Else Went (born 1989 or 1990)[1] is an American playwright whose works An Oxford Man and Initiative have been nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Pr
Else Went | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989 or 1990 (age 35–36) |
| Education | Sarah Lawrence College |
| Occupation | Playwright |
| Notable work | An Oxford Man Initiative |
| Spouse | Emma Rosa Went |
Else Went (born 1989 or 1990)[1] is an American playwright whose works An Oxford Man and Initiative have been nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize in 2025 and 2026 respectively. The former is a play based on the life of Laurence Michael Dillon, the first transgender man to undergo phalloplasty. The latter, a five-hour-long production set in the early 2000s and based on Dungeons & Dragons, was praised for its recreation of instant messaging and was described by The Guardian as "emotionally immersive".
Went grew up in Cambria, California and went to a public school before attending Sarah Lawrence College, graduating in 2013.[1][2] In 2020, Went was a MacDowell Fellow,[3] during which time they conceived and wrote the play An Oxford Man, based on the life of Laurence Michael Dillon,[4] the first transgender man to undergo phalloplasty.[5] An Oxford Man was a finalist for the Carlo Annoni Playwrighting Prize in 2023,[6] and was also shortlisted for the 2025 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, receiving a Special Commendation.[4][7][8] The same year their play Degenerates was published in the The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays Volume 2.[9] This play focuses on the experiences that transgender people may have when they engage with online incel communities.[10]
In November 2025, Went's play Initiative premiered off-Broadway at The Public Theater.[11] The play is set in the early 2000s and follows a group of young people who play Dungeons & Dragons.[11] At five hours long, the play has three 90-minute acts, a deliberate choice by Went with the intention of creating "a new type of commitment" for audience members.[11] Went first developed the concept for the what would become Initiative in 2011 in a class at Sarah Lawrence taught by Lucy Thurber, completing the first draft of the play in 2016.[1] Went developed and expanded the play in 2018–19 during a fellowship at Playwrights Realm.[12] It was reviewed by The Guardian as a "coming-of-age epic of sorts" which "flies right by, as emotionally immersive as the Dungeons & Dragons games that enrapture most of its seven teenage characters".[11] Time Out noted in its review that the play was loosely autobiographical, praised its use of instant messaging from the era and described it as "a mesmerizing portrait of adolescents".[13] The New York Stage Review was also positive, describing it as "the dramatic equivalent of a group bildungsroman".[14] The New York Times review was mixed, also praising its use of instant messaging, but less positive about the use of Dungeons & Dragons; the reviewer Elisabeth Vincentelli compared the work less favourably to similar use in 2011's She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen.[15] Initiative has been nominated for the 2026 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.[16]
Went is non-binary and uses they/she pronouns.[11] They are married to theatre director Emma Rosa Went.[11]
Informasi ini disarikan dari Wikipedia dan disajikan kembali untuk tujuan edukasi. Konten tersedia di bawah lisensi CC BY-SA 3.0. Kami tidak bertanggung jawab atas ketidakakuratan data yang bersumber dari kontribusi publik tersebut.