O’NEILL PLAYWRIGHTS CONFERENCE CONCLUDES 2003 STAGED READINGS

Waterford, CT, July 10, 2003 – Aliens in a small town Ö a celebrity clown Ö a British soldier and the Iraqi ÈmigrÈ doctor who is treating his son are a few of the characters coming alive July 17-20 at the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, when new plays by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Bill Irwin and Dominic Leggett make their script-in-hand debut. OPC – a three-week assembly of 15 playwrights and hundreds of artists, audience members and theatermakers of all varieties – offers staged readings of 11 new works, free guest speakers and stimulating conversation about writing, creativity and theater.

Next week’s O’Neill Playwrights Conference events are:

DARK MATTERS by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, directed by Erica Schmidt
Performances are July 17 & 18 at 8:00 p.m. in the Edith.
Susan Cleary has gone missing, and as her husband Reed and son Jeremy try to find her, they discover that the woman they thought they knew was someone else entirely. When she finally reappears – talking about strange visitations and unearthly beings – Reed is faced with a choice that threatens the entire family. Featuring actors Matthew Arkin, Pamela Gray, Ted Koch and Matthew Stadelmann.

MR. FOX: A RUMINATION by Bill Irwin, directed by James Houghton
Performances are July 18 at 8:00 p.m. and July 19 at 2:30 p.m. in the Barn.
A reflection on the life and work of America’s first celebrity clown, George L. Fox (1825-1877), Fox delighted audiences from the Bowery to Broadway with his raucous and ribald performances, but he could not escape his greatest success, the white-face role "Humpty Dumpty." One clown’s rumination on another, on the life of a performer, and on the act of performance itself. Featuring actors Michael Chernus, Keith L. Hatten, Bill Irwin, John Bedford Loyd, Peter Maloney, Elizabeth Reaser and Dallas Roberts.

SMOKING KILLS by Dominic Leggett, directed by Darrell Larson
Performances are July 19 at 8:00 p.m. & July 20 at 2:30 p.m. in the Dina Merrill Theater.
A British soldier, injured in the Gulf, sends his ill son to the US for a risky experimental treatment. One of the doctors administering the treatment is an Iraqi ÈmigrÈ who lost her husband in the same war. Featuring actors Jaqueline Antaramian, Tina Benko, Yusef Bulos, Jason Butler Harner, Chris McKinney, Hasan Munem, Kevin O’Rourke, Sebastian RochÈ, Jeanine Serralles and William Vatkin.

The O’Neill’s free all-conference series of guest speakers continues with Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel (July 17), METAMORPHOSES composer Willy Schwarz (July 18) and Theatre Communications Group Executive Director Ben Cameron (July 19). All-Conference Hours run from 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. in the Dina Merrill Theater at The O’Neill, the public is welcome to join in these events.

On Saturday, July 19, Emilie S. Kilgore will receive the Margo Jones Medal during a short reception following the 2:30 matinee of MR. FOX: A RUMINATION. Kilgore founded the Susan Smith Blackburn Award in memory of her sister and in support of women playwrights. The reception is free and open to the public, presenters include Mel Gussow, last year’s Medal recipient; playwright Gina Gionfriddo, who won the Blackburn Award in 2002 for her play U.S. Drag and is currently attending the O’Neill Playwrights Conference with her new play; and Helen Sheehy, author of MARGO: THE LIFE AND THEATRE OF MARGO JONES.

The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, founded in 1964 and based in Waterford CT, is a learning community dedicated to advancing the American Theater through programs that encourage creative excellence and develop diverse voices and new work. These include the Puppetry Conference, Playwrights Conference, Critics Institute (July 8 – 20), Music Theater Conference (July 28 – August 10) 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.

Ticket prices for OPC 2003 readings are $10 & $12, or $8 weekdays for O’Neill members. To reserve tickets or receive a summer schedule, call The O’Neill at 860-443-5378 or the box office at 860-443-1238.