Stephen Adly Guirgis

Stephen Adly Guirgis is a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor. He grew up on the Upper West Side of New York City, attending school in Harlem. Guirgis studied at the University of Albany, SUNY, graduating in 1992. Some of his most famous works include Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train (2000), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (2005), and Between Riverside and Crazy (2015) for which he won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Guirgis has had his plays be produced both off and on Broadway as well as in the UK. He is also a member and the former co-artistic director of the New York City LAByrinth Theatre Company.

Guirgis is also an actor and has performed in films (Palindromes, Jailbait), TV (Law & Order), and on stage (Guinea Pig Solo). Guirgis has directed productions across the USA including Sistah Supreme (2000), Behind the Counter with Mussolini (1998, 2002), and Kiss Me on the Mouth (2009). Through his work in theatre, Guirgis has used improvisational theatre to teach HIV/AIDS prevention and conflict resolution in prisons, schools, and hospitals. He was a close friend of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman and often collaborated with him in his theatre works. In addition to his Pulitzer Prize, Guirgis is the recipient of the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize, the Lucille Lortel Award, and Whiting Award.