Back in the rainy summer of 1993, when Edward Albee was persuaded to travel to this tiny town to receive the first Last Frontier Playwright Award, little did he know that 10 years later an internationally known playwrights' conference bearing his imprimatur would be the outgrowth of that trip.
"You never know what's going to happen with a thing like this," Albee said in a recent telephone interview.
The 2003 Last Frontier Theatre Conference will be held from June 20-29 in Valdez.
Looking back, not even conference founder Dr. JoAnn C. McDowell, president of Prince William Sound Community College, an affiliate of the University of Alaska and a sponsor of the yearly event, envisioned a conference that would be devoted almost entirely to developing new voices in American theatre.
"The dominance of our play labs has been our greatest evolution," McDowell said. "But we should have known that might happen because Edward always said we must do serious work and focus on young writers. He has done that his entire life, and we have been fortunate enough to become an important part of his journey."
Albee said the main reason he has continued to support the continually evolving conference (three days in 1993; 10 days in 2003) is "the fact that it is one of the best places I know for young playwrights to have conversations with more experienced playwrights."
"When Lloyd Richards told me last year that he felt the spirit of the O'Neill [Playwrights Conference] here, it was the best compliment we could have ever received," McDowell said.
This year's recipient of the Last Frontier Playwright Award is Romulus Linney, winner of two Obie Awards, two National Critics Awards, three Dramalogue Awards, and numerous other honors. Emily Mann, award-winning playwright and artistic director of McCarter Theatre in Princeton, N.J., will receive the Last Frontier Directing Award. Both will travel to Valdez, and will join Albee, Terrence McNally, Glyn O'Malley, Lloyd Richards, and Paula Vogel as Play Lab panelists.
More than 300 unproduced full-length and short scripts were submitted for the 2003 play labs. Of those, 11 full-length plays were selected for readings and critiques in the conference's main Play Lab, and 95 were accepted for the Short Play Development Workshop. Playwrights must be present in Valdez for the readings. All readings are open to the public, attracting actors, directors, playwrights, technicians, academics—and audience members who simply love theatre—from around the world.
The 11 full-length scripts are "Not a Love Song" by Stacy Engels (Brooklyn, NY); "Fool's Gold," by Rebecca Feather Hughes (Seattle, Wash.); "Girl at the Window," by Steven Hunt (Spartanburg, S.C.); "These Altered Days," by Steve Lyons (Berkeley, Calif.); "Degas in New Orleans" by Rosary Hartel O'Neill (New Orleans, La.); "Out of Fashion" by Anuvab Pal (New York, NY); "Creche Scenes" by Anne Phelan (New York, NY); "Alabaster Circle" by Stuart Spencer (New York, NY); "Ink" by Lance Tappana (Pasadena, Calif.); "Guy & Virginia F*ck Other People" by Carl Thelin (San Francisco, Calif.); and "Kelly Um" by Mary Tuomanen (Hampton Falls, N.H.).
Playwrights from 30 states, Canada, and Australia had scripts accepted for the Short Play Development Workshop. Short play panelists include Susan Charlotte, Danielle Dresden, Barclay Jones-Kopchak, Colby Kullman, Timothy Mason, Michael Warren Powell, and Aoise Stratford.
In addition to the new script readings and public critiques, the conference includes daily acting and directing workshops, lectures, and panel discussions. Conducting the 2003 workshops and lectures will be additional special guests, including previous Last Frontier Playwright Award winners August Wilson and John Guare; Valdez conference veterans Patricia Neal and Joel Vig; and conference newcomers Laura Linney, Angela Bassett, Courtney B. Vance, Michael Learned, Chris Noth, and Mark Blum.
McDowell said Bassett and Vance are attending this year because they wanted to spend a week with Lloyd Richards. "He told them they would be re-energized here," McDowell said. "I believe that the fact that so many amazing people come here when they are not paid is very surprising," she added. "And many return year after year." The conference runs on a tight budget, supported by grants, registration fees, donations, and volunteers.
Evening highlights include performances of "Albee's Men," a compilation of scenes assembled by Glyn O'Malley, introduced by O'Malley; Romulus Linney's "Heathen Valley" and "Klonsky and Schwartz" (starring Chris Noth and Mark Blum), introduced by the playwright; Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre's "Hamlet"; a full production of Aoise Stratford's 2002 Play Lab favorite "Somewhere In Between," by the University of Alaska Anchorage drama department; and an evening featuring Albee, McNally, Mann, Vogel, and Linney reading selections from their plays.
On the final Friday of the conference, June 27, Albee will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Alaska Anchorage.