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T Playwrights' Theatre Awards: Playwrights' Theatre“A Touch of the Poet” by Eugene O’Neill A Touch of the Poet, synopsis Set in a rundown tavern on the outskirts of Boston in 1820, “A Touch of the Poet” relates the saga of the family life of Cornelius Melody, the tavern owner, his daughter Sara, and wife, Nora. After a prosperous life in Ireland and distinguished military service, Melody brings his family to America to enrich himself as an entrepreneur with a glorious pedigree. But his dreams are foiled when he squanders his fortune buying the remote tavern. His daughter, Sara, is scornful of her father’s putting on airs and abuse of her mother. Sara is given the opportunity to escape the family when the estranged son of local gentry falls ill and takes up residence in a room above the tavern while Sara nurses him. The young man’s father refuses to allow the marriage of his son to the daughter of the neighborhood immigrant laughingstock. Cornelius decides to theatrically avenge the insult to his family, with far-reaching consequences. “A Touch of the Poet” is one of two plays Eugene O’Neill wrote for a planned 11 part “American History” cycle. It is a multi-faceted saga about a family’s nostalgia for past glories and dreams for a better future. It is told with humor, music and grand storytelling. About Playwrights' Theatre Playwrights’ Theatre, now in its 14th season, is a program of the Eugene O’Neill Foundation in partnership with the National Park Service, which maintains Tao House as a National Historic Site. The theatre features new works as well as those by O’Neill or by playwrights who were influenced by the legendary dramatist. In 1996, the Eugene O'Neill foundation initiated the Playwrights’ Theatre, a series of staged readings of plays in the Old Barn at Tao House. Prominent Bay Area directors and actors take part. The name of the series honors O’Neill’s Playwrights’ Theatre, formed in 1916 in New York City by the Provincetown Players who committed themselves to fostering American playwrights. Eugene O'Neill FestivalMark your calendars for the upcoming 2009 Eugene O’Neill Festival in Danville, September 24 through 27. Please click here for more information. 2008
O'Neill International Conference
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he
Foundation hosts a number of events in the community of Danville,
California throughout the year, including the Eugene O'Neill Festival,
Playwrights' Theatre and Artist Days at Tao House. You can find
the details for upcoming events below:
Why Student Days (PDF) |
Artist Days at Tao House
The Eugene O'Neill Foundation, in partnership with the National Park Service, announces its eleventh annual Artist Days at Tao House
The program offers Bay Area artists an opportunity to create new works in all media or artistic genre in the inspirational environment of the 11-acre site that was once the home of the legendary American playwright Eugene O'Neill. His former estate, Tao House, is a National Historic Site managed by the National Park Service. It borders the Las Trampas open space with a commanding view of the San Ramon Valley and Mt. Diablo.
Artists may apply to reserve any or all of the dates for the 2009 program. They are:
October 8, 9, 10, 2009
The fee is $5 per day and reservations are required.
Since private vehicles are not allowed on the property, artists will assemble at 8:45 a.m. each day at the Museum of the San Ramon Valley in Danville (205 Railroad Avenue). They will board a National Park Service van for the short trip to the site. The van will return to the parking lot at 2:45 p.m.
Because space on the van is limited, artists are asked to limit the size and volume of items they wish to bring with them. They should also provide their own food and beverages. Water, refrigeration and restrooms are available on the site.
For more information contact the Eugene O'Neill Foundation, Tao House (925.820.1818; taohouse@pacbell.net)
2008 Artists and Descriptions of Paintings
Visiting Artist Program
The first Visiting Artist at Tao House was Michael O’Neill, who visited from April 15-May 15, 2005. Dr. O’Neill is Director of Theater, Lafayette College, Easton, Pa. A prolific director, he has also written for The Theatre Journal, Renascence, and The Eugene O’Neill Review.
A graduate of Fordham University, he received his PhD from Purdue University, where his dissertation was: The Evolution of Form in Contemporary Drama.
He is currently writing a book on the Irish character that was created in Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World, and its shadow on subsequent Irish drama, including the works of Bernard Shaw, Sean O’Casey, Eugene O’Neill, Brian Friel and Martin McDonagh.
