Research a Playwright

The playwright that I choose to do this blog on is Julie Taymor. Julie Taymor is an amazing playwright of our time, in my opinion that is. She is most widely known for her work on Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway. Taymor received two Tony Awards for this production; one for the costume designs and one for her direction. She became the first women to receive a Tony Award for directing a musical. In the year 1991 Julie won the MacArthur "genius" award for her work in theatre. She has made such an impact on theatre with her work on The Lion King alone, not even mentioning her other great works.
Another great piece that Julie Taymor directed was Across the Universe, a love story set to the music of the Beatles. The film opened in September 2007 and received a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Comedy/Musical in 2008. Julie has a way of putting to life what others could not have even fathomed, she has her own unique style on the productions she is involved in. Julie was also selected to direct the new musical production known as Spider-Man musical adaptation, which is scheduled to hit Broadway in February of 2010.
As a teenager, during the 1960s, she lived in Sri Lanka and India with the Experiment in International Living program, then studied acting in Paris, at the mime school of Jacques Lecoq. From 1969 to 1974 she studied theatre and mythology at Oberlin College, graduating in 1974 with a degree in folklore and mythology. With Julie having traveled from the time she was very young, she, I would assume, knows very much about other cultures and is highly educated. In the one article I was reading it stated that Julie was interested in theatre from the time she was very young, fond of international folklore and mythology. Julie Taymor has a very strong background in theatre judging by her numerous credentials I the field. For that reason I would trust her opinion on directing and what not because she is very talented and she obviously knows a lot about what she is talking about.
I find so numerous things about the work of Julie Taymor interesting that it is hard to narrow it down to just a few. First off, in her production of the Lion King, I thought it was literally amazing. The costumes, the effect, the music, everything was honestly exactly how I pictured it would be. It amazes me that she directed it, of course there were many other hands involved, but she solely alone directed it. I think that Julie Taymor has a way of thinking that is separate from most people’s perspectives on certain things. Reason being because when she initially did the costumes for the Lion King, she was the first one to do anything like that. She made such life like costumes that no director had ever even thought of before. And mainly for that reason, I give her a lot of respect.
Julie’s most influential work would have to be The Lion King production. I grew up watching The Lion King, it was my favorite movie as a kid. I think that is why I like her so much, and because the Broadway production was so much better than even I thought it was going to be. Also, with her work in Across the Universe, I thought she did a very good job. I think working with such an influential group as The Beatles would be a difficult task because everyone is going to be critiquing it. So if something was a little off everyone would know. Even despite this Julie did a very good job.
I find Julie in general as a very inspiring person because even from a young age she knew she loved the theatre and art and she knew that was where she wanted to go. She strove to reach her dreams and she definitely obtained that of what she went for. I am sure there were times where she questioned her abilities to fulfill her dreams, but she achieved them. Most people are not able to travel the country at all, let alone at there preteen age years like Julie did. While she was traveling she studied the use of puppets being used within ritual services. She brought what she studied back with her to the United States. Using this unique puppet style, she quickly made a name for herself as a innovative director.
There are many reasons why anyone should pick Julie Taymor for this project. These are just some of the reasons as to why I think Julie is an amazing director and individual in general. She is probably one of the most talented directors of our age today, in my opinion of course.