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==Life and work==
==Life and work==
He is the son of the earlier college professor and now actor [[Dennis Letts]] and best selling author [[Billie Letts]]. His brother Shawn is a jazz musician and composer. Tracy grew up in [[Durant, Oklahoma]] and he graduated from [[Durant High School]]. After graduating in the early 80s he moved to [[Dallas]]. He stayed there for two years, while he waited tables and worked in telemarketing, and he also got the part in a one-man play, Jerry Flemmons' ''O Dammit!'', which was part of a ''New Playwrights Series'' sponsored by the [[Southern Methodist University]]. Letts moved to [[Chicago]] at the age of 20, and worked for the next 11 years at [[Steppenwolf]] and [[Famous Door]]. In 1991, a time when he had an alcohol problem, he wrote the play ''Killer Joe''. (He would later join [[Alcoholics Anonymous]], and has today been sober for over 13 years.) Two years later, the play premiered at the [[Next Lab Theater]] in Chicago and then at 29th Street Rep in NYC. Since then, ''Killer Joe'' has been performed in at least 15 countries in 12 languages.[http://dallasobserver.com/2003-11-27/news/sweet-revenge/]
Letts is the son of the one-time college professor and now actor [[Dennis Letts]] and best selling author [[Billie Letts]]. His brother Shawn is a [[jazz music]]ian and composer. Tracy grew up in [[Durant, Oklahoma]] and he graduated from [[Durant High School]]. After graduating in the early 80s he moved to [[Dallas]]. He stayed there for two years, while he waited tables and worked in telemarketing, and he also got the part in a one-man play, Jerry Flemmons' ''O Dammit!'', which was part of a ''New Playwrights Series'' sponsored by the [[Southern Methodist University]].


Letts moved to [[Chicago]] at the age of 20, and worked for the next 11 years at [[Steppenwolf]] and [[Famous Door]]. In 1991, a time when he had an alcohol problem, he wrote the play ''Killer Joe''. (He would later join [[Alcoholics Anonymous]], and has been sober ever since.) Two years later, the play premiered at the [[Next Lab Theater]] in Chicago and then at 29th Street Rep in NYC. Since then, ''Killer Joe'' has been performed in at least 15 countries in 12 languages.[http://dallasobserver.com/2003-11-27/news/sweet-revenge/]
His mother Billie Letts has said about his writing, "I try to be upbeat and funny. Everybody in Tracy's stories gets naked or dead."[http://dallasobserver.com/2003-11-27/news/sweet-revenge/] Every one of the three plays he's written, are about people struggling with moral and spiritual questions. He says he has drawn inspiration from the plays of [[Tennessee Williams]] and the novels of [[William Faulkner]] and [[Jim Thompson]]. Letts considers sound to be a very strong story telling tool for theater. [http://www.stageresearch.com/showcases/indexArchived.aspx?0612_showcase.html]

His mother Billie Letts has said about his writing, "I try to be upbeat and funny. Everybody in Tracy's stories gets naked or dead."[http://dallasobserver.com/2003-11-27/news/sweet-revenge/] Every one of the three plays he's written is about people struggling with moral and spiritual questions. He says he has drawn inspiration from the plays of [[Tennessee Williams]] and the novels of [[William Faulkner]] and [[Jim Thompson]]. Letts considers sound to be a very strong story telling tool for theater. [http://www.stageresearch.com/showcases/indexArchived.aspx?0612_showcase.html]


==Plays==
==Plays==
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===Actor===
===Actor===
*2007 [[Betrayal]]
*2007 ''[[Betrayal]]''
*2006 [[The Pillowman]]
*2006 ''[[The Pillowman]]''
*2006 [[The Well-Appointed Room]]
*2006 ''[[The Well-Appointed Room]]''
*2005 [[Last of the Boys]]
*2005 ''[[Last of the Boys]]''
*2005 [[The Pain and the Itch]]
*2005 ''[[The Pain and the Itch]]''
*2004 [[The Dresser]]
*2004 ''[[The Dresser]]''
*2003 [[Man From Nebraska]]
*2003 ''[[Man From Nebraska]]''
*2003 [[Homebody/Kabul]]
*2003 ''[[Homebody/Kabul]]''
*2003 [[Don Delillo]]
*2003 ''[[Don Delillo]]''
*2002 [[The Dazzle]]
*2002 ''[[The Dazzle]]''
*2001 [[Glengarry Glen Ross]]
*2001 ''[[Glengarry Glen Ross]]''
*1999 [[Three Days Of Rain]]
*1999 ''[[Three Days Of Rain]]''
*1994 [[Picasso At The Lapin Agile]]
*1994 ''[[Picasso At The Lapin Agile]]''
*1988 [[The Glass Menagerie]]
*1988 ''[[The Glass Menagerie]]''


==Filmography==
==Filmography==
===Writer===
===Writer===
*2007 ''[[Bug (2007 film)|Bug]]'' (play) (screenplay)
*2007 ''[[Bug (2007 film)|Bug]]'' (screenplay)


===Actor===
===Actor===

Revision as of 01:29, 28 October 2007

Tracy Letts
Born (1965-07-04) July 4, 1965 (age 59)

Tracy Letts (born July 4, 1965 [1] in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is an American playwright and actor. He has been an ensemble member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company since 2002. [2]

Life and work

Letts is the son of the one-time college professor and now actor Dennis Letts and best selling author Billie Letts. His brother Shawn is a jazz musician and composer. Tracy grew up in Durant, Oklahoma and he graduated from Durant High School. After graduating in the early 80s he moved to Dallas. He stayed there for two years, while he waited tables and worked in telemarketing, and he also got the part in a one-man play, Jerry Flemmons' O Dammit!, which was part of a New Playwrights Series sponsored by the Southern Methodist University.

Letts moved to Chicago at the age of 20, and worked for the next 11 years at Steppenwolf and Famous Door. In 1991, a time when he had an alcohol problem, he wrote the play Killer Joe. (He would later join Alcoholics Anonymous, and has been sober ever since.) Two years later, the play premiered at the Next Lab Theater in Chicago and then at 29th Street Rep in NYC. Since then, Killer Joe has been performed in at least 15 countries in 12 languages.[3]

His mother Billie Letts has said about his writing, "I try to be upbeat and funny. Everybody in Tracy's stories gets naked or dead."[4] Every one of the three plays he's written is about people struggling with moral and spiritual questions. He says he has drawn inspiration from the plays of Tennessee Williams and the novels of William Faulkner and Jim Thompson. Letts considers sound to be a very strong story telling tool for theater. [5]

Plays

Writer

Actor

Filmography

Writer

  • 2007 Bug (screenplay)

Actor

Film

Television

Awards