Oliver Mayer

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Oliver Mayer
Born
Hollywood, California
EducationCornell University (BA)
Columbia University (MFA)
Occupation(s)Playwright, professor, author, essayist, screenwriter
SpouseMarlene Forte (m. 2006)

Oliver Mayer is an American playwright, professor, author, essayist and screenwriter currently residing in Los Angeles, California with his wife, the actress Marlene Forte.[1][2] He is currently employed with the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts as a tenured professor of dramatic writing as well as an Associate Dean of Faculty and Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives.[3] Some of his written works include the plays Blade to the Heat, Members Only and Yerma in the Desert along with several other works which have brought him attention in part for their regular addressing of issues of sexuality and gender rights.[4] As librettist, his collaborations with composers David Conte and Jenni Brandon have led to numerous operas and other sung pieces performed internationally. In addition to his theatrical productions, Oliver Mayer is also a published poet and the co-author of a short, illustrated children's book, Big Dog on Campus, along with Patricia Rae.[1]

Early life and career

Oliver Mayer was born in Hollywood, California to Gloria and Alexander A. Mayer.[5][6] His father, Alexander, was an American who worked as an Art director with Universal Studios for more than 20 years before passing away, and his mother was a Mexican American who worked in nursing administration and had an influence over her son's interest in theater as she wanted him to be an actor while he was a child.[6][7]  In 1978, at the age of 13, Mayer was taken to see the play Zoot Suit, which ultimately served to further inspire him to take up a career in play-writing.[7]

During his childhood, Mayer suffered from bullying and ultimately took up boxing as a means to cope with the pressure.  He took weekly lessons between the ages of 13 and 17.  He then went on to study English and vocal music at Cornell University, and spent his junior year abroad at the University of Oxford where he was inspired to receive a Master of Fine Arts in play writing from Columbia University.[6]

Mayer had his first work produced in 1985 at the age of 20 and returned to Los Angeles, California after college in 1989.[1][5]  He joined the faculty at the University of Southern California in 2003 and went on to spend seven years interviewing to become a professor with tenure.[5] Playwright and screenwriter Jose Rivera calls Mayer "A great writer with firebrand dialogue (who) contributes not just as a playwright, but as an educator and a Latino who has kept his roots."

Major works

Yerma in the Desert

Yerma in the Desert is one of Mayer's more recent theatrical productions that premiered in Los Angeles, California at the Greenway Court Theatre and Urban Theatre Movement in mid-November 2017.[8]  The piece focuses on a woman by the name of Yerma who is being denied romantic intimacy with and by her spouse, Juan, as she is tied to a loveless marriage by the prospect of having children.[4]  The play addresses gender equality in the professional sector, LGBTQ themes and deportations within the United States of America.  Yerma in the Desert is an attempt to capture the message and subject of Federico Garcia Lorca's play, Yerma, in a modern-day setting as the production takes place within a university and is heavily focused on the custodial staff as opposed to the student body.[8][4]

Blade to the Heat and Members Only

Among Mayer's more notable works, Blade to the Heat, is a play that centers on two boxers respectively of Mexican American and

Paul Calderon, Raymond Cruz
and David Anzuelo.

3 Paderewskis and America Tropical

3 Paderewskis was the winner of the 2019 American Prize for new opera. It was commissioned by the

Ignace Jan Paderewski. It received its world premiere at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and was also performed at the Aula Nova in Poznań
, Poland.

America Tropical is an opera in one act composed by David Conte with Mayer's libretto. It follows the creation and eventual destruction of the América Tropical: Oprimida y Destrozada por los Imperialismos mural on Olvera Street in Los Angeles in 1932 by Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros, and connects the mural both to the founding of the city in 1781 and to the Rodney King beating in 1991 through its unswerving view of race, ethnicity and class. Even as the image is literally whitewashed, the mural's images and call to action ghost through. It received its world premiere in San Francisco in 2007.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Oliver Mayer". 50 Playwrights Project. August 7, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  2. ^ "Marlene Forte Biography". www.filmreference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  3. ^ "Oliver Mayer". olivermayer.com. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d Khordoc, Michel. "Oliver Mayer: The Socially Engaged Artist With A Cause" (PDF). Lesbian News Magazine. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d Martinez, Julio (September 15, 2017). "Playwright Oliver Mayer's "Yerma in the Desert"". thisstage.la. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d Miller, Daryl H. (October 22, 2018). "Oliver Mayer returns to the boxing ring with his new play, 'Members Only'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Creator Corner: Interview with Playwright Oliver Mayer". www.thefandomentals.com. October 22, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Robinson, Charlotte (October 27, 2017). "Playwright Oliver Mayer Talks "Yerma in The Desert" and LGBTQ Issues (AUDIO)". Huffington Post. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  9. ^ Isherwood, Charles (March 29, 1996). "Blade to the Heat". Variety. Retrieved December 7, 2018.

External links

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