While at Tao House, O’Neill conducted research and writing, directed plays for the foundation’s Playwrights’ Theatre, and lectured at Rakestraw Books in Danville. His comments on his experience at Tao House are included in the September 2005 Eugene O’Neill Foundation newsletter.
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Help Your Organization Learn More About O’Neill – and the O’Neill Foundation
As part of its goal of perpetuating the life and works of Eugene O’Neill, the foundation helps spread the word through a corps of knowledgeable speakers. They’re available to speak to your organization or at informal gatherings. Their topics include the life and times of O’Neill and the activities and programs of the foundation in association with the National Park Service. Talks can be tailored to satisfy the interests and time limits of your organization. To schedule a speaker, contact us at (925) 820-1818 or via e-mail at taohouse@eugeneoneill.org.
Past O'Neill Foundation Events
Since its founding, the foundation has sponsored special educational and artistic events. A West Coast Theater Directors Conference was held in preparation for the O’Neill Centennial celebrated in 1988. The conference brought together directors from Seattle to Los Angeles. Jose Quintero and Jason Robards participated. Other centennial activities included performances in Danville and culminated in a Birthday Party on October 16, 1988 in San Francisco. The party was a cooperative venture with the American Conservatory Theater and brought together scenes from several O’Neill plays.
In 1994 the Foundation sponsored a three-day international conference, O’Neill on World Stages, focusing on the theatrical vitality of O’Neill’s writing. The conference had three components: the delivery of research papers; a performance by both a Russian and Chinese troupe of Long Day’s Journey into Night; and a visit to Tao House. The conference was organized in association with the National Park Service and St. Mary’s College. The Bay-Area O’Neill Scholars Consortium was formed in 1998 to bring O’Neill scholars together to sponsor seminars and conferences and review new books relating to O’Neill.
O’Neill Seminars are held on an occasional basis. The first was offered in 1996, and two of the most successful were in October 2001, based on A Moon for the Misbegotten, and another as part of the 2004 O’Neill Festival.
Special Ceremony Sept. 18, 2008
O’Neill Foundation Presents Award Posthumously to Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson was honored posthumously with a Tao House Award from the Eugene O’Neill Foundation at a ceremony on Sept. 18, 2008.
The ceremony will kick off the ninth annual O’Neill festival, focusing this year on the O’Neill-Robeson connection.
The award ceremony, including a video tribute to Robeson, began Sept. prior to the curtain for “All God’s Chillun Got Wings,” in Danville’s Village Theatre, 233 Front Street.
Tickets for Sept. 18 included a post-performance champagne-dessert reception in the Pioneer Art Gallery, 524 Hartz Ave. There, guests had an opportunity to see “A Hero for All Time,” an exhibit on the life and career of Robeson.
Joining in the Sept. 18 award ceremony was recording artist Lawrence Beamen, a baritone whose singing was influenced by Robeson. Beamen will sing Jerome Kern’s “Ol’ Man River,” which Robeson, with his deep baritone voice, introduced in “Show Boat” and is regarded as the definitive version of the song in both stage and screen productions.
In addition to his career as an actor on stage and in films, Robeson is regarded an exceptional athlete, singer, author, cultural scholar, and political activist.
His first acting roles were in 1922 in “Taboo,”(a play later renamed “Voodoo”) in Harlem. Two years later he won acclaim for his performance in the title role of O’Neill’s “The Emperor Jones.” He repeated the role in the 1933 movie version.
Robeson is credited with being the first artist to bring old spirituals to the concert stage.
The Tao House Award is named after O’Neill’s estate, now a National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, in the rolling hills above Danville. The award is given to individuals who have served the American theater with distinction.
The first recipient, in 1989, was actor Jason Robards. Others include Broadway producers Paul Libin and Theodore Mann, O’Neill biographers Arthur and Barbara Gelb, and actress Cherry Jones.
Ninth Eugene O’Neill Festival Focused On Connection Between Dramatist, Robeson
September 19-21, 2008
The camera catches dramatic moments in the performance of O'Neill's "All God's Chillun Got Wings," the centerpiece of the 2009 Festival. It was produced by the Eugene O'Neill Foundation in partnership with the National Park Service. --Photos by Tom Donahoe
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 Festival goers enjoyed a walkin tour of Danville that began at the Eugene O'Neill Commemorative in Front Street Park. |
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AWARDS AND HONORS
THE TAO HOUSE AWARD
This award is
given to a person who, in the opinion of the board, has served the
American Theater with distinction. The recipient may be actively
involved in performance areas, including acting, directing, design
or producing and may also be a critic or scholar who has written
significantly about the theater in the United States. The first
Tao House Award was presented to Jason Robards Jr. on November 12,
1989. A longtime supporter of the foundation, Robards was instrumental
in the success of the foundation’s first benefit performance.
