Hilary Bettis | |
|---|---|
| Born | California, US |
| Occupation | playwright, an actress, a producer, and a writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | The Juilliard School |
| Genres | dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama |
| Notable works | "Alligator", "The Ghosts of Lote Bravo", "Dakota Atoll", "Mexico", "The Bronze Serpent", "American Girls" |
| Website | |
| http://hilarybettiswriter.com/ | |
Hilary Bettis is a playwright, an actress, a producer, and a writer.
She was a runner-up for the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, a runner-up for the Nuestras Voces National Playwriting Competition, honorable mention of "Dakota Atoll" and nomination of "Alligator" for The Kilroys' List 2015, selected and participated in the National New Play Network (NNPN)/Kennedy Center MFA Workshop in 2015 with "The Ghosts of Lote Bravo", "The Ghosts of Lote Bravo" will be in the NNPN National Showcase of New Plays for 2015 and has been featured in the 2014 Crossing Border Festival, "The History of American Pornography" was featured in the 2015 DNA New Work Series run by the La Jolla Playhouse, "Alligator" was featured in the O'Neill Center's National Playwrights Conference in 2012. She was awarded the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Fellowship , the 2050 Fellowship at New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW), the James McLure Fellowship New River Dramatists, the John N. Wall Fellowship, the Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST)/Sloan Commission in 2011, the Cherry Jones/Abingdon Theatre Company Grant, and nominated for the Playwrights of New York Fellowship. She was also presented an award by the Lecomte du Noüy Foundation. [1]
She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, Actors' Equity Association, Dramatists Guild, The Drama League of New York, Theatre Communications Group, The Playwrights’ Center, Fractured Atlas, EST, Project Y Writer's Group, Bookshop Workshops. She is also a New Georges Affiliated Artist and an NYTW Usual Suspect.[1]
She has also written various articles in the related to theatre, specifically for offoffonline.com. [2]
"American Girls"
edit"American Girls" has been produced twice: Once by The Dog-Run Repertory Theatre Company in New York, NY in 2008 and once by the Edge Theater Company in Lakewood, CO in 2015. Bettis played Amanda in the 2008 production. The play has had mixed critical reception. Critics agree that Bettis captures the teenage mindset well in the play in both mannerism and dialogue, specifically citing the fluid changes of emotion common in the teenage brain. However, Juliet Wittman and Mark Blankenship (the critics reviewing from Westword and Variety, respectively) differ in the opinions on how the deeper meaning of the play is expressed on stage. Blankenship explains that he thinks the play comes off very contradictory. The messages about religion and mainstream 21st century culture aren't as powerful as they could be because the girls seem too smart to be fooled into a pornography. [3][4] For Wheeler, the play clearly shows the conflicts between the education given by a rigid religious upbringing and the education given by the pop culture icons of this generation. He attributes this to Bettis' script and the combination of Justin Lane's set design and El Armstrong's video and sound design, specifically with regards to the talk show videos in the later stages of the play.[5] However, both Blankenship and Nelson criticize the low quality of the segment of the play that mimics a talk show in the 2008 production.[6] "American Girls" was also included in the Smith & Kraus Best Monologues of 2009 and Best Stage Scenes of 2008. [7]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Herman U.S.A. | Girl | Romantic Comedy Film |
| 2002 | Ultimate Revenge | Girl | TV Series |
| 2002 | The Violent Kind | Beth | Horror Film |
| 2002 | Bittersweet Lies | Brooke | Drama Film |
| 2004 | Running | Drug Addict | Drama Film |
| 2009 | B-Hurst | Sam | Kickstarter Short Drama |
Written Works
editFull-Length Plays
edit- American Girls
- Mexico
- Alligator
- Dakota Atoll
- The Ghosts of Lote Bravo
- The History of American Pornography
- Blood & Dust
Short Plays
edit- The Mud Hole
- Two Lovers
- The Bronze Serpent
Screenplays
edit- B'Hurst
- The Iron Warehouse
- The Lost Coyote Cabaret
References
edit- ^ a b "About Hilary Bettis". 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ "Hilary Bettis Press". 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ Wittman, Juliet (September 16, 2015). "Review: "American Girls" Dances with the Challenge of Teenagers". Westword.
- ^ Blankenship, Mark (April 7, 2008). "Review: 'American Girls'". Variety.
- ^ Wheeler, Bill. "American Girls". Theatercolorado.blogspot.com. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ Nelson, Anthony C.E. (April 5, 2008). "American Girls". NYTheatre. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ Ribalow, M.Z. "Hilary Bettis, American Girls (Youth Lessons)". Clocktower.org. Retrieved 6 December 2015.