Author
Betty Shamieh
Betty Shamieh is the author of fifteen plays and the Mellon Foundation Playwright in Residence at the Classical Theatre of Harlem (CTH). Her comedy, MALVOLIO, premiered in the Uptown Shakespeare in the Park at the Richard Rodgers Amphitheatre and was a New York Times Critic's Pick. Winner of the 2023 New York Shakespeare Award for Best Comedy, MALVOLIO was nominated for ten AUDELCO Awards, including Best Play. A graduate of Harvard College and the Yale School of Drama, Shamieh was named a UNESCO Young Artist for Intercultural Dialogue, Harvard University Clifton Visiting Artist, a Denning Visiting Artist at Stanford, and Radcliffe Playwriting Fellow. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for Drama in 2016. Her dramedy, ROAR, premiered off-Broadway at the New Group and was named a New York Times Critic's Pick. Her other theatre productions include: THE BLACK EYED (New York Theatre Workshop & The Magic Theatre), FIT FOR A QUEEN (Classical Theatre of Harlem), THE MACHINE (Naked Angels), THE STRANGEST (The Semitic Root), and TERRITORIES (EU Capital of Culture Festival & The Magic Theatre). Shamieh wrote and co-starred in her play of monologues, CHOCOLATE IN HEAT, in two extended Off-Off-Broadway runs and over twenty university theatres. Her works have been translated into seven languages. Her debut novel, Too Soon, will be published by Avid Reader Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, in 2025. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook @bettyshamieh.