Nazareth Hassan

Hassan is from Atlanta, Georgia, where both their father and grandmother were musicians, which introduced them to music at a young age. They got involved in musical theatre, but found more interest in directing.^[4][5] Hassan has spoken about growing up without much financial support, and how it was a large risk to pursue playwriting.^[5] In 2018, they graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drama and directing. They then attended Brooklyn College for creative writing and playwriting, graduating with a Master's of Fine Arts in 2020, as a Truman Capote Fellow.^[6]

Hassan notes they began writing plays to supplement their directing experience, calling their artistic model "always the director as the lead artist."^[5]

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

Hassan's first play, VANTABLACK, premiered while attending NYU at the Playwrights Horizons Theater School. The play explored what would happen in African-Americans in modern-day America were paid reparations that were promised in the 19th century—40 acres and a mule. For their work, they received the 2017 Dramatists Guild Young Playwright Award, followed by a staged reading at Theatertreffen in Berlin, Germany in 2019.^[7] They also received the Himan Brown Writing Award.^[8]

Their next play, Untitled (1-5), premiered as part of The Shed's Open Call Selection in 2020. Hassan co-directed the production with Talia Oliveras there in 2021, calling the piece an "exploration of opacity" involving rhythm and physicality.^[6][9][10]

In May 2025, their next play, Bowl EP, debuted Off-Broadway at Vineyard Theatre in a co-production with National Black Theatre. The play followed two teenage friends with aspiring rap careers and a love for skateboarding. Navigating queerness and masculinity, the play took place in a skate bowl.^[1] Hassan themself directed the production, which starred Essence Lotus, Oghenero Gbaje and Felicia Curry with original music by Free Fool.^[11] The production received critical acclaim, with The New York Times calling it a "messy, poignant and memorable new work"^[12] and TheatreMania praising it as "magnificently imaginative."^[13]

The show was nominated for the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama,^[14] along with three Lucille Lortel Award nominations,^[15] an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination,^[16] and four Dorian Award nominations,^[17] with Hassan receiving a 2026 Obie Award for Outstanding New Play.^[18]

The same year, their play Practice premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons, running October 30 through December 19, 2025. The play followed a play-within-a-play, with a company of actors working to make meaningful art.^[3] Directed by Keenan Tyler Oliphant, the production received positive reviews, with The New York Times calling it "shocking, darkly witty, and visually stunning" and naming it a Critic's Pick.^[19] The production was nominated for a 2026 Lucille Lortel Award for Oliphant's direction.^[20][21]

Their next play, Kat, is due to premiere in March 2027 at Theatre503 in London, England. The play follows a woman living at home with her ultra-conservative parents who sneaks out at night to cosplay as a cat.^[22][6]

Hassan has also performed in their own works, appearing in Memoria A in 2022 in Mexico City at Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo,^[23] and All this newness in 2024 at The Barn at Lee.^[24]

Hassan uses they/them pronouns.^[25] They currently live in Brooklyn, New York.^[26]

Source:^[27]

• VANTABLACK (2018)
• Untitled (1-5) (2021)
• Bowl EP (2025)
• Practice (2025)
• Kat (2027)