August Wilson To Be Honored At Special Tribute On July 23
Charles S. Dutton to Perform Scenes From Wilson's Work
August Wilson Endowed Fellowship Established

July 6, 2006

Amy Sullivan, Executive Director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, announced a tribute to Tony and Pulitzer-prize-winning playwright and poet August Wilson at the O'Neill's Waterford, Connecticut campus on Sunday, July 23.

As part of the tribute, Tony nominee and Emmy Award winner Charles S. Dutton will present a special performance of scenes from the plays of August Wilson. His performance will be followed by a barbeque celebration with 2006 National Playwrights and Music Theater Conference participants, National Critics Institute fellows and O'Neill alumni, featuring August Wilson's favorite BBQ ribs prepared by the Award-winning chef and restauranteur, Mike Mills, 4-time World Rib Champion Barbequer.

"August Wilson loved the O'Neill and he loved Mike Mills' Barbeque.," said Executive Director Sullivan. "We will salute Mr. Wilson's extraordinary talent and celebrate this great man of the theater with a special performance by Charles Dutton and a festive world-class barbeque. Most importantly, we will launch the August Wilson Endowed Fellowship on this occasion in order to insure that a playwright of color will always be present in the National Playwrights Conference. The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center was a pioneer for diversity in the theater and we must insure that this legacy continues in perpetuity."

Mr. Wilson, called Theater's Poet of Black America, died in October, 2005 at age 60. He is world renowned for his ten-play cycle chronicling the 20th century African American experience, beginning with MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM in 1984 and culminating with RADIO GOLF in 2005. During this 21-year span, Mr. Wilson collected innumerable accolades for his work, including seven New York Drama Critics' Circle awards, a Tony Award, and two Pulitzer Prizes – for FENCES and THE PIANO LESSON. Of those ten plays, six – MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM, FENCES, JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE, SEVEN GUITARS, THE PIANO LESSON and, most recently, GEM OF THE OCEAN – were developed at the O'Neill's National Playwrights Conference. They all went on to Broadway, off-Broadway and regional theater acclaim.

In 1982, Mr. Wilson was struggling to establish himself as a writer. He submitted his script for MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM to the O'Neill through its Open Submissions program, a "blind" selection process which omits writer's names, backgrounds and writing history from the selection committee. His play was selected for development by the O'Neill's former National Playwrights Conference Artistic Director Lloyd Richards, who later presented a full production of the play at Yale Repertory Theatre and subsequently on Broadway. Thus began an artistic relationship that lasted for decades, and brought August Wilson back to the O'Neill to develop so many of his acclaimed plays. Mr. Wilson was a Conference participant five times, and was a Writer In Residence in 2003, when he first began work on GEM OF THE OCEAN.

To provide a lasting legacy to August Wilson, the O'Neill has established the August Wilson Endowed Fellowship, which will secure in perpetuity the participation of a playwright of color in the National Playwrights Conference. Income from this endowment fund will fully underwrite a playwright's residency at the Conference every year.

For more information or to make a contribution to the August Wilson Endowed Fellowship, please call 860-443-5378, x213 Reservations for the Special Tribute to August Wilson, at $75 per person, can be made by calling 860-443-5378,x217. Tickets include admission to the performance and the BBQ.

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, founded in 1964, has been home to more than 1,000 new works for the stage and 2,500 emerging artists and is itself the winner of a special Tony Award, the National Opera Award, the Jujamcyn Award for Theater Excellence and the Arts and Business Council Encore Award. Today, the O'Neill is home to the National Playwrights Conference, National Music Theater Conference, Puppetry Conference, Cabaret Conference, National Critics Institute, and the fully accredited National Theater Institute, which includes semester-long, fully accredited intensive theater-training programs and a six-week accredited summer program, Theatermakers. In addition, the O'Neill owns and operates the Monte Cristo Cottage, a National Historic Landmark and the childhood home of Nobel Prize-winning and four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Eugene O'Neill. For more information regarding the Center, please visit the O'Neill website at www.TheONeill.org or call 860-443-5378.