{{Short description|American playwright}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox person | occupation = Playwright; lecturer | employer = NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts | known_for = ''Sagittarius Ponderosa''<br> ''A Transparent Musical'' | parents = Laura Schulz | relatives = Kathryn Schulz (aunt) | website = https://mjkaufman.com/ }}
'''MJ Kaufman''' is an American playwright and academic, who is Head of Playwriting at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Their plays often deal with themes relating to transgender relationships or queer perspectives, including ''Sagittarius Ponderosa, Seven Deadly Sins'' and ''Galatea or Whatever You Be.'' Based on Amazon Prime's ''Transparent'''','' Kaufman also co-wrote ''A Transparent Musical.'' They have been the recipient of a Helen Merrill Emerging Writers Award and the Jane Chambers Prize in Feminist Theatre.
== Career == Kaufman was educated at Wesleyan University and Yale School of Drama.<ref name=":9" /> In 2016 ''Eat And You Belong To Us'', a play about transgender life in the USA, debuted at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York City.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Play About Trans Identity in America Gets NYC Reading {{!}} Playbill |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/play-about-trans-identity-in-america-gets-nyc-reading |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124010412/https://www.playbill.com/article/play-about-trans-identity-in-america-gets-nyc-reading |archive-date=November 24, 2020 |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=Playbill |language=en}}</ref> It is inspired by the relationship between a transgender grandparent and their trans grandchild, as well as medieval chronicles and Joan of Arc.<ref name=":6" /> A further work that year, ''Sagittarius Ponderosa,'' used magical realism to portray the life of a transgender man called Archer.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Blum |first=Gillian |title=MJ Kaufman's SAGITTARIUS PONDEROSA kicks off Austin Rainbow Theatre Season 3: Metamorphosis |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/austin/article/MJ-Kaufmans-SAGITTARIUS-PONDEROSA-kicks-off-Austin-Rainbow-Theatre-Season-3-Metamorphosis-20250921 |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Medalle |first=Rovie Herrera |date=February 24, 2016 |title=Breaking Racial and Ethnic Stereotypes on the American Stage: National Asian American Theatre Company’s 25th Anniversary |url=https://journals.openedition.org/miranda/8330 |journal=Miranda. Revue pluridisciplinaire du monde anglophone |language=en |issue=12 |doi=10.4000/miranda.8330 |issn=2108-6559}}</ref> The play was noted for its multi-sensory production, including the audience inhaling the scent of Ponderosa pine.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blankenship |first=Mark |date=February 24, 2016 |title=Aroma-turgy: What’s Smell Got to Do With It? |url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2016/02/24/aroma-turgy-whats-smell-got-to-do-with-it/ |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=AMERICAN THEATRE |language=en-US}}</ref> Premiering at the New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco in February 2016, the ''San Francisco Examiner'' reviewed Kaufman's writing as having a "gift for dialogue but fall[ing] short of offering a distinct point of view".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sokol |first=Robert |date=February 4, 2016 |title=Family drama ‘Sagittarius Ponderosa’ needs focus |url=https://www.sfexaminer.com/culture/family-drama-sagittarius-ponderosa-needs-focus/article_12886387-36e2-5259-94d2-d7fd1dd9d619.html |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=San Francisco Examiner |language=en}}</ref> This sentiment was echoed by the ''New York Times'' who praised the production and sound design, but felt the characterisation was "flat".<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 1, 2016 |title=Review: In ‘Sagittarius Ponderosa,’ New Self Confronts Old (Published 2016) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/02/theater/review-sagittarius-ponderosa.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621082647/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/02/theater/review-sagittarius-ponderosa.html |archive-date=June 21, 2022 |access-date=January 12, 2026 |language=en}}</ref>
''Sensitive Guys'' was also developed in 2016 and is a play that addresses toxic masculinity and rape culture on university campuses.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=phillygaynews |date=January 11, 2018 |title=Philly playwright MJ Kaufman brings ‘Sensitive Guys’ home to InterAct Theatre |url=https://epgn.com/2018/01/11/philly-playwright-mj-kaufman-brings-sensitive-guys-home-to-interact-theatre/ |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=Philadelphia Gay News |language=en-US}}</ref> It debuted in 2018 at InterAct Theatre.