Friends
Maya Angelou at the 1998 WP Women of Achievement Awards at Tavern on the Green (photo by Martha Holmes)
Maya Angelou was honored at WP’s 1998 Women of Achievement Awards, and shared this extraordinary poem with a rapt audience.
Wendy Wasserstein was an incredible advocate for women’s voices onstage, and served on WP’s board for many years. This anecdote is excerpted from Wendy’s speech accepting WP’s 1989 Women of Achievement Award, the same year that she would also accept a Tony Award for Best Play for her play The Heidi Chronicles.
Emily Mann was a member of WP’s original Directors’ Forum, the group that would ultimately become the legendary WP Lab for writers, directors, and producers. WP produced Emily’s play, Still Life, in 1981, for which she won OBIE Awards for Playwriting, Direction, and Production.
Gloria Steinem was a great supporter of WP’s work advocating for women onstage, and it was our great privilege to honor her at our 1989 Women of Achievement Awards. We have excerpted a short piece from her powerful remarks that night.
Billie Allen and Julia Miles had a lifelong friendship and artistic collaboration that spanned WP’s history. Billie directed three productions at WP: Kathleen Collins’ The Brothers (1982), Jo Carson’s Day Trips (1990), and Bridgette A. Wimberly’s St. Lucy’s Eyes (2001). Billie sat on WP’s Advisory Board, and was a generous, thoughtful presence at WP events. She was a legend in the field, and is much missed.
Wendy Wasserstein and Julia Miles at the 1989 WP Women of Achievement Awards at Tavern on the Green (photo by Martha Holmes)
Emily Mann at WP’s 20th Anniversary Conference, Women in Theatre: Mapping the Sources of Power (photo by Martha Holmes)
Wendy Wasserstein, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Kaity Tong, Jewel Jackson McCabe & Gloria Steinem at the 1989 WP Women of Achievement Awards at Tavern on the Green (photo by Martha Holmes)
