In a May 1 ceremony that will begin this year’s Pacific Playwright’s Festival at South Coast Repertory, artistic directors David Emmes and Martin Benson will be awarded the 2007-08 Margo Jones Medal for their achievements in pioneering the living theater.
South Coast Repertory was founded by Emmes and Benson in 1964, and over the years the theater has premiered 103 plays and presented works that included Margaret Edson’s “Wit,” winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize, as well as “Rabbit Hole,” the 2007 Pulitzer winner by playwright David Lindsay-Abaire.
The Margo Jones Medal, presented by the Ohio State University Libraries and College of the Arts, is given to honor “those who have demonstrated a significant impact, understanding and affirmation of the craft of playwriting, and who have encouraged the living theater everywhere.”
