About The O'Neill

Established in 1964 by George C. White and named for America's only Nobel Prize-winning playwright, The O'Neill houses six distinct programs: the O'Neill Playwrights Conference, Music Theater Conference, Puppetry Conference, National Theater Institute, Critics Institute and the Monte Cristo Cottage, O'Neill's childhood home in nearby New London. Here, writers and directors, puppeteers and singers, students and audiences all take their first steps in exploring, revising and understanding their work and the possibilities of the theater they help create.

The O'Neill's work centers on the script as it starts its journey to the stage. Actors perform with minimal props and no sets or costumes, scripts in hand, revealing for the first time the magic of a new play or musical, puppetry piece or cabaret act. Work first staged at The O'Neill has moved on to regional theaters, Broadway, film and television. Students and professionals who have sharpened their skills at The O'Neill can be seen in those venues every day across the country. Others work behind the scenes as playwrights, directors, in stage management, publicity and countless other roles the public never sees but that remain essential to every production.

Staff and alumni of The O'Neill have earned every major award in theater arts. The O'Neill itself has received a special Tony Award, the National Opera Award, the Jujamcyn Award of Theater Excellence and the Arts and Business Council Encore Award. The seven hundred plays and musicals developed and premiered at The O'Neill include notable works such as John Guare's THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES, Brian Crawley and Jeanine Tesori's VIOLET, Wendy Wasserstein's UNCOMMON WOMEN AND OTHERS, August Wilson's MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM, FENCES and THE PIANO LESSON, Lee Blessing's A WALK IN THE WOODS, NINE by Arthur Kopit, Mario Fratti and Maury Yeston, AVENUE Q, IN THE HEIGHTS, and STORY OF MY LIFE.