Directors to receive medal for efforts in live theater

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.”

Jones supported and nurtured new plays at the theater she founded in Dallas in 1947, including works by Tennessee Williams, Lawrence and Lee and William Inge.

The Pacific Playwright’s Festival, taking place May 2-4, will feature two world premieres, “The Injured Party” by Tony-award winning playwright Richard Greenberg and “What They Have” by Kate Robin, writer/producer of the HBO drama “Six Feet Under.”

For information, call (714) 708-5555 or go to www.scr.org.

— Sue Thoensen