The Last Frontier Theatre Conference, run by Prince William Sound Community College in Valdez, Alaska became, despite its remote location, one of the most important playwriting events in the world, in large part because of the perennial presence of Edward Albee. The conference attracted hundreds of playwrights and such luminaries as Arthur Miller, August Wilson, Lanford Wilson, Paula Vogel, Tony Kushner, A.R. Gurney, Robert Anderson, and Horton Foote, as well as actors including Paula Prentiss, Eva Marie Saint, Jean Stapleton, Chris Noth, and Laura Linney, all participating for no pay. But when conference co-founder JoAnn McDowell resigned from the college, although she claimed it was for personal family issues, many wondered if there was a different story behind it - because when she left, Edward Albee vowed he would never participate in Valdez again (pdf), as did several other playwrights including John Guare and Romulus Linney. But now McDowell has taken a job at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Nebraska, and she and Albee are starting the Great Plains Theatre Conference, which looks likely to become the Next Big Thing and could lure in such prominent theater folk as Terrence McNally, Arthur Kopit, actress Patricia Neal, and Metafilter’s own Astro Zombie.
posted by kyrademon on Apr 23, 2006 - 11 comments

Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz known also as Witkacy, was an absurdist playwright, a painter, a philosopher, an aesthetician, a novelist, and generally a prolific artist since about the age of 8. He lived from 1885 to 1939, and often has just the right mix of sharp wit, deep insight, and self-reflective irony.
posted by mdn on May 29, 2004 - 7 comments

A View From The Bridge: Or Death Of A Salesman, perhaps? Hey, even The Crucible, at a stretch! Arthur Miller on Cuba, Castro and the U.S. embargo. Honesty and clarity refreshingly transcend the usual socialist/liberal/conservative divide. Or, at the very least, a damn good read from one of our (i.e. the world's) greatest dramatists. [Via Arts & Letters Daily. Click here for the text-only version. ]
posted by MiguelCardoso on Jan 5, 2004 - 25 comments

INTERIOR SHOT: Stratford-upon-Avon; Study; William at desk

William:
To be or not to be...

William: takes long toke from hash pipe on desk

William:
That is the question...

posted by o2b on Sep 5, 2001 - 21 comments

Gay Elizabethan Spy and Playwright found murdered! Not one, but two Christopher Marlowe movies. Hollywood, thou art such a suppurating whore. Thanks to Pete for the link.
posted by Ezrael on Jun 19, 2000 - 9 comments