] and TheatreMania praising it as "magnificently imaginative."[13]
The show was nominated for the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama,[14] along with three Lucille Lortel Award nominations,[15] an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination,[16] and four Dorian Award nominations,[17] with Hassan receiving a 2026 Obie Award for Outstanding New Play.[18]
The same year, their play Practice premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons, running October 30 through December 19, 2025. The play followed a play-within-a-play, with a company of actors working to make meaningful art.[3] Directed by Keenan Tyler Oliphant, the production received positive reviews, with The New York Times calling it "shocking, darkly witty, and visually stunning" and naming it a Critic's Pick.[19] The production was nominated for a 2026 Lucille Lortel Award for Oliphant's direction.[20][21]
Their next play, Kat, is due to premiere in March 2027 at Theatre503 in London, England. The play follows a woman living at home with her ultra-conservative parents who sneaks out at night to cosplay as a cat.[22][6]
Hassan has also performed in their own works, appearing in Memoria A in 2022 in Mexico City at Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo,[23] and All this newness in 2024 at The Barn at Lee.[24]
Personal life
Hassan uses they/them pronouns.[25] They currently live in Brooklyn, New York.[26]
Plays
Source:[27]
- VANTABLACK (2018)
- Untitled (1-5) (2021)
- Bowl EP (2025)
- Practice (2025)
- Kat (2027)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Dramatists Guild of America | Young Playwright Award | Won | [8] | |
| Himan Brown Writing Award | VANTABLACK | Won | |||
| 2026 | Pulitzer Prize for Drama | Bowl EP | Nominated | [2] | |
| Obie Award | Outstanding New Play | Won | [18] | ||
| Dorian Award | Outstanding Off-Broadway Play | Nominated | [28][29] | ||
| Outstanding LGBTQ Off-Broadway Production | Nominated | ||||
| Outstanding Writing for an Off-Broadway Production | Nominated | ||||
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Bowl EP". Vineyard Theatre. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "'Liberation' Wins the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama". Playbill. 2026-05-04. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Practice (Production History)". Playwrights Horizons. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ "Nazareth Hassan". Berliner Festspiele. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Writer, director and musician Nazareth Hassan on managing fear about a full-time art career". The Creative Independent. 2026-02-17. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Nazareth Hassan PDF" (PDF). Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ "VANTABLACK – Stückemarkt 2019". Berliner Festspiele. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "MFA Playwrights Archive Spotlight". 3Views Theater. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ "UNTITLED". 3 Hole Press. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ "Open Call: Nazareth Hassan". The Shed. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ Hall, Margaret (March 11, 2025). "Nazareth Hassan's Bowl EP to Premiere at Vineyard Theatre". Playbill. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
- ↑ Soloski, Alexis (May 21, 2025). "Bowl EP Review: Sessions in Love". The New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
- ↑ Stewart, Zachary (May 18, 2025). "Review: Bowl EP, Nazareth Hassan's Queer Rap Concert at the Edge of the Galaxy". TheaterMania. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
- ↑ Hall, Margaret (May 4, 2026). "LIBERATION Wins 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama". Playbill. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
- ↑ Culwell-Block, Logan (3 May 2026). "Mexodus Wins 4 Lucille Lortel Awards; See the Full List of Winners". Playbill. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ "Schmigadoon!, Ragtime Win Big at 2026 Outer Critics Circle Awards; Read the Full List of Winners". Playbill. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
- ↑ Mandell, Jonathan (May 13, 2026). "2026 Dorian Theater Award Nominations: Schmigadoon, Lost Boys lead". New York Theater. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "The 69th Obie Award Winners". Obie Awards. 2026-01-31. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ "'Practice' Review: Nazareth Hassan's Theater of Control and Collapse". The New York Times. 2025-11-20. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ "MEXODUS and PRINCE F*GGOT Lead 2026 Lucille Lortel Nominations". BroadwayWorld. April 1, 2026. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
- ↑ Culwell-Block, Logan (3 May 2026). "Mexodus Wins 4 Lucille Lortel Awards; See the Full List of Winners". Playbill. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
- ↑ "kat". Theatre503. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ "Memoria A". Teatro UNAM. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ "All This Newness". The Barn at Lee. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ "Backstory: Politics, Pronouns". Playwrights Horizons. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ "Meet the Writers". Clubbed Thumb. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ "Nazareth Hassan PDF" (PDF). Nazareth Hassan Official Website. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
- ↑ Abourizk, Michael (May 13, 2026). "Dorian Theater Awards announces 2026 nominees". Broadway News. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
- ↑ Mandell, Jonathan (May 13, 2026). "2026 Dorian Theater Award Nominations: Schmigadoon, Lost Boys lead". New York Theater. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
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