<ref name=":0" /> A review in ''Philadelphia'' described the play as "big on dogma, short on insight" and suggested that the "well-produced but often irritating" play left audiences without nuanced insight into the issues it portrayed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fox |first=David |date=January 27, 2018 |title=REVIEW: In Sensitive Guys at InterAct, Satire with a Heavy Hand |url=https://www.phillymag.com/2018/01/27/review-sensitive-guys-interact-satire-heavy-hand/ |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=Philadelphia Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2018 they were interviewed by the ''New York Times'' with Basil Kreimendahl and Jess Barbagallo to discuss what it means to be transgender and a playwright.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=Soloski |first=Alexis |title=Transgender Playwrights: ‘We Should Get to Tell Our Own Stories First’ |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/theater/transgender-playwrights-we-should-get-to-tell-our-own-stories-first.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109235311/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/theater/transgender-playwrights-we-should-get-to-tell-our-own-stories-first.html |archive-date=November 9, 2016 |access-date=January 12, 2026 |language=en}}</ref> All three expressed frustration with the limitations societally imposed and the expectation that a "trans play" is only likely to be a coming-out play.<ref>{{Citation |last=Rezes |first=Jo Michael |title=Trans Inclusion, Gender Expansion, and the New Queer Theatre |date=May 9, 2025 |work=Milestones in Queer US Theatre |pages=149–167 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781003323778/chapters/10.4324/9781003323778-10 |access-date=January 12, 2026 |edition=1 |place=London |publisher=Routledge |language=en |doi=10.4324/9781003323778-10 |isbn=978-1-003-32377-8|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaufman was one of seven writers who contributed short plays to the production ''Seven Deadly Sins.''<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Prescod |first=Ayanna |date=June 30, 2021 |title=‘Seven Deadly Sins’ Review: Taking Orthodox Theater Outdoors Without Defiling the Soul |url=https://variety.com/2021/legit/reviews/seven-deadly-sins-review-new-york-city-1235008090/ |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Miami Outdoor Theater Hit Announces a New York Arrival |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/14/theater/the-seven-deadly-sins-new-york.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414172056/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/14/theater/the-seven-deadly-sins-new-york.html |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=January 12, 2026 |language=en}}</ref> This was an outdoor performance where each play was performed in an empty shopfront in the Meatpacking District of New York.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite news |title=Storefronts Turned Stages for ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/23/theater/seven-deadly-sins-meatpacking-district.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623171351/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/23/theater/seven-deadly-sins-meatpacking-district.html |archive-date=June 23, 2021 |access-date=January 12, 2026 |language=en}}</ref> Audience members used headsets to hear the sound and dialogue.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Sims |first=Joey |date=June 30, 2021 |title=‘Seven Deadly Sins’ rouses downtown NYC back to life with shocking, powerful theatre |url=https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/reviews/review-seven-deadly-sins |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=New York Theatre Guide |language=en}}</ref> Each writer responded to a different deadly sin: Kaufman's was pride.<ref name=":5" /> Other writers included Ngozi Anyanwu, Thomas Bradshaw, Moisés Kaufman (who also directed the show), Jeffrey LaHoste, Ming Peiffer and Bess Wohl; the addressed the respective sins of gluttony, sloth, greed, envy, wrath and lust.<ref name=":5" /> ''Variety'' reviewed the show as a "well-curated, innovative theatrical experience [that] stretches the limits of traditional performance".<ref name=":5" /> The ''New York Theatre Guide'' reviewed Kaufman's contribution as one that "captures the contradictions of queer life in the United States, where some can happily monetize their identities while others still live in fear, with quick wit and incredible precision".<ref name=":7" /> The ''New York Times'' reviewed is as "a pointed critique of the commercialization of queer advocacy".<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 30, 2021 |title=‘Seven Deadly Sins’ Review: Pride and Pole Dancing Behind Glass (Published 2021) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/theater/seven-deadly-sins-review-tectonic-moises-kaufman.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251004013626/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/theater/seven-deadly-sins-review-tectonic-moises-kaufman.html |archive-date=October 4, 2025 |access-date=January 12, 2026 |language=en}}</ref>
