2002 O’Neill Playwrights Conference
Summer Schedule

Whores by Lee Blessing, July 5 at 8:00 p.m. & July 6 at 2:30 p.m., Barn
The mind of a Central-American general – with all its guilts, lusts, angers, misgivings, regrets and self-justifications – is the world of this play. Trapped in it are three nuns and a Catholic lay worker, all of whom were martyred on his watch in a country the name of which he can no longer remember. And why should he remember? He lives in America now.

UntilWeFindEachOther by Brooke Berman, July 6 at 8:00 p.m. & July 7 at 2:30 p.m., Dina Merrill Theater
Justin is torn between a normal life with his conventional girlfriend and the lure of a spiritual adventure with his psychic ĎtwinÓ Miriam, a restless seeker who has just returned to her family after a year away.

Millicent Scowlworthy by Rob Handel, July 9 & 10 at 8:00 p.m., Amphitheater
When unexpected violence hits a community, the grownups want to forget and move on, but the town’s teenagers are meeting secretly to revisit the past.

The Bebop Heard in Okinawa by Mat Smart, July 11 & 12 at 8:00 p.m., Edith
Unlike her Japanese mother and American father, Tomoko, 16, ignores the political tension on Okinawa during Japan’s general election – only caring about playing jazz on her trumpet. But with the violent events on the eve of the election, her and her family’s world is in danger of collapsing.

Klonsky and Schwartz by Romulus Linney, July 12 at 8:00 p.m. & July 13 at 2:30 p.m., Barn
In the hot and sultry New York summer of 1966, poet Milton Klonsky struggles to help his friend, the more celebrated writer Delmore Schwartz, come to terms with his demons.

Mae by Letitia Guillory, July 13 at 8:00 p.m. & July 14 at 2:30 p.m., Dina Merrill Theater
Holed up in a dingy hotel room, Mae looks back on her life, recalling a beautiful family Sunday that ended in a tragic loss of innocence and praying for the mercy that will release her spirit. A one-woman show performed by its author.

The Ballad of Billy K: ĎThe Tall Tale Adventures of the Crazy K KidÓ by Katherine Griffith, music by Phill George, lyrics by Katherine Griffith and Phill George, July 16 & 17 at 8:00 p.m., Amphitheater
Follow Texas cowgirl Billy K’s adventures as she braves Queen Rattlesnake, the Prairie Stingers, and other outrageous villains to save her home, the Rancho Madre, and find her long-lost mother.

Levee James by Sherry M. Shephard-Massat, July 18 & 19 at 8:00 p.m., Edith
An early twentieth-century southern love story depicting the relationship that develops between a prosperous black farmer, Wesley Slaton, and his late wife’s sister, Lily, during a turbulent time in American history.

The Zero Hour by Madeleine George, July 19 at 8:00 p.m. & July 20 at 2:30 p.m., Barn
Rebecca and O want love to be all they need, but it’s not that simple because Rebecca has not yet come out to her mother. Meanwhile, Rebecca’s classroom teachings of the Holocaust are seeping into her evening subway rides, in this tour-de-force with two actresses playing all the roles.

Pro Bono Publico by Peter Morris, July 20 at 8:00 p.m. & July 21 at 2:30 p.m., Dina Merrill Theater
Manhattan, 2001: Uptown, a corporate lawyer is discovering his conscience. Downtown, his wife’s art gallery serves up chic nihilism for the wealthy and well-heeled. As their worlds fall apart, this dark fable asks – what does it mean to act for the public good?

Hindustan by William di Canzio, July 23 & 24 at 8:00 p.m., Amphitheater
Spanning three regimes, two romances and one nation’s journey to freedom, HINDUSTAN dramatizes the end of British rule in India and a love affair that defied all expectations.

Motherhouse by Victor Lodato, July 25 & 26 at 8:00 p.m., Edith
Clive arrives unexpectedly at the house of his mother and sister. He says that he is fleeing from the police – but perhaps it’s another one of his delusions. Unawares, he has shown up on a tragic anniversary.

The Colossus of Rhodes by Carey Perloff, July 26 at 8:00 p.m. & July 27 at 2:30 p.m., Barn
South Africa, 1873: a group of young displaced Englishmen begin their quest for power and place in a strange new world, including Cecil Rhodes, who sets out to conquer the diamond industry and eventually creates the esteemed scholarships that bear his name.

Theater for the Generations by Constance Congdon and Mark Ravenhill, July 27 at 8:00 p.m. & July 28 at 2:30 p.m., Dina Merrill Theater
Two original one-acts plays by provocative contemporary playwrights, one from the U.S. and one from England, written to appeal to both teen and adult audiences, will share the stage. Congdon’s play, MOONTEL SIX, focuses on a colony of genetically altered teens who leave the shelter of an abandoned motel on the moon in search of a home of their own. Ravenhill’s untitled work is also written for young performers and audiences of all ages. A special commission by the American Conservatory Theater and the Royal National Theatre in a unique collaboration with the O’Neill Playwrights Conference.

The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, founded in 1964 and based in Waterford CT, is dedicated to the advancement of new work for the theater and creates and operates programs which complement that goal. These include the Puppetry Conference, Playwrights Conference, Critics Institute, Music Theater Conference and the National Theater Institute, a college-accredited training program for theater artists. The O’Neill also owns and operates the Monte Cristo Cottage, childhood home of America’s only Nobel Prize-winning playwright, Eugene O’Neill, and holds an annual celebration honoring the life and works of its namesake every October.

OPC 2002 public readings will be held Tuesday through Sunday, July 5 through July 28. Ticket prices range from $8 to $12. To reserve tickets or receive a summer schedule, call the O’Neill Center at 860-443-5378 or the box office at 860-443-1238 (after June 11).

* Performances in the Amphitheater and the Edith Oliver Theater are outdoors, but will be moved indoors in the event of rain. Performance schedule is subject to change. Please call to confirm dates and times. Plays may have adult themes.