GUEST SPEAKERS PATRICIA SMITH,
PAM ARCIERO AND MARTIN P. ROBINSON
APPEAR IN FREE SERIES AT THE O’NEILL

Waterford, CT, July 4, 2002 — As part of the free All-Conference Series created by O’Neill Playwrights Conference Artistic Director James Houghton, several guest speakers will visit the Dina Merrill Theater at the O’Neill Center. The series is open to the public and take place from 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., unless otherwise noted. The schedule is subject to change and updated on the O’Neill’s website.

ÏMy hope is that by having a variety of guests we can expand our community and learn from people who have a wide range of experiences,Ó said Houghton.

Slam Poet Patricia Smith will perform and discuss her writing on Friday, July 5. Smith was a writer-in-residence at last year’s O’Neill Playwrights Conference. She is a poet, playwright, journalist and performer as well as a champion of the national poetry slam — a competition where poets are judged on the content and performance of their work. Selections from Smith’s poetry books CLOSE TO DEATH, BIG TOWNS, BIG TALK and 1990’s LIFE ACCORDING TO MOTOWN were presented as a one-woman show produced by Nobel Prize winner Derek Walcott and staged at Boston University Playwrights Theater and the Trinidad Theater Workshop.

O’Neill Puppetry Conference Artistic Director Pam Arciero and Puppet Anarchy Workshop leader Martin P. Robinson will speak about their work on Wednesday, July 10. Arciero has been a principal puppeteer with ÏSesame StreetÓ since 1984, performing numerous characters, most notably Grundgetta Grouch. Her stage credits include a run with LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at the Orpheum Theater in New York, film credits include MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN. She holds a graduate degree in Puppetry from the University of Connecticut.

Robinson performs the character Telly Monster on ÏSesame Street,Ó and is the designer of Audrey II, the man-eating plant in LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. He leads the Puppet Anarchy Workshop, which explores new ways to bring inanimate objects to life on stage, during the annual O’Neill Puppetry 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.

For information about upcoming events or directions to the O’Neill, please call the box office at (860) 443-1238