by Ronald Rand)
This past May, Edward Albee and Dr. Jo Ann C. McDowell, Ph. D., held the 1st Annual Great Plains Theatre Conference at the Fort Omaha campus of Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Nebraska.
Omaha-area theaters enthusiastically jumped on board, bringing together hundreds of actors, directors, playwrights, and those who love the theatre to experience readings of new plays, memorable talks, readings, and performances by Edward Albee, Patricia Neal, Arthur Kopit, Mac Wellman, Mark Lamos, Emily Mann, and Kathleen Chalfant.
Mr. Kopit and Mr. Lamos were honored at the closing banquet.
The Conference was first developed by Mr. Albee and Metro President Jo Ann C. McDowell, who collaborated together founding the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez, Alaska. It remains Mr. Albee´s intent to ´ works in an atmosphere that is "intelligent, sympathetic and semi-private."
Each morning the Conference featured three one-hour sessions of short plays or scenes from new plays, with actors from over twenty area theater companies, while panels of the esteemed critics, directors University faculty members, and playwrights gave immediate feedback to the playwrights, whose work was presented.
Many exciting evening events took place over this memorable week. At The Holland Center Mr. Albee, Mr. Kopit, Mr. Wellman, and Ms. Mann took the stage and shared excerpts from their new works at Joslyn Art Museum´s Witherspoon Concert Hall. Scenes from the playwrights´ works were presented on a different evening at The Holland Center, and a stirring staged reading of Mr. Kopit´s play, Wings, starring Kathleen Chalfant and actors of the Omaha theatrical community took place before a packed audience.
Oscar-winning actress Patricia Neal also touched everyone´s heart as she shared her extraordinary life experiences in a very special evening, with host Joel Vig, at the Joslyn Art Museum´s Witherspoon Concert Hall.
There was a spirited version of the musical, Nine, presented at the University of Nebraska at Omaha´s Strauss Performing Arts Center, directed by Roxanne Wach; and powerful actors from the John Beasley Theatre presented scenes in a special evening tribute to Arthur Miller and August Wilson at the Omaha Community Playhouse. Edward Albee´s stirring words about these two extraordinary playwrights, who died last year, touched everyone present. Both Mr. Miller and Mr. Wilson had taken part in the Last Frontier Theater Conference.
During the Conference, The Fort Omaha Film Conference was also held, and there was a screening of Ethan Gussow´s engrossing documentary film of the Conference held in Valdez during 1992-2004, entitled Journey to the Last Frontier.
Susann Suprenant, Education Manager for Omaha Performing Arts, local actor-playwright Rob Baker, Metro faculty members Steve Bross and Andrea Lang, Omaha Community Playhouse choreographer Roxanne Nielsen and Blue Barn Theatre Executive Director Hughston Walkinshaw as members of the Conference advisory committee certainly made this a very special Conference.
Mr. Albee´s generosity of spirit throughout the week extended to his sharing his thoughts on his life and his art on two special occasions: a book signing and a special talk to playwrights about playwrighting. Among the inspiring insights Mr. Albee shared with those present included: "The only rule is you may never bore or confuse your audience without reason—a sober intelligent audience—that is your responsibility to the people who are kind enough to come and pay to see your play…Invent the form, invent the experience… Every time you write, always try to do more than you can…We must engage people into thinking, into learning more about themselves. It´s our responsibility."
The playwrights whose work was read at the Conference included: Jorge Albertella, Rob Anderson, Forrest Attaway, Kyle Bass, Tim Bauer, Robin Byrd, William Campbell, Vincent Calson, Audrey Cefaly, Clarence Coo, David Crespy, John Crews, Wayne Crome, Jim Daglish, Jeanne Drennan, Adrienne Earle Pender, Laura Mack, Florence Gibson, Karen Gray, Kendall Gray, Deborah Green hut, Frank Higgins, Jacob Holder, Amy Lynne Holland, Tom Horton, David James, Lynn- Steven Johansson, Shayne Kennedy, Norman Kline, Hannah Kolinsky, Kevin Lawler, E.M. Lewis, Mila Littman-Fields, Marilyn Muckraking, Mark Man hart, Doug Marr, Ben Marshall, Kim Matthews, Michele Martens, Laura Morrissey-Foronda, Lee Myers, Mary Jane Nordgren, Kay Noyes, Ann Marie Oliva, Glyn O´Malley, Andrea Onstad, Judith Pratt, Lonn Pressnall, Kimberly Pritchard, Calvin Ramsey, Ronald Rand, David Robson, Daena Schweiger, Mark Scott, Jerry Seifert, Timothy Siragusa, Paul Smolens, Max Sparber, Geoffrey Steinblock, Lynda Stumer, Nora Vetter, Connie Whitt-Lambert, Dawn Wilson, Ruis Woertendyke, Nick Zadina, and Aaron Zavitz.
Those responsible for making it such a memorable Conference on the advisory committee included Susann Suprenant, Education Manager for Omaha Performing Arts, local actor-playwright Rob Baker, Metro faculty members Steve Bross and Andrea Lang, Omaha Community Playhouse choreographer Roxanne Nielsen and Blue Barn Theatre Executive Director Hughston Walkinshaw.
It remains Mr. Albee´s intent to honor and celebrate the work of some of our finest American playwrights and to foster newer playwrights´ works in an atmosphere that is "intelligent, sympathetic and semi-private."