Also in 2021, Kaufman's ''Galatea or Whatever You Be, a'' genderqueer translation of ''Gallathea'' by John Lyly, was debuted.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Julie Crawford of Columbia University on Galatea by MJ Kaufman {{!}} WP Theater WP Theater |url=https://wptheater.org/julie-crawford-of-columbia-university-on-galatea-by-mj-kaufman/ |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=wptheater.org}}</ref> Described as a "trans love story set against the backdrop of a climate crisis",<ref>{{Cite web |title=Galatea {{!}} New Play Exchange |url=https://newplayexchange.org/script/2010583/galatea |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=newplayexchange.org}}</ref> the work was directed by Mo Zhou.<ref>{{Cite web |title=5 New Shows That Will Make You Believe in the Future of Theatre |url=https://playbill.com/article/5-new-shows-that-will-make-you-believe-in-the-future-of-theatre |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250420130636/https://playbill.com/article/5-new-shows-that-will-make-you-believe-in-the-future-of-theatre |archive-date=April 20, 2025 |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=Playbill |language=en-US}}</ref> Kaufman was explicit about sexual politics in the play, portraying "Diana and her nymphs a ‘lesbian separatist commune’".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Potter |first=Lois |date=November 1, 2021 |title=Performance Review: Gallathea by John Lyly |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/01847678211044445c |journal=Cahiers Élisabéthains |language=EN |volume=106 |issue=1 |pages=94–98 |doi=10.1177/01847678211044445c |issn=0184-7678|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Based on Amazon Prime's ''Transparent'', ''A Transparent Musical'' was co-written by Kaufman with Joey Soloway and Faith Soloway.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Wexler |first=Matthew |title=EXCLUSIVE First Look: A Transparent Musical |url=https://www.intomore.com/entertainment/theater/exclusive-first-look-a-transparent-musical/ |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=INTO |language=en}}</ref> It was debuted in 2023 by the Center Theatre Group.<ref name=":4" /> Kaufman's 2024 work ''A Walrus in the Body of a Crocodile'' also examined gender and society.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Penalva |first=Joanna |date=February 18, 2025 |title=‘A Walrus in the Body of a Crocodile’ Continues Department of Drama’s 2024/2025 Season |url=https://news.syr.edu/2025/02/18/a-walrus-in-the-body-of-a-crocodile-continues-department-of-dramas-2024-2025-season/ |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=Syracuse University Today |language=en-US}}</ref>
As of 2026 Kaufman is Head of Playwriting at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=MJ Kaufman |url=http://tisch.nyu.edu/about/directory/dramatic-writing/1070437565.html |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=tisch.nyu.edu |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Personal life == Kaufman is originally from Portland;<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Polak |first=Brian James |date=July 26, 2023 |title=The Subtext: MJ Kaufman at Heart, at Home |url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2023/07/26/the-subtext-mj-kaufman-at-heart-at-home/ |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=AMERICAN THEATRE |language=en-US}}</ref> they are transgender.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":0" /> Their mother is psychologist Laura Schulz and their aunt is journalist Kathryn Schulz.<ref>Laura E. Schulz: Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology. (2014). ''American Psychologist'', ''69''(8), 749–751.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ISAAC SCHULZ Obituary (1941 - 2016) - Cleveland Heights, OH - Cleveland.com |url=https://obits.cleveland.com/us/obituaries/cleveland/name/isaac-schulz-obituary?id=19101154 |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=Legacy.com}}</ref>
== Awards ==
* 2010: Jane Chambers Prize in Feminist Theatre<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jane Chambers |url=https://www.womenandtheatreprogram.com/jane-chambers |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=Women & Theatre |language=en}}</ref> * 2013: ASCAP Cole Porter Prize in Playwriting<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 12, 2013 |title=Yale School of Drama Annual Magazine - 2013 |url=https://issuu.com/yalerep/docs/2013drama_final/61 |access-date=January 12, 2026 |website=Yale School of Drama |language=en}}</ref> * 2017: Helen Merrill Emerging Writers Award<ref name=":9" />
== Selected works ==
* ''Eat And You Belong To Us'' (2016)<ref name=":6" /> * ''Sensitive Guys'' (2016)<ref name=":0" /> * ''Sagittarius Ponderosa'' (2016)<ref name=":6" />''<ref name=":1" />'' * ''Galatea or Whatever You Be'' (2021) * 'Wild Pride' in ''Seven Deadly Sins'' (2021)<ref name=":5" /> * ''A Transparent Musical'' (2023)<ref name=":4" /> * ''A Walrus in the Body of a Crocodile'' (2024)<ref name=":2" />
== References == <references /> {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaufman, MJ}} Category:People from Portland, Oregon Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Transgender dramatists and playwrights Category:American dramatists and playwrights Category:Wesleyan University alumni Category:David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni