Patricia J. Gibson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952 |
| Died | October 20, 2002 (aged 83) |
| Other names | P.J. Gibson |
| Alma mater | Keuka College, Brandeis University |
| Occupation(s) | Playwright, teacher, and lecturer |
| Awards | National Endowment of the Arts playwriting grant |
Patricia Joann Gibson (1952-2022), also known as P.J. Gibson, was an African American playwright and teacher.
Patricia Joann Gibson was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1952.[1] She grew up in Trenton, New Jersey.[2] She started writing at the age of 9.[3]
She earned a BA in drama, religion, and English from Keuka College. She earned a MFA from Brandeis University in 1975, where she received a Schubert Fellowship.[2]
Gibson studied under J.P. Miller. Other mentors included Don Peterson and Israel Horovitz.[2] Lorraine Hansberry was a major influence on Gibson's work. Gibson saw To Be Young Gifted and Black in 1969, and started writing plays.[2]
She has written 35 full-length plays[3] and television scripts for Oprah Winfrey and Bill Cosby.[4]
Her play Miss Ann Don't Cry No More (1980) earned a National Endowment of the Arts grant. The play was performed as a reading at the Frank Silvera Writer's Workshop, and eventually fully produced at the Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center.[2]
Her play Long Time Since Yesterday earned multiple AUDELCO awards in 1985, including Best Play.[3] It has had over 60 productions since its premiere.[4]
Gibson was playwright-in-residence at Rutgers University, the University of California at Berkeley, and a lengthy stay at the College of New Rochelle[1] Gibson was an Artistic Director of the Rites and Reason Theatre at Brown University.[5]
Gibson taught as an assistant professor of English at John Jay College of Criminal Justice City University of New York.[2] She started on April 19, 1988 in the Seek Department, and in 1990 moved to the English department.[5]
She was part of the Woodie King Jr.'s New Federal Theatre playwriting faculty.[6]
Gibson died on May 6, 2022.[5]
John Jay College established a P.J. Gibson Memorial Scholarship for Creative Writers in her name.[4]