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John Patrick Shanley
John Patrick Shanley is a noted American playwright, screenwriter, and director. Born in 1950 in the Bronx, New York, Shanley is the son of a telephone operator and a meat-packer. After a two-year stint in the Marines, he returned to his home city and graduated as valedictorian from New York University. Much of his writing deals with the five boroughs of New York, including his break-through 1987 movie, Moonstruck, starring Cher, Nicholas Cage, and Olympia Dukakis, for which he received both an Academy Award and a Writers Guild of America Award. Shortly after this, Shanley wrote and directed the 1990 movie Joe Versus the Volcano. His most acclaimed script received honors for both stage and screen: Doubt: A Parable premiered off-Broadway in 2004 to critical acclaim. Shanley received a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, a Drama Desk Award, and a Tony Award for Best Play. Shanley also wrote and directed the 2008 movie version, starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and it was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay. His newest play, Pirate, debuted this summer, 2010, at Vassar College’s Powerhouse Theatre. [Biography by Erin Sullivan]