UC Professor
emeritus Travis Bogard, foundation artistic director, board, O’Neill
author, editor and scholar received the award in October 1993. At
the International Conference in June 1994, Dr. Donald Gallup became
the third recipient of the award. In his many years as curator of
the American Literature collection of the Beinecke Rare Book and
Manuscript Library at Yale University, Dr. Gallup made a “permanent
contribution to the American theater.”
Arthur and Barbara Gelb, authors of a biography of O’Neill,
received the fourth Tao House Award in April 1996.
In 1999 Producer Director Theodore Mann who has produced 16 plays and 2 recording of O’Neill works was presented with the award. This was followed in 2003 when Paul Libin, Broadway producer and collaborator with Mann, was honored, and in January, 2006, when the award was presented to Stephen Black, author and authority on O’Neill. A special presentation of the award was made in November 2006 to Cherry Jones, who is regarded as the finest stage actress of her generation.
Another award for 2006 was presented in January 2007 to Edward Hastings, a founding member of the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), the Tony Award winning regional theater company in San Francisco.
In 2008, the Tao House Award was presented posthumously to Paul Robeson.
THE OPEN GATE AWARD
This award honors those who have served as directors of the foundation
and whose dedication and service have enhanced the memory of Eugene
O’Neill.
It was first
presented in 1991 to Thalia Brewer, co-founder of the Eugene O’Neill
National Monument Association, which was organized to wage the campaign
that saved Tao House from destruction. The association eventually
became the Eugene O’Neill Foundation. In 1992 Darlene Blair
and Lois Sizoo. also founders of the association, were honored.
Subsequent honorees include Craig Dorman, 1993, Ruth Turner, 1995;
Frances Chumley, 1998; Linda Best, 2003; Virginia Denison, 2004;
Wendy Cooper, 2006.
THE ARTISTIC AWARD
The Artistic Award (The Genie) is given to individuals who have
been outstanding in their commitment to the Foundation’s mission
to provide artistic and educational programs, which focus on the
contribution of Eugene O’Neill to the American theater. Past
recipients are Kerri Shawn and Richard James (2003) ), well known
actors who have assisted the foundation in Student Days and other
foundation programs; and Michael Uppendal (2006), artistic director
of the Namaste Theatre Company based in Los Angeles. His company
performed O’Neill’s sea plays and “Hughie”
in the Old Barn at Tao House.
THE FREEMAN AWARD
This award is named for Herbert Freeman. He served as chauffeur
and “man of all work and friend. He is credited with helping
to make life more comfortable for the O’Neills at Tao House.
This award is presented to volunteers who have tirelessly given
their time and talents to the Eugene O’Neill Foundation.
Past recipients include Tony Cooper (2003), who has photographed
and videotaped foundation events and added content to the foundation’s
online research library; J.R.K. Kantor (2004), who worked on the
foundation library and served as a docent at Tao House; Glenn Fuller
(2005), former National Park Service superintendent with responsibilities
for Tao House; and Michael Cook (2006), for 30 years a Bay Area
theatrical designer, writer, actor and director, who also teaches
at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga. He has assisted with productions
at Tao House.
LOIS SIZOO ENDOWMENT FUND
In 2001 an endowment fund was established to honor the memory of
Lois Sizoo, founding member of the foundation. This fund is the
repository for all memorial gifts to the foundation. This fund will
support the work of new playwrights.
O’NEILL COMMEMORATIVE
IN DANVILLE
In 2004 the Board of Directors and the Town of Danville approved
the installation of an O’Neill Commemorative in Front Street
Park, Danville. This public art installation celebrates O’Neill’s
life in Danville and his plays, the last six of which were written
at Tao House, that earned him recognition as the playwright who
reshaped American theater. Formal unveiling and dedication of the
commemorative took place on Wednesday, September 28, 2005. View
an interactive tour of the commemorative...
