M. Elizabeth Osborn

M[argaret] Elizabeth (Betty) Osborn, (born in Alabama in 1939; died of pancreatic cancer in Virginia in 1993, age 54), was a playwright, author, theater director, critic, editor, and educator. From the 1980s to early ‘90s, she was a prominent member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA).

Her work on behalf of emerging playwrights has been honored since her death by ATCA’s establishment of the M. Elizabeth Osborn Award,^[1] now granted annually to a promising new American dramatist.

A Dramaturg in Virginia

Osborn received her Ph.D. in English from the University of Pennsylvania. In the 1970s, she was an Assistant Professor of Theatre at St. Mary's College of Maryland. While on leave she was accepted as a student of directing in the Virginia Museum Theater Conservatory. From that base, she helped to pioneer the resident professional theater movement in Richmond, where she served as a “Dramaturg"—at the time a relatively new position in American regional theatre—of the Repertory Company of the Virginia Museum Theater (VMT).^[2]

Osborn not only composed and published program notes for VMT shows^[3] but exercised a strong advisory influence on the selection of the theater’s repertoire. She took the lead in organizing the literary and conservatory operations of the company, including the direction and co-direction of conservatory shows. At the end of the decade she took the post of associate artistic director of the American Revels Company (Revels), also in Richmond. With director Keith Fowler she aided in the administration of Revels, shared responsibility for the company's focus on bringing the black and white communities of Richmond together in a "unity audience," and also served as the company’s unofficial dramaturg.

Her literary prowess earned her the direction of major productions. She staged Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (1978) and, consistent with her career-long encouragement of new plays, she mounted the Revels' premiere of Kevin Heelan's Hope I hear it Again (1979). In 1979, her own poetic drama of America's wars, Ashes of Soldiers, received its world premiere by Revels, with Osborn co-directing and acting in the ensemble.

Osborn appearing in her play, Ashes of Soldiers. Left to right: Ron Burn, M. E. Osborn, Gil Shaw, Rusty Owen, Kent Thompson

Colleagues recall that in her directorial work in the Virginia theaters she was always a generous and even-handed leader. She is remembered for the supportive artistic and intellectual guidance she offered her actors.^[4]

”Betty-O,” a Supportive Critic

New York: Work at Theatre Communications Group

In the 1980s, Osborn joined the staff of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) in New York City, where she focused on editing and criticism. In her capacity as a theater critic, Osborn—known to friends as “Betty-O”—leaned away from the acerbic and caustic, toward support and encouragement. She was always highly appreciative of theater artists, as typified by her letter in tribute to director/colleague John Hirsch in the New York Times.^[5]

She was especially known for promoting and fostering little-known playwrights, using her influence to encourage major directors and playhouses to utilize them more frequently and consistently.

Support of traditionally marginalized voices and works in theater

From the 1980s to her death in the early '90s, Osborn sought to bring attention to marginalized theater voices. Her emphasis on new plays by Hispanic authors and on dramatic works dealing with the AIDS crisis can be seen in her critical anthologies.

Support of Latino Playwrights

She brought focus to late-20th century Latino playwrights in 'her book 'On New Ground^[6]

Writings on the impact of AIDS on American stage theater

Osborn showed how American theatre artists confronted the plague of AIDS in her book The Way We Live Now.^[7]

Reception

Osborn's work in these volumes is recognized for revealing the “most important trends in contemporary American drama.”^[8]

The M. Elizabeth Osborn Award

The Osborn Award, a plaque shown here for Jason Wells, 2010 winner

The M. Elizabeth Osborn Award was established in 1993 by the American Theater Critics Association (ATCA) to honor Osborn's memory by continuing her mission of recognizing outstanding but little known authors. Colleagues recall how she would politely but persistently urge producers to mount productions of untried authors.^[9]

Her record as a supporter of new writers has been extended for years to come by the creation of the prestigious award. The prize includes a monetary grant. The "Osborn" is conferred on a new American playwright at the Humana Festival of New American Plays held each year at the Actors Theater of Louisville.^[10]

Seattle-based playwright Keri Healey was the 2013 Osborn Award winner, honored for her play Torso.^[10] Darren Canady, an assistant professor at the University of Kansas (KU), received the award in 2012 for his play about rural African-American life, Brothers of the Dust.^{[10] [11]} Among other Osborn laureates are Rebecca Gilman,^[10] Los Angeles author Dan O'Brien,^[10] and Brooklyn playwright J.T. Rogers.^[10]

List of Osborn Award Laureates

Books

M. Elizabeth Osborn wrote or edited the following books:

• Osborn, M. Elizabeth (Editor), The Way We Live Now: American Plays and the AIDS Crisis, plays by Terrence McNally, Tony Kushner, Christopher Durang, Lanford Wilson, Susan Sontag, Harry Kondoleon, David Greenspan, and Paula Vogel. Paperback, 304 pages, Published January 1, 1990 by Theatre Communications Group, ISBN 1559360054, literary awards Lambda Literary Foundation Award for AIDS (1990)
• Osborn (Author), On New Ground: contemporary Hispanic-American plays, Paperback, 288 pages, Published December 1, 1987 by Theatre Communications Group ISBN 0930452682
• Osborn (Author), John Hirsch at Yale, Duke University Press, doi: 10.1215/01610775-21-1_and_2-120 Theater 1990 Volume 21, Number 1
• Osborn (Author), Dramatists Sourcebook, 1986-87, Theatre Communications Group, December 1986, ISBN 9780930452575

References