John Gassner Play Competition Reading and Panel Discussion
at Stony Brook Manhattan
April 27, 2009
The reading of the 2008-2009 winner of the John Gassner New Play Competition, Albatross by Dennis Schebetta was held at Stony Brook Manhattan followed by a discussion with the playwright. The reading was directed by guest artist Julia Gibson and prior to the reading, there was a panel discussion on the topic of "Collaboration and Creating New Work." The panelists included actress and playwright Ellen McLaughlin, and playwright Lesile Lee, and among others.
It was our first joint venture with Stony Brook Manhattan and it was a very informative and exciting event.
Stay tuned for photos and archives from this event.
Schedule of Event
| 4:00 - 5:00 | Panel Discussion: "Collaboration and Creating New Work" |
| 5:00 - 6:00 | Reception |
| 7:00 | Reading of ALBATROSS by Dennis Schebetta |
| Discussion following reading |
| Ellen McLaughlin’s plays have received numerous productions throughout the U.S. and internationally. A Narrow Bed, Infinity’s House and Nights Within all performed at Actors Theatre of Louisville, the latter winning ATL’s Great American Play Contest. A Narrow Bed was subsequently produced by the New York Theatre Workshop and received the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Iphigenia and Other Daughters was written for the Actors’ Gang in Los Angles and received its world premiere there. Later, it was produced in New York City by Classic Stage Company. Tongue of a Bird premiered at Intiman Theatre in Seattle and was subsequently produced by the Almeida Theatre in London, Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum in L.A., The Public Theater in New York City and Oregon Shakespeare Festival, among others. Helen was produced by The Public Theater. The Persians, commissioned by the National Actors Theatre in New York City, received its world premiere there. Oedipus, commissioned there in January 2005. McLaughlin is an NEA grant recipient and winner of a writer’s award from the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund. In 2000, she won the Barilla Kerr Award for Playwriting. She has been teaching playwriting at Barnard College since 1995. Other teaching positions have included Princeton University and the Yale School of Drama. McLaughlin is also an actor. She is most known for having originated the role of the Angel in Tony Kushner’s Angles in America, appearing in every U.S. production from its earliest workshop through its Broadway run. She has appeared in regional theatres throughout the US, most recently as Claire in Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance at Arena Stage in Washington, DC. She is married to Rinde Eckert and lives in Nyack, New York. |
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| Playwright Leslie Lee is a founding artist of La MaMa e.t.c., where his plays have been produced regularly. His acclaimed play, The First Breeze of Summer, starring Leslie Uggams, enjoyed a successful revival in 2008 with the Signature Theatre Company. The First Breeze of Summer, originally produced by the Negro Ensemble Company, went on to win an Obie Award for Best New American Play and the Outer Critics Circle Award. Subsequently, the play moved to the Palace Theatre on Broadway, where it received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play. Lee was the 2008 Audelco Playwright Award Winner and has been nominated for eleven Audelco Awards. Many of his plays have been produced by the Negro Ensemble Company, the Black Rep in St. Louis and Crossroads Theatre Company in New Jersey. Lee currently teaches playwriting and screenwriting at NYU and heads the Negro Ensemble Company's Playwrights' Unit. His play, Sundown Names and Night-gone Things, will have its NY Premiere at The Actor's Playhouse in NYC in May 2009, under the direction of Woodie King, Jr., in a co-production between the Negro Ensemble Company and the New Federal Theatre. |
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