‘Writing for love and/or money'

Playwright visits college to talk about his craft Middletown — Playwright Frank D. Gilroy, currently a Blooming Grove resident, will speak at the SUNY Middletown campus’s Orange Hall Theater, on Monday, April 16. He will discuss his various, but intertwining, occupations as playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, and novelist, in an afternoon program entitled, “Writing for Love and/or Money.” Best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning drama, “The Subject Was Roses,” Gilroy is also the author of “I Wake Up Screaming.” During the program, a presentation of one of his short plays will be enacted by theater students under the tutelage of adjunct theater instructor, David Cohen. Discussion and dialogue will follow. Question-and-answer will also be a big part of the session; so attendees are asked to come with their thoughts and questions on the subject. A magna cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College, Manhattan-born Gilroy completed his education at the Yale School of Drama. He entered television as a writer in the early 1950s, contributing to the many live dramatic anthologies of the era such as Kraft Theatre, Omnibus, and Playhouse 90. In 1962, he won the Obie Award for his off-Broadway piece, “Who’ll Save the Plowboy?” In 1965, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Critics’ Circle Award for his first Broadway play, “The Subject Was Roses.” Then, in 1970, Gilroy made his movie-directing bow with the Manhattan-filmed “Desperate Characters.” He has since directed such films as the revisionist western “From Noon Till Three”” (1976), and the serio-comedy The Luckiest Man in the World” (1989). He has also written many short plays and made independent films and, from that experience, he wrote the book, “I Wake Up Screaming — Everything to Know about Independent Filmmaking.” This Lyceum event starts at 2:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Orange Hall is a universally accessible building on the campus of Orange County Community College and located at the corner of Wawayanda and Grandview Avenues, Middletown. Questions may be directed to Cultural Affairs at 845-341-4891 or to cultural@sunyorange.edu.