Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright Edward Albee Lectures and Workshops on St. Ambrose Campus
posted: Mar. 12, 2005

St. Ambrose University theatre students continue to study his controversial plays, which have defined the modern American theatre for four decades. Now they'll get to meet Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Edward Albee in April as part of Quad City Arts' 2005 Cary Grant Residency.

Albee will give a public lecture on the state of the theatre and the arts in America at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 8 in Allaert Auditorium at the Galvin Fine Arts Center. The event is free and open to the public. He will also be conducting a private workshop with theatre students at St. Ambrose on Saturday.

"Edward Albee is on the cutting-edge of dramatic literature," says Corinne Johnson, professor of theatre at St. Ambrose. "Having such an accomplished playwright visit our campus is like recognizing the Pulitzer Prize in our own backyard. This is a tremendous opportunity for our students, one that doesn't happen often." 

Johnson says Albee's plays continue to engage students to think about, and question, the provocative material. She herself teaches his work in her current dramatic literature course, and many of her students use his work for their acting, directing and design projects.

This semester, one of those students is sophomore Andrew Harvey, who is currently directing Albee's The Zoo Story in the Studio Theatre for his final directing project. Intrigued by the way Albee portrays the raw truth of humanity in many of his plays, Harvey is particularly excited about having the playwright on campus. "It means a lot to have him recognize our university and theatre program as a viable place to visit and discuss his work. Having him at St. Ambrose is yet another example of the quality and commitment the department--and the university--places on the fine arts."

In his lectures, Albee describes the power of the arts as a catalyst for change. He believes that art should be dangerous, that it should reveal the world's shortcomings and complacency, and hopefully inspire people to live their lives more fully. "The job of the arts," Albee says, "is to hold a mirror up to us and say: 'Look, this is how you really are. If you don't like it, change it.'"

Albee is the recipient of three Pulitzer Prizes for A Delicate Balance, Seascape and Three Tall Women, and two Tony Awards for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Goat or Who is Sylvia? He is a Kennedy Center Honoree, and in 1996, was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Bill Clinton.

The playwright is currently receiving critical acclaim on Broadway for the revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, starring Bill Irwin and Kathleen Turner. Read an interview with Albee about the show on playbill.com

The Quad City Arts Cary Grant Residency program was inspired by the 1986 visit of actor Cary Grant to the Quad Cities to promote the first Festival of Trees. Tragically, Grant died just hours before taking the stage. With gifts from Grant's wife and an anonymous donor, an endowment was created to fund the residency.

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