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Wendy MacLeod is Born
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JFK Assassination
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy's death was one of the first truly mass-media events, with the entire nation watching minute-by-minute television coverage on the day it happened and the days that followed, catching all of America up in the horror in a way that hadn't been possible in the past. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/11/22/president-john-f-kennedy-assassinated-61-years-ago/76497785007/ -
Roe vs. Wade
Roe v. Wade, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (7–2) that unduly restrictive state regulation of abortion is unconstitutional. Court held that a set of Texas statutes criminalizing abortion in most instances violated a constitutional right to privacy, which it found to be implicit in the liberty guarantee of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. https://www.britannica.com/event/Roe-v-Wade -
The AIDS Epidemic
The CDC receives a report on Ken Horne, a gay man living in San Francisco who is suffering from Kaposi’s Sarcoma, a rare and unusually aggressive cancer linked with weakened immunity. Horne dies on November 30, 1981. The same year, the CDC retroactively identifies Horne as the first American patient of the AIDS epidemic. The AIDS epidemic continued to sweep the nation until the 2010's, when research finally yielded life-saving medicine. https://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/hiv-treatment-history -
Kenyon College
MacLeod graduated from Kenyon College with a Bachelor of Arts degree. -
Apocalyptic Butterflies
Synopsis:
It's Christmas Eve in Fryeburg Maine, and Hank Tater has fallen on hard times. He wakes up to find his house surrounded by totem poles, his baby still in need of a name, and his wife ready to split for Howard Johnson's. It would take a miracle to get his life back together, but miracles come to pass--a toe walks to the hospital, the Three Kings stop by, and a married couple rediscovers their love for one another. Apocalyptic Butterflies premiered at Yale Repertory Theatre in 1987. -
Yale School of Drama
MacLeod graduated from Yale University with a Master of Fine Arts degree. -
The House of Yes
The House of Yes opened at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco in April 1990 and went off-Broadway at the Soho Repertory Theatre in January 1995. MacLeod stated that The House of Yes is about "people that have never been said no to" wishing to depict the "insularity I see in the upper classes, people who have cut themselves off from the rest of the world and are living by the rules they've invented." A feature film adaptation was written and directed by Mark Waters, releasing 1997. -
The Shallow End and The Lost Colony
Besides the fact that The Shallow End and The Lost Colony are two separate one-acts, all I could find was the link the a pdf scan of the script that requires a [free] account sign-up: https://archive.org/details/shallowendlostco0000macl/mode/1up -
Sin
Synopsis:
Set in San Francisco on the eve of the 1989 earthquake, Sin is a contemporary morality play featuring "Avery Bly on High,". Avery says, "From the sky, the world is perfect," but on the ground she is surrounded by people who are less than perfect. It takes her dying brother to make her see that pride is the deadliest of sins, and it takes an Act of God to bring her back down to Earth. Sin premiered at The Goodman Theater in 1994. -
Schoolgirl Figure
There wasn't much information about this play beyond a synopsis, essentially saying that the theme of this play is eating disorders and body image. Backstage Review: "While the Lounge is an attractive new space, Schoolgirl Figure, directed by Alex M. LaGory, is mostly a one-joke tale of eating disorders that becomes repetitive and predictable before the first act ends." https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/schoolgirl-figure-38501/ -
The Water Children
This play addresses abortion and women's' bodily autonomy A quote from my website source: "If this sounds like an earnest cautionary lesson about one of the most controversial moral issues of our time, forget it. Playwright Wendy MacLeod is hip, funny and slick." http://matrixtheatre.com/shows/thewaterchildren.html -
Immediate Family
Wendy MacLeod is a very private person. The only personal information I could find was that she is married to Read Baldwin, and has two sons named Foss and Avery (ages unknown). -
Juvenilia
Synopsis:
Bored of frat parties and second-run movies, a group of college friends challenge each other to have a 3-way with the Christian who lives next door. In this undergraduate world of irony and internet porn, sex is commonplace but love is the thing that dares not speak its name. Juvenilia premiered at Playwrights Horizons in 2003 -
Things Being What They Are
Synopsis:
As Bill anxiously waits for his unfaithful wife and his furniture, he is visited by Jack, an older divorced neighbor who suggests the loneliness of life after marriage. A comic and wistful exploration of love, loss, and the needs that bring people together and drive them apart. Things Being What They Are premiered at Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2003. -
Period: to
United States Great Recession
Beginning in late 2007 and lasting until mid-2009, it was the longest and deepest economic downturn in many countries, including the United States, since the Great Depression (1929 – 1939). https://www.britannica.com/money/great-recession -
Find and Sign
Synopsis:
Set in the New York City music industry, Find and Sign takes us through the bumpy romance between an on-the-rise young record executive and an idealistic public school teacher. A funny, touching and compelling romance. Find and Sign premiered at Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2012. -
The Ballad of Bonnie Prince Chucky
Synopsis:
When the rugby captain at a Scottish boarding school declares himself king and the only legitimate Charlie, the players (boys, girls and the conflicted) fight for the right to rule and the right to be called Charlie. A hilarious and romantic, contemporary Scottish play. The Ballad of Bonnie Prince Chucky premiered at His Majesty's Theater in Aberdeen and ACT's Youth Conservatory in San Francisco. -
Slow Food
Synopsis:
A vacationing couple celebrates their anniversary at a Greek restaurant in Palm Springs - but will the marriage survive the service? As a wacky waiter insinuates his way into their meal - and their lives - the couple examine their past and their future together. A tender, uproarious comedy that delves deeply into what we hunger for. Slow Food premiered at Merrimack Repertory Theater in 2015. -
Women in Jeopardy!
Synopsis:
Thelma and Louise meets The First Wives Club in this fun and flirtatious comedy. Divorcees Mary and Jo are suspicious of their friend Liz’s dentist boyfriend. He’s not just a weirdo; he may be a serial killer! After all, his hygienist disappeared. Trading their wine glasses for spy glasses, imaginations run wild as the ladies try to discover the truth and save their friend in a hilarious off-road adventure. Women in Jeopardy! premiered at Geva Theater in Rochester, New York in 2015. -
Playwright-In-Residence
The most recent information I could find about Wendy MacLeod is that she is the James E. Michael playwright-in-residence at her alma mater, Kenyon College. -
Sources Pt. 1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_MacLeod https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_House_of_Yes_(play) https://www.wendymacleod.com/about https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533938/bio/?ref_=nmwrk_sa_1 https://www.wendymacleod.com/plays/apocalyptic-butterflies https://archive.org/details/shallowendlostco0000macl/mode/1up https://www.wendymacleod.com/plays/project-one-2tatg-af8ny-dm242-hg9c8-hpfc9-swpb2-2hdxx https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/schoolgirl-figure-38501/ -
Sources Pt. 2
http://matrixtheatre.com/shows/thewaterchildren.html https://www.wendymacleod.com/plays/juvenilia https://www.wendymacleod.com/plays/things-being-what-they-are https://www.wendymacleod.com/plays/project-one-2tatg-af8ny-dm242-hg9c8 https://www.wendymacleod.com/plays/project-one-2tatg-af8ny-dm242 https://www.wendymacleod.com/plays/project-one-2tatg-af8ny https://www.wendymacleod.com/plays/project-one-2tatg https://www.kenyon.edu/directory/wendy-macleod/ -
Sources Pt. 3
https://www.britannica.com/event/Roe-v-Wade https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/11/22/president-john-f-kennedy-assassinated-61-years-ago/76497785007/ https://www.britannica.com/money/great-recession https://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/hiv-treatment-history https://www.history.com/topics/1980s/hiv-aids-crisis-timeline