The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center will celebrate its 50th anniversary next summer, which will also mark Goldberg's 10th season as artistic director. The annual conference provides writers with a month-long residency to shape their works with professional actors and directors, ultimately resulting in script-in-hand readings.
"I am truly delighted to announce Wendy's continued stewardship of the National Playwrights Conference, particularly for our 50th year," said O'Neill executive director Preston Whiteway in a statement. "Wendy's vision and guiding hand has helped grow the Conference by leaps and bounds, building on our immense legacy.
"Our only goal with NPC – to discover, support and nurture new playwrights and artists, is more successful than ever, with dozens of plays moving into full production around the nation. NPC's open submissions policy continues to be a beacon to writers around the world, and I'm proud and grateful for Wendy's leadership of the program over the past nine seasons, and look forward to more."
Goldberg's directorial credits include Off-Broadway productions, as well as works at the Goodman Theatre, Arena Stage, Deborah Zoe Laufer's Leveling Up for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Idris Goodwin's How We Got On for the Humana Festival of New American Plays and Lisa Loomer's Two Things You Don't Talk About At Dinner for Denver Center.
Among the plays that were nurtured at the O'Neill in its 50-year history are The House of Blue Leaves, Uncommon Women and Others, A Walk in the Woods, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson and Fences. Alumni include August Wilson, John Patrick Shanley, Wendy Wasserstein, Adam Rapp, Gina Gionfriddo, John Guare, David Henry Hwang and Adam Bock. Musicals developed at the O'Neill include Nine, Avenue Q, In The Heights, Violet and Tales of the City. The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center was founded in 1964 and is based in Waterford, CT. Programs at the Center include the Puppetry Conference, Playwrights Conference, Critics Institute, Music Theater Conference and the National Theater Institute. The Monte Cristo Cottage, O'Neill's childhood home, is also owned and operated by the group.
