Playwright Sarah Ruhl Set for Philadelphia Theatre Research Symposium, 4/29

The Villanova University Theatre Department has announced the 9th annual Philadelphia Theatre Research Symposium, featuring a keynote address by internationally renowned playwright Sarah Ruhl. This year's conference will be held on Wednesday, April 29th 2015 at Villanova University, and centers on the theme "Rewriting Histories: Rewriting the Past and the Plays of Sarah Ruhl."

The Philadelphia Theatre Research Symposium (PTRS) seeks to highlight the work of new scholars and performers while exploring how playwrights reveal the otherwise hidden histories that are often not included in dominant historical

chronicles. This symposium offers the opportunity to present work in progress and to share ideas with other researchers. Presentations will engage a broad range of topics in theatre and drama studies including but not limited to the work of Sarah Ruhl, historical revisionism, gender and history, race and history, and mythology and contemporary playwriting. In addition to these scholarly explorations, Villanova is especially thrilled to offer the opportunity to hear from Sarah Ruhl herself. Ms. Ruhl is a distinguished American playwright, and we are pleased to welcome her to the symposium.

PTRS will take place from 12 pm to 10 pm on Wednesday, April 29, 2015 in Bartley 1011 and Villanova Theatre, Vasey Hall. There will be 15-minute breaks throughout the day and a 45-minute reception after the panels. Keynote speaker Sarah Ruhl will speak at 4 pm. Performances will take place in the evening. This event is free and open to the public.. For the most up-to-date information and to register, please visit the PTRS website at http://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/theatre/symposium.html.

Sarah Ruhl's plays include: The Oldest Boy; In the Next Room, or the vibrator play; The Clean House; Passion Play; Dead Man's Cell Phone; Melancholy Play; Eurydice; Orlando; Late: a cowboy song; Dear Elizabeth and Stage Kiss. She has been a two-time Pulitzer prize finalist and a Tony award nominee. Her plays have been produced on Broadway at the Lyceum by Lincoln Center Theater, off-Broadway at Playwrights' Horizons, Second Stage, and at Lincoln Center's Mitzi Newhouse Theater. Her plays have been produced regionally all over the country, often with premiers at Yale Repertory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theater, the Goodman Theater, and the Piven Theatre Workshop in Chicago. In 2014 she was the second most produced playwright in the country. Her plays have also been produced internationally and have been translated into over twelve languages. Originally from Chicago, Ms. Ruhl received her M.F.A. from Brown University where she studied with Paula Vogel. She has received the Susan Smith Blackburn award, the Whiting award, the Lily Award, a PEN award for mid-career playwrights, and the MacArthur "genius" award. You can read more about her work on www.SarahRuhlplaywright.com. Her book of essays 100 Essays I Don't Have Time to Write was published last fall. She teaches at the Yale School of Drama, and she lives in Brooklyn with her family.