Oregon Shakespeare Festival tackles U.S. history in 10-year project

David Henry Hwang, Suzan-Lori Parks and Seattle author Robert Schenkkan are among the nationally known dramatists who will be contributing to "American Revolutions: The United States History Cycle," an ambitious new program of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

The project is set to commission and present 37 plays over the next 10 years. All will ponder various aspects of American history, according to "American Revolutions" director Alison Carey. (Carey is a co-founder of the Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles, as is new Oregon Shakespeare Festival artistic head Bill Rauch).

With initial support from the Collins Foundation and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the program will underwrite and launch historical dramas that "help re-establish our shared national identity and illuminate better paths for our nation's future," Carey said in a press statement.

The company plans to fully stage the first of these commissioned works in 2010. (Some scripts will be given full productions, others will be presented as readings and workshops.) Also receiving commissions: the Latino troupe Culture Clash, Lynn Nottage, Naomi Wallace, Tony Taccone, Jonathan Moscone and others to be announced later.