Constance S. Congdon (born 1944) is an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

. She has won grants and awards from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, the

W. Alton Jones Foundation The W. Alton Jones Foundation was a charitable foundation, and a sponsor of environmental causes. It was originally involved in sponsoring the arts, particularly theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses ...

, and the Guggenheim Foundation, and is the recipient of a 2019 Lilly Award, which recognizes extraordinary women in theatre. In 2021 she was honored with the Legacy Playwrights Initiative Award by the

Dramatists Guild Foundation The Dramatists Guild Foundation (DGF) is a public charity. According to its website, its mission is "to aid and nurture writers for the theater; to fund non-profit theaters producing contemporary American works; and to heighten awareness, apprecia ...

, for her sustained achievement, enduring excellence and influence on the American theater. Congdon was described by

Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work ''Angels in America'' which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn ...

as "one of the best playwrights our country, and our language, has produced." The scope of Congdon's plays has been described as "epic." Her first play had 30 scenes and 57 characters, and her 2001 play ''Casanova'' covered 73 years in 19 scenes set between Paris and Venice. Her most well-known plays and adaptations include: ''Tales of the Lost Formicans'', ''Casanova'', ''Lips,'' ''Losing Father's Body,'' ''The Misanthrope'', ''A Mother'', ''No Mercy'', ''The Servant of Two Masters'', ''Tartuffe'' and ''Paradise Street.'' She has written a number of opera libretti and seven plays for the

Children's Theatre Company The Children's Theatre Company is a regional theater established in 1965 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, specializing in plays for families, young audiences and the very young. The theater is the largest theater for multigenerational audiences in th ...

of Minneapolis. Her playwriting career includes an adaptation of Maxim Gorky's ''A Mother'' with

Olympia Dukakis Olympia Dukakis (June 20, 1931 – May 1, 2021) was an American actress. She performed in more than 130 stage productions, more than 60 films and in 50 television series. Best known as a screen actress, she started her career in theater. Not lon ...

in the lead role. Congdon was born in

Rock Rapids, Iowa Rock Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,611 in the 2020 census, an increase from 2,573 in the 2000 census. History A post office called Rock Rapids has been in operation since 187 ...

. Her first play, ''Gilgamesh'', was produced in 1977. Congdon received her M.F.A. from the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

in 1982. She taught playwriting at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

from 1993 to 2018 as its Playwright-in-Residence. Now retired from academia, Congdon continues to write from her home. Current projects include a novel and works of poetry.

References

External links

CenterStage Playwright-In-Residence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Congdon, Constance 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 1944 births Living people University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights American women dramatists and playwrights American opera librettists Women opera librettists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers People from Rock Rapids, Iowa Writers from Iowa Amherst College alumni