Michael Weller, Playwright

Playwright Michael Weller delivered two lectures as part of the Ralph L. Collins Memorial Lecture Series during his 1989 visit to Bloomington. They were entitled How to Become a Playwright and How Not to Become a Playwright.

Playwright Michael Wellers first major stage success was Moon Children, originally presented under the title Cancer in London in 1970. Another success came with Loose Ends, which premiered in Washington D.C. in 1979. Weller was represented on Broadway with Spoils of War, which premiered in November, 1988. Other notable plays include Fishing, Split, The Ballad of Soapy Smith, and Ghost on Fire. Wellers work has been performed on and off-Broadway, and at many of the major repertory theatres in the US, including the New York Shakespeare Festival, the Mark Taper Forum, the Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf, Circle-in-the-Square, Seattle Repertory, La Jolla Playhouse, and the Second Stage, where he was Literary Advisor. In addition to playwriting, Weller has written the screen adaptations of Doctorows novel Ragtime, the musical hair, and the play Lost Angels, among others.