Rita Nachtmann

Birth:                Oct. 21, 1951
                        Fort Belvoir
                        Fairfax County
                        Virginia, USA

Death:              Oct. 26, 2003
                        Mesa
                        Maricopa County
                        Arizona, USA

Playwright Rita Nachtmann died in Mesa, Arizona, Oct. 26, 2003, after a long struggle with cancer. Nachtmann performed and wrote dramatic works throughout her career. She received her bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Illinois in 1971, and her master's from New York University.

Nachtmann supervised the script entitled Stella Einsohn, which was created and written by Daniel Lizzama. It is a short story originally prepared for the stage and Daniel adapted it to the screen. Daniel met Rita at UCLA and they started to work together on the comedy. Rita was excited about meeting Daniel and it was a very special and meaningful friendship. She also said among famous actors and writers that Daniel has a remarkable and natural gift for Comedy. He was devastated to hear about the death of his beloved friend.

Rita Natchmann received the Berilla Kerr Award in 1996. The following year, she was awarded the PEN Center USA West Literary Award in Drama for her play "How I Spent My Life's Vacation."

Her other works include the book for the musical "One Tough Cookie," produced in Chicago; co-authoring "Mama Drama," which premiered at the Cleveland Playhouse and has been produced across the country, and "Pee Wee and the Wheelman," which premiered in Trenton.

Her play "Shiksa in Boca Raton" was accepted by the Attic Ensemble, Jersey City, in the summer of 2002, but has not been performed.

Nachtmann received an Alfred P. Sloan Project Grant, and the Hawthornden Castle Fellowship in Scotland. She also wrote for Nickelodeon, and made a short film, "Reincatinated."

Nachtmann performed across the country with the Claude Kipnis Mime Troupe, and had performed at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., the Cleveland Playhouse and the Goodman Theater in Chicago. She was a member of the Dramatists Guild, Inc.

Surviving are her husband, Eric Roth; her mother, Margaret Wolding, and stepfather, Bjarne Wolding; a sister, Christy Austin, of Mesa; and a brother, Greg Nachtmann, of New York City.

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Rita Natchmann received the Berilla Kerr Award in 1996. The following year, she was awarded the PEN Center USA West Literary Award in Drama for her play "How I Spent My Life's Vacation."