Maya Washington

American poet

Maya Washington is an American filmmaker, actress, playwright, poet, writer, visualist, and arts educator. With a bachelor of arts in theatre from the University of Southern California and a master of fine arts in creative writing from Hamline University, Washington has garnered awards from[1]Jerome Foundation,[2] Minnesota State Arts Board,[3] Minnesota Film and Television, and many more. Her scholarship and creative projects approach issues of diversity and inclusion. Her film work has had a global reach, in Toronto, Budapest, Hong Kong, Berlin, and Rome.[4]

She wrote and directed the 2011 short film[5] White Space starring Ryan Lane, a selection of African American Short Films syndicated series, which follows the life of a deaf performance poet, and was featured as an official selection in over two dozen[6] film festivals, winning many awards. She produced and starred in Life Coach Chronicles (2013), an award-winning web series about friends and families, their circumstances, and their situations from writer and director Freda C. Hobbs. She wrote, directed, and starred in the award-winning short film Clear (2018) about an exoneree reconnecting with her daughter after serving 16 years for a crime she did not commit.[citation needed]

In 2018, Washington released her first feature-length documentary,[7] Through the Banks of the Red Cedar, premiering at the Detroit Free Press[8] Freep Film Festival. The film follows the 50-year legacy of Washington's father, Minnesota Vikings wide-receiver[9] Gene Washington, on his journey from the segregated south to Michigan State University, where he and his teammates led by head coach Duffy Daugherty , played on the first fully racially integrated college football teams, the 1965 and 1966 Spartans football teams.[citation needed]

## Literature

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* [10]Bodies Built for the Game edited by Natalie Diaz (University of Nebraska, 2019)
* [11]The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2 : Black Girl Magic edited by Mahogany L. Browne, Idrissa Simmonds, and Jamila Woods (Haymarket Books, 2018)
* Nothing To Lose But Our Chains: Black Voices on Activism, Resistance and Love edited by Marvin K. White (Justice Matters Press, 2018)
* [12]The Beiging of America: Personal Narratives About Being Mixed Race in the Twenty-First Century edited by Cathy J. Scholund-Vials and Tara Betts (2Leaf Press, 2017)
* [13]Prairie Schooner Special Issue: Sports, Winter 2015 edited by Natalie Diaz (University of Nebraska, 2019).
* [14]White Space Poetry Anthology edited by Maya Washington (White Space Poetry Project, 2014)
* [15]The Playwrights’ Center Monologues for Women edited by Kristen Gandrow (Heinemann Drama, 2005)

## Performance background

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As an actor, Washington has performed at a number of regional and national venues in the United States:[16]Trinity Repertory Company and[17]Penumbra Theatre where she originated the role of[18] August Jackson in William S. Yellow Robe Jr's national tour of Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers which included appearances at The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Dartmouth, Roundhouse Theater, and other venues nationwide; The Guthrie Theater as a[19] Christmas Carol Company Member for two seasons; History Theatre originating the role of Neecy in[20] Snapshots Life in the city a collaboration between Sounds of Blackness recording artist J.D. Steele and writer David Lawrence Grant, Children's Theatre Company, The Playwrights’ Center, Pillsbury House Theatre, The Powerhouse Theatre, The California Science Center, The House of Blues, and others.

Her play Colorful Women of Invention was commissioned by Youth Performance Company as a touring production in 2003.[21] Her full-length play, South of Adams, received a[22] staged reading at Congo Square Theatre in Chicago as part of the August Wilson Playwriting Initiative in 2005.

## References

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1. ^ "Past Grantees". Jerome Foundation. 2019-04-26.
2. ^ "Minnesota State Arts Board". Retrieved 2019-04-26.
3. ^ "Minnesota Film and TV Board ACHF Annual Report" (PDF). 2019-04-26.
4. ^ "Maya Washington website". Retrieved 2019-04-26.
5. ^ "TV Guide". TV Guide. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
6. ^ "Filmography". Retrieved 2019-04-26.
7. ^ "Through the Banks of the Red Cedar". Retrieved 2019-04-26.
8. ^ "Freep Film Festival Features Through the Banks of the Red Cedar". Fox 2 Detroit. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
9. ^ "Documentary Film Provides Generational Bridge for Gene Washington & Daughter". www.vikings.com. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
10. ^ BODIES BUILT FOR GAME : the prairie schooner anthology of contemporary sports. [S.l.]: UNIV OF NEBRASKA PRESS. 2019. ISBN 978-1496217738. OCLC 1089955460.
11. ^ Black girl magic. Browne, Mahogany L.,, Simmonds, Idrissa,, Woods, Jamila, 1989-, Smith, Patricia, 1955-. Chicago. 2018. ISBN 978-1608468577. OCLC 975378086.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
12. ^ The beiging of America : personal narratives about being mixed race in the 21st century. Schlund-Vials, Cathy J., 1974-, Forbes, Sean Frederick,, Betts, Tara. New York, NY: 2Leaf Press. 2017. ISBN 9781940939551. OCLC 1053839614.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: others (link)
13. ^ Diaz, Natalie (2016). "A Body of Athletics". Prairie Schooner. 89 (4): 7–15\. doi:10.1353/psg.2016.0018. ISSN 1542-426X. S2CID 74234813.
14. ^ White space poetry anthology. Washington, Maya. Minneapolis. 17 February 2014. ISBN 9780615622873. OCLC 908119550.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
15. ^ The Playwrights' Center monologues for women. Gandrow, Kristen., Carl, Polly K., Playwrights' Center (Minneapolis, Minn.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 2005. ISBN 0325007411. OCLC 56967112.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: others (link)
16. ^ "Theater Mania". Retrieved 2019-04-26.
17. ^ "Penumbra Theatre Repertoire". Retrieved 2019-04-26.
18. ^ "\'Grandchildren\' marries Native, Black history". districtchronicles. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
19. ^ "Guthrie Theater Presents Dickens' A Christmas Carol Previews Start Nov. 17". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
20. ^ "Past Seasons at History Theatre | History Theatre". www.historytheatre.com. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
21. ^ "Youth Performance Company: Growing like Crazy - Mn Artists". www.mnartists.org. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
22. ^ "Performance". Maya Washington. Retrieved 2019-04-26.

## External links

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* Official website

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States

Other|

* Yale LUX