Playwright, cynic Wilson speaks

Critically acclaimed playwright and cynic Lanford Wilson read a one-act play and answered numerous questions with a combination of wit and sincerity to an audience of about 70 people last week in Logan Hall. Wilson's speech was part of the "PEN at Penn" program which brings artists, writers, actors and others to campus. Associate English professor and chairperson of the Theatre Arts department Cary Mazer introduced the writer, acknowledging Wilson's importance in modern drama and the introspective natures of the personalities he creates. "Along with Tennessee Williams, Wilson is the most performed playwright in America," Mazer said. "All of Wilson's characters at some point at least are willing to look at themselves." Before his reading of the one-act monologue Moonshot Tape, he warned the audience of the explicit contents of the play. "I thought it fitting that I read this play as PEN is a major combatant against censorship," he said. "N he play] is extremely X-rated." The play describes an interview with a 35-year old ex-hippie short-story writer named Diane who returns to her home in Ozark, Missouri. "I have all these guilt trips, ghosts, invading me," Diane says at one point in the play. After the reading, Wilson remained on stage and answered the audience's questions with a blend of sarcasm and honesty. For example, when asked about other writers that he admired, the Ozark native replied that, among others, he enjoys the works of abstract writers. "I like the people who write different from what I write," he said. ". . .I want to be more out there but everything I write turns out as another damn 'Lanford Wilson' play." Wilson also gave his insights on the decline of Broadway theater. "The problems M'ith theater[ are all in the commercial theater," he said. "I have absolutely no respect for these theme parks they call musicals . . . We need more challenging and difficult works. We're being fed sugar. Sugar is very, very bad for you." Much of the audience appreciated both the reading and Wilson's insights. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience to talk to a great writer like this," College freshman Julia Lotharius said. College senior Al Bingham also enjoyed the program. "I just enjoy hearing from people in the theater," he said. "Just hearing his feelings and his experiences was incredible." The intensity of the monologue even inspired one student. "It makes me want to write," Wharton junior Tony Angeles said.

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