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Richard Nelson '72 was named chair of playwriting department at Yale School of Drama
Richard Nelson '72 was named chair of playwriting department at Yale School of Drama

Richard Nelson '72, an internationally acclaimed playwright and Tony-winner, is prepared to touch the lives of many an aspiring playwright when he becomes chairman of the playwriting department of Yale School of Drama on July 1. This appointment is considered one of the most prestigious in the world of theatrical academia, and Nelson will begin his stint at Yale after a 30-year career in the playwriting industry.

A May 22 New York Times article describes his new venture. "His reasons, he said, were twofold. One, he said, he has a solid vision for the direction of the school, a move away from 'the unfortunate nurturing culture' of play readings and semistaged workshops that many programs rely on when teaching playwrights. In lay terms, Mr. Nelson said, he wants his writers to see their work on its feet in productions by fellow students, an idea he thinks will put 'the play back at the center of the theater and at the center of the school.'"

Some of Nelson's plays include "The Killing of Yablonski," "Some Americans Abroad," "Two Shakespearean Actors," and "Madame Melville," the first of which was performed in the U.S. in the 1970s, and the latter three in Britain.
As Yale is deemed one of the top theater programs in the nation, many graduates continue on to Broadway and Hollywood, and include such big-screen actors and actresses as Meryl Streep, Frances McDormand, John Turturro, Sigourney Weaver and Charles S. Dutton.

Before he has officially taken up his post as chairman, Nelson has already selected three students to participate in his three-year playwriting program from an applicant pool of 150 candidates, and he has made plans to begin a series of new play festivals to display the work of his students.

In the Times article, Nelson concluded, "It's a difficult business, and when you've been in it 30 years, you've seen a lot of carcasses on the edge of the road…But so far, cynicism is the last thing I've discovered. It's the opposite. It's a joy, an enthusiasm, an excitement, and fear, obviously, wondering if they are good, what kind of career they could actually have. It's all those things. But cynicism is not there."

-- by Katherine Trainor

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