A Child of the Theatre:
Born: March 12, 1928 (Washington D.C.)
Edward Albee's plays feature emotionally charged characters, realistic dialogue, and wonderfully absurd situations.
Albee grew up surrounded by the Theatre. His adoptive parents owned and operated a chain of theaters during the height of Vaudeville. Although incredibly bright as a young man, he was expelled from various schools including Trinity College. He was infamous for skipping classes.
Emerging as a Writer:
Throughout his 20s, he lived in Manhattan where he struggled as a writer. He had little luck as a poet and fiction writer. However, he eventually found his voice by writing for his first love, the Stage. In 1959 he achieved his first success with The Zoo Story, a one-act drama about a violent exchange between a middle-class “Average Joe” and a homeless man.After writing other off-Broadway one-act plays, Albee created his most famous work, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, a starkly realistic portrayal of dysfunctional couples.
Beyond "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf":
Albee's drama was selected to win a Pulitzer Prize. Unfortunately, the trustees of Columbia University disapproved of the play's sexual content. No prize for drama was awarded that year.Not all of his plays were financial successes, but artistically Albee continued to flourish. For example, Seascape (1975) is a strange yet mesmerizing conversation between humans and lizards. The quirky drama finally garnered him a Pulitzer Prize.
Another critical triumph, Three Tall Women (1994) explores the life of one person (played by three different actresses) each representing a different age in the woman’s life.
Is Nothing Taboo???:
The Goat or Who is Sylvia presents Albee at the height of his absurdist style. It’s the story of an affluent architect who has a loving family. Unfortunately, he ruins it all when he has an affair… with a goat. That’s right, the protagonist is madly in love with a goat.While the play’s premise is bizarre to say the least, the turbulent dialogue is a creative way to explore social taboos. Despite the seemingly silly (and rather disgusting) subject matter, The Goat took home the 2002 Tony Award for Best play.
Still Writing and Inspiring Others:
After over 80 years of living on planet Earth, Edward Albee is still writing and still has much to say about us earthlings (whether human or livestock!).
He is also still inspiring others. The Edward Albee Foundation offers selected writers and visual artists a month-long residency at “the Barn,” a creative commune in rural Long Island, New York.
In 2008, to celebrate his birthday, he directed two of his one-act plays: The American Dream and The Sandbox.
