Nemeth, Sally

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Nemeth, Sally

PERSONAL:

Born in Chicago, IL; daughter of Ed (a steel mill worker) and Nan (an English teacher). Education: Attended Northwestern University.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—Andrea Simon, Andrea Simon Entertainment, 14011 Ventura Blvd., #101, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423.

CAREER:

Playwright, 1982—. Founder, Chicago New Plays.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Received awards from London Fringe Theatre and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, both for Holy Days; awards from American Bar Association and National Council on Crime and Delinquency, both for episodes of Law & Order; National Endowment for the Arts grant; New York Foundation for the Arts grant.

WRITINGS:

The Heights, the Depths, and Everything in Between (novel), Alfred A. Knopf (New York, NY), 2006.

PLAYS

Flight (one-act), first produced in Chicago, IL, 1982.

Modern Lit, first produced in Chicago, IL, 1982.

Holy Days (first produced at Soho Poly, London, England, 1983), published in Plays from South Coast Rep, Broadway Play Publishing, 1993.

Mill Fire (first produced in Chicago, IL, 1989), published in Women's Work, Applause, 1989.

Spinning into Blue, first produced at Victory Garden Theater, Chicago, IL, 1993.

Water Play (first produced at Downtown Art Company, New York, NY, 1993), published in Facing Forward (anthology), Broadway Play Publishing, 1995.

Sally's Shorts: An Evening of Short Plays (first produced in New York, NY, 1994; includes Black Cloud Morning, NY, The Cat Act, Lily, Living in This World, PreNuptial Agreement, Visions of Grandeur, Pagan Day, and Word Games), Dramatists Play Service (New York, NY), 1995.

Blood Sugar (one-act), first produced in Chicago, IL, 1998.

TELEVISION

"Star Struck," Law & Order, National Broadcasting Company, Inc. (NBC), 1992.

"Cradle to Grave," Law & Order, NBC, 1992.

"Intolerance," Law & Order, NBC, 1992.

"Born Bad" Law & Order, NBC, 1993.

Rise and Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story, Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox), 1994.

The Promise (drama), NBC, 1999.

(With Bruce Graham) Right on Track, Disney Channel, 2003.

Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door, Hallmark Entertainment, 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

For more than two decades Sally Nemeth has explored the worlds of writing for the theater and for television. It was when she was attending Northwestern University in Chicago, she explained on her home page, that she began writing seriously for the stage. She won accolades for her play Holy Days, a story of the bleak life of Kansas farmers during the 1930s, the dust bowl years of the Great Depression. The work was staged in both London and Los Angeles, and received major awards for both productions. She later moved into television, writing episodes for the acclaimed dramatic series Law & Order. "When people ask me if I'm a playwright or screenwriter or a novelist," Nemeth confided on her home page, "I can honestly say that no, I'm just a writer, and that's all I've ever wanted to be."

In 2006 Nemeth published her first book, the novel The Heights, the Depths, and Everything in Between, the story of a relationship between two best friends, one of whom happens to be a dwarf and the other unusually tall. "This look at the private lives and real troubles of young teenagers," wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor, "is filled with believable moments and humor." "Readers," concluded Debbie Carton in Booklist, "will relate to this satisfying tale of platonic best friends, whose relationship sustains them through difficult times."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July 1, 2006, Debbie Carton, review of The Heights, the Depths, and Everything in Between, p. 58.

Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2006, review of The Heights, the Depths, and Everything in Between, p. 636.

New York Times, October 19, 1989, Laurie Winer, "Heat on Many Levels, in Sally Nemeth's ‘Mill Fire’"; February 28, 1994, John J. O'Connor, "Football Hero Triumphs after His Final Game."