Shakespeare Festival Names First Playwrights for U.S. History Plays

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Byline: The Register-Guard

The first seven artists have been selected for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's cycle of new American history plays.

Formally called "American Revolutions: the United States History Cycle," the project has been spearheaded by Bill Rauch, the festival's new artistic director, and Alison Carey, the director of the 10-year project.

The proposed 37-play cycle - 37 is the number of plays in the Shakespearean canon - will be the largest commissioning effort in the festival's history.

The artists are Culture Clash (Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza), David Henry Hwang, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, Robert …