Newswise — In tribute to one of Mount Holyoke College's most esteemed and beloved alumnae, the 2011-2012 academic year is being devoted to a celebration of the uncommon life of playwright Wendy Wasserstein.
Wasserstein, who graduated from Mount Holyoke 40 years ago as a member of the class of 1971, was an important figure in the New York theater scene from the late 1970s until her untimely death in 2006. She received virtually every major theater prize for her work — most notably a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize for her 1988 play, "The Heidi Chronicles." Throughout her life, she wrote numerous essays, several books, and 11 plays, including "Uncommon Women and Others" (1977), which chronicled the lives of a group of determined Mount Holyoke women.
The College's Archives and Special Collections and Department of Theatre Arts have organized a series of events to unfold throughout the year to celebrate Wasserstein, including an exhibition of her papers, which she left to Mount Holyoke in her will. Titled "The Uncommon Life of Wendy Wasserstein," the exhibition — opening October 28 and continuing through April 13 in the lobby of the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum — is a comprehensive collection of her writings from 1954 to 2006 and will feature diaries, family photographs, drafts and notes of her earliest writing attempts, correspondence with actors, production stills and clips of her plays, and theater paraphernalia.
The celebration coincides not only with the anniversary of Wasserstein's graduation from Mount Holyoke, but with the publication of a new and critically acclaimed biography, Julie Salamon’s "Wendy and the Lost Boys: The Uncommon Life of Wendy Wasserstein." Salamon interviewed many of Wasserstein's classmates for her book and met with them during their 40th reunion at Mount Holyoke this past May. She will return to MHC on Thursday, November 10 at 4 pm in Gamble Auditorium for a discussion of the book and a book signing. A formal opening reception for the Wasserstein exhibition will follow this event.
Wasserstein has been recognized by Mount Holyoke in the past. She received the Mary Lyon Award, named for the College's founder, in 1985 and an honorary doctorate in 1990, when she was also the College's commencement speaker.
The "Year of Wendy Wasserstein" will continue through the 2012 commencement with a series of symposia, workshops, performances, and staged readings featuring number of theater luminaries as participants. The public is invited to join this yearlong discussion of Wasserstein’s contributions to American theater and her enduring connection to the College. For full information, see: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/wendywasserstein/
Located in South Hadley, Massachusetts, Mount Holyoke was the first of the Seven Sisters—the female equivalent of the once predominantly male Ivy League—and established higher education for women as a serious endeavor. Today the College is known for its academic rigor, its highly diverse campus and global community, its worldwide network of influential alumnae, and its conviction that women can and should make a difference in the world. For more information, see: http://www.mtholyoke.edu
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