New work to be created; to be produced by McCarter
By: David Campbell
Playwright Edward Albee has been named the first recipient of the Princeton University/McCarter Theatre Playwriting Fellowship, a new theatrical initiative funded by the Ford Foundation that will bring Mr. Albee to campus for several months beginning in fall 2007, the university said.
While in residence, Mr. Albee will create a new work that will be produced by McCarter Theatre and also will teach in Princeton’s Program in Theater and Dance.
"At a time when Princeton is committing to becoming a national leader in arts education, we’re lucky to have Ford’s encouragement to bring together the extraordinary resources of both organizations," said Michael Cadden, director of the Program in Theater and Dance.
Mr. Albee first gained national attention in 1959 with his production of "The Zoo Story." He has won the Pulitzer Prize in drama for "A Delicate Balance," "Seascape," currently playing on Broadway, and "Three Tall Women."
He earned a Tony Award for "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" a revival of "A Delicate Balance," and "The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?" He has been honored for his work with a gold medal from the Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, a Kennedy Center Honor and a National Medal of Arts.
Mr. Albee spent time on the Princeton campus during the 1991-1992 academic year as a Belknap Visitor through the university’s Council of the Humanities. In 2002, he collaborated with McCarter Theatre Artistic Director Emily Mann on the production of his play, "All Over," and gave an address as part of the university’s Public Lecture Series.
"Edward Albee acutely understands the function of art in a free society," Ms. Mann said. "As America’s premier living playwright, he is also an incisive critic of American culture, and has dedicated much of his life to teaching the craft and art of writing for the stage."
University President Shirley M. Tilghman said the fellowship provides students with an opportunity to work with and learn from one of the finest playwrights working today. "I am deeply indebted to Emily Mann and Michael Cadden, and to the Ford Foundation, for this wonderful collaboration that brings a playwright of Edward Albee’s distinction to Princeton," she said.

