Theatre Department Presents a Conversation with Craig Lucas

Playwright, screenwriter, director to discuss his work on April 21

April 13, 2010 —Playwright, screenwriter and director Craig Lucas, Phillips Academy’s 2010 Kayden Guest Artist, will discuss his work at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 21, in Tang Theatre on the school’s campus in Andover. “Prelude to a Kiss,” “Longtime Companion,” “The Dying Gaul,” “Reckless,” “Small Tragedy,” and “The Secret Lives of Dentists” are among his many movies and plays. The event is free and open to the public.

Along with joining PA students for informal conversation over lunch and dinner, Lucas will conduct student workshops, including one on musical theatre and one titled “From Stage to Screen: Envisioning scenes for the stage and then re-envisioning them for film.”

“Mr. Lucas’s vast experience as a writer and director for both stage and film, and for both drama and musicals will be of interest to a number of students, from aspiring playwrights to filmmakers to directors,” said Erin Strong, chair of the theatre and dance department. “In both his public appearance and the student workshops, Mr. Lucas will discuss how he approaches these different genres using his own works as examples.”

Lucas is the recipient of many awards, including two Obie Awards for Best Plays (“Prelude to a Kiss” and “Small Tragedy”), a Sundance Audience Award (“Longtime Companion”), a New York Film Critics Best Screenplay Award (“The Secret Lives of Dentists”), an Obie Award for Best Director (“Saved or Destroyed”), and an American Theater Critics/Steinberg Award for Best American Play (“The Singing Forest”).

His most recent work is the libretto for Nico Muhly’s opera, “Two Boys,” which will premiere at the English National Opera in June 2011 and at the Metropolitan Opera in 2013.

Lucas’s student workshops and public speaking engagement at Phillips Academy are made possible the Bernard & Mildred Kayden Fund, generously established by the Kayden family to bring distinguished artists to the school. Former Kayden Guest Artists include Dame Evelyn Glennie, Bobby McFerrin, Wynton Marsalis and Denyce Graves.