Date/Time
Date(s) - Friday, February 28, 2020
10:50 am - 11:50 am
Location
Skinner Memorial Chapel, Carleton College
Categories No Categories
Playwright Don Zolidis ’97 will deliver Carleton College’s weekly convocation address on Friday, Feb. 28, from 10:50-11:50 a.m. in the Skinner Memorial Chapel. In his presentation, titled, “In Defense of Silliness: How the Radical Nature of Irreverence Can Change the World,” he will discuss how his work as a satirist, humorist, and parodist feeds his belief in the transformative power of art to create a more just and equitable society.
Zolidis is one of the most-produced playwrights in America. His 118 published plays have received over 15,000 productions, appearing in every U.S. state and 67 countries. Among the best-known theaters where his work has been performed are The Purple Rose Theatre, The Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Phoenix Theatre, Stage West, and the Williamstown Theatre.
Originally from Wisconsin, Zolidis majored in English at Carleton, where his first plays were performed in Little Nourse Theatre. After graduation, he worked as a middle and high school teacher and continued to write plays. Now a full-time writer and playwright, he has received numerous honors, including the 2004 Princess Grace Award in Playwriting and a 2013 nomination for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for “White Buffalo”. His plays have also received two Edgerton New Play awards and multiple NEA grants. His first novel, “The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig,” was published in 2018 and is loosely based on a relationship he had while at Carleton.
Zolidis received his BA from Carleton and an MFA in playwriting from the Actor’s Studio Program at The New School.
