Paul Lucas was an American playwright and producer based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was best known for his play, ''Trans Scripts, Part I: The Women'', which won a Fringe First award at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

and a High Commendation from Amnesty International for Freedom of Expression, and was performed by the

American Repertory Theater The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to ne ...

at Harvard University.

Career

Lucas attended

Dwight-Englewood School The Dwight-Englewood School (D-E) is an independent coeducational college-preparatory day school, located in Englewood in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school teaches students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in ...

and graduated in 1979. He performed and worked in several theatrical offices in New York City before joining Paul Szilard Productions, where he booked for the

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Founded in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is the largest modern dance company in the United States.Dance Data Project (October 2024) 2024 Largest Contemporary and Modern Companies Report Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ...

. While still working with Szilard, he produced several plays

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

, including ''Messages for Gar'' which featured

John Epperson John Epperson (born April 24, 1955) is an American drag artist, actor, pianist, vocalist, and writer who is mainly known for creating his stage character Lypsinka. As Lypsinka, he lip-synchs to meticulously edited, show-length soundtracks culle ...

and Alex McCord; ''TimeSlips,'' written by Anne Basting; ''Nosferatu'', which starred

Nikolai Kinski Nanhoï Nikolai Kinski (born July 30, 1976) is a French-American film actor, who has also done work in television and on stage. He was born in Paris, and grew up in California. Currently residing in Berlin, he has acted primarily in American and ...

; and ''Son of Drakula'', written and performed by

David Drake David A. Drake (September 24, 1945 – December 10, 2023) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran, he worked as a lawyer before becoming a writer in the military science fiction genre. Biography ...

. After a fellowship in Arts Administration at the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

, Lucas became the Director of Press and Marketing for

Williamstown Theatre Festival The Williamstown Theatre Festival is a resident summer theater on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1954 by Williams College news director Ralph Renzi and drama program chairman David C. Bryant. ...

. Lucas founded Paul Lucas Productions, a production, management, and touring organization that specializes in international work. His productions at the

have included ''What I Heard About Iraq'', an anti-Iraq War play by

Simon Levy Simon Levy (born May 12, 1949) is an American theater director and playwright who has been the producing director and dramaturge with the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles since 1993. Biography Levy was born in Surrey, England and grew up in ...

adapted from a

prose poem Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form while otherwise deferring to poetic devices to make meaning. Characteristics Prose poetry is written as prose, without the line breaks associated with poetry. However, it make ...

Eliot Weinberger Eliot Weinberger (born 6 February 1949 in New York City) is an American writer, essayist, editor, and translator. He is primarily known for his essays and political articles, the former characterized by their wide-ranging subjects and experimental ...

. The play received a Fringe First award at the festival and toured in the UK. In 2006, he and associate Gail Winar produced ''The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac'', which starred

Taylor Mac Taylor Mac Bowyer (born August 24, 1973) is an American actor, playwright, performance artist, director, producer, and singer-songwriter active mainly in New York City. In 2017, Mac was the recipient of a "Genius Grant" from the John D. and Cath ...

. It won a Herald Angel Award in Edinburgh, and played in various cities. He produced ''Woody Sez: The Life & Music of

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...

'', which starred David M. Lutken first at the festival in 2007 and later on tour in Europe and the United States. He produced the Edinburgh Festival Fringe presentation of ''Dai (enough)'', a

one-woman show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show, one-woman show, or one-person show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieti ...

written and performed by

Iris Bahr Iris Bahr () is an American actress, comedian, director, writer, author, producer public speaking, and performance coach. She is best known for her recurring role as Rachel Heineman on ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', Perla on ''Hacks'', her solo show ...

, about characters in a

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

cafe moments before a suicide bomber enters. He has also worked with American comedian and drag performer

Miss Coco Peru Miss Coco Peru (born August 27, 1965) is the drag persona of American actor, comedian and drag performer Clinton Leupp, known for her role in the 1999 independent film '' Trick'' and for her series of live theater performances. Recognizable by h ...

. In 2012, Lucas turned his attention to creating his own work, beginning with the play ''Trans Scripts, Part I: The Women'', with the assistance of dramaturge Morgan Jenness, produced at the Pleasance Theater during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2015, directed by Linda Ames Key. It received a Fringe First Award, a High Commendation from Amnesty International for Freedom of Expression, and nominations for the Best of Edinburgh Award, the Holden Street Theaters Award, and the Feminist Fest Award. In 2015, the

sponsored a one-night reading of the script at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and produced the play in 2017, with support from grants by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Paul American theatre managers and producers Dwight-Englewood School alumni Living people Writers from New York City 1961 births