Published in the April/May 1998 Dramatists Guild newsletter and penned Mar. 17 is a farewell letter from DG executive director Richard Garmise, who decided to make a sudden career change and take a job in theatre law.

Garmise started at DG as director of business affairs in 1993 and rose to executive director in 1995. He'll stay on as a consultant as the Guild searches for a new head. Christopher Wilson, associate director, will serve as acting executive director in the interim. Also helping the transition will be director of business affairs, Ralph Sevush.

Wrote Garmise in his letter, "I leave reluctantly but feel I'm taking something of you with me as I go, and hope that I've left at least a little bit of myself behind for you."

The Dramatists Guild is "the professional association of playwrights, composers and lyricists" and serves as a watchdog organization for when theatrical authors deal with producers, publishers and theatre owners. Peter Stone, librettist for 1776 and Titanic, is the Dramatist Guild's president.

-- By David Lefkowitz