The American Playwrights Theatre: Creating a partnership between commercial and educational theatre as an alternative to Broadway in the 1960s and 1970s.

摘要

The American Playwrights Theatre, in operation from 1963 until 1980, occupies a unique place in American theatre history. The organization created an unprecedented partnership between the educational theatre and the commercial theatre. This partnership sought to premiere new American plays by established dramatists through a venue other than Broadway; namely, the non-commercial stages of American colleges and universities. Community theatres and regional theatres were included to a lesser degree.; APT was formed in response to the economically oppressive professional theatre situation of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Skyrocketing production costs had created a very financially challenging climate for the professional playwright. APT sought to premiere new plays, most of which were of a serious dramatic nature, in a less financially restrictive atmosphere.; Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, playwrights of Inherit the Wind and Auntie Mame as well as other Broadway plays, were the founders of the American Playwrights Theatre. Other participating playwrights were Robert Anderson, Elmer Rice, Edward Albee, and many others. Representatives of American universities and colleges, as well as regional theatres also participated.; The organization fostered the original production of a number of plays, most notably Anderson's The Days Between and Lawrence and Lee's The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail. Ron Cowen's Summertree and Preston Jones' The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia were also produced.; APT existed in a time period during which a distinct decentralization away from New York City took place in the American theatre. The organization proved that a play could be successful by a standard other than Broadway production. APT plays reached audiences nationwide without bearing the Broadway stamp of success.; The American Playwrights Theatre was founded at a time when there were only a handful of regional theatres in the United States. When APT disbanded in 1980, regionals had been established in many major cities throughout the country. Today, regionals accomplish many of the same goals of APT: the premiere of new plays outside of New York, the fostering of new works by established and new playwrights, and the reaching of a national audience.