Leslie Brody Ph.D.
Edith R. White Chair in English and Literature; Professor
Creative Writing, Media & Communication, English
About
Immediately after high school, Leslie Brody became an underground press reporter, traveling throughout Europe and living in London while working in various countercultural occupations.
She later returned to California and worked as a librarian at the San Francisco College of Mortuary Science.
Professor Brody became involved with the One-Act Theatre Company of San Francisco as a resident playwright before moving to Minneapolis to continue work in theater on a fellowship at the Playwrights Center.
She worked at the Hungry Mind Bookstore as a store publicist and later joined The Hungry Mind Review as a columnist and contributing editor, writing numerous reviews.
During this period, she also wrote reviews for various national publications while her plays and opera librettos were produced around the country.
Brody subsequently moved to Connecticut to begin graduate school and became a staff book reviewer for Elle magazine.
Education
- Ph.D., University of Connecticut
- M.A., University of Connecticut
- B.A., San Francisco State University
Professional Background
Academic Experience
- University of Connecticut
Areas of Expertise
- Geographic information systems (GIS)
- Human population and urban studies
- Management information systems
- Renewable energy
Publications
Selected Produced Plays
- Quiet, Wyatt. Staged reading, Playwrights Theatre, Los Angeles, 2007.
- Harriet the Spy. Adaptation of Louise Fitzhugh’s novel. Seattle Children’s Theatre School, summer 1999.
- Harriet the Spy. Adaptation. Children’s Theatre Company, 1988.
- Emma Rothstein. New Classic Theatre, 1986; Tracey Roberts Studio, First Street Playhouse, 1987; One-Act Theatre Company, 1979.
- Baby Love. Theatre Three, 1986.
- Quiet, Wyatt. North American History Theatre, 1987.
- History of Rapture. Red Eye Collaboration, Intersection.
- Water Flowing Under. Bay Area Playwrights Festival, 1981; Playwrights Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1984.
- Questionnaire. One-Act Theatre Company, San Francisco, 1978. Reviews available upon request.
Opera Librettos
- Hawks and Doves, commissioned by the New Music Theatre Ensemble. Composer: Leslie Ball. In process.
- Invited participant, Composer/Librettist Studio, Opera for the Eighties and Beyond, 1995.
- The Black Rose of the Forest Perilous, in collaboration with composer David John Olson.
- Lilith by the Sea, with Miriam Gerberg. Commissioned by the Minnesota Opera’s New Music Theatre Ensemble, 1988.
Radio Plays
- Emma Rothstein, KPFA, Berkeley.
- History of Rapture, National Public Radio.
Presentations
- Octagon Theatre, University of Bolton, England, 2007.
- Camargo Foundation, 2005.
- SpeakOut Reading, April 2003.
- Collegial Conversation, October 2002.
- Book reception with Ralph Angel and Pat Geary, May 2002.
- Los Angeles Times Book Fair, “Inside Out: The Art of the Memoir,” April 2002.
- Selected panelist, Board of Trustees Retreat, “Art in the Aftermath of 9/11,” November 2001.
- Reading and discussion of Red Star Sister, California Institute of Technology, November 2001.
- Panelist and moderator, Campus Conversation, October 2001.
- Associated Writing Programs Conference panelist, “Film and the Literary Arts,” April 2001.
- Reading, University of California, Riverside Writers Week, February 2001.
- Sundance Writers Reading, Park City, Utah, January 2001.
- Reading, Northlight Books, December 1998.
- Reading, Frugal Frigate, Redlands, March 1999.
- Reading, Cornelia Street Café, New York City, April 1999.
- Reading, University of Connecticut, invited by the English department.
- National Public Radio, All Things Considered, September 1998.
- Blue Moon Bookstore, San Diego, September 1998.
- Midnight Special Bookstore, Los Angeles, September 1998.
- Much Ado About Books, Redlands, September 1998.
- Diesel Books, Oakland, December 1998.
- Book Passage, Marin County, December 1998.
Awards and Service
- Red Star Sister awarded the 1999 PEN Center USA West Prize for Creative Nonfiction.
- National Endowment for the Arts fellowship for short fiction.
- McKnight Award in screenwriting.
- Two Jerome Fellowships in playwrighting.
- Dayton Hudson Grant for literary criticism.
- Sundance Fellowship in arts journalism.
- International writing fellowships at the Camargo Foundation in France and Hawthornden Castle in Scotland.
- Writer-in-residence or fellow at the MacDowell Colony, Centrum, Yaddo, Ragdale, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.