This roundtable originally appeared in The Albee Issue, September/October 2017 edition of The Dramatist and informed the making of The Casting Issue, July/August 2018. To read the Guild's official statement regarding the casting controversy surrounding the production mentioned in this roundtable, click HERE.
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins: I am someone who admired Albee so much when he was alive. In fact, I still admire him, and his loss felt both personal and professional to me. I used to refer to him as Our Elder Statesman, because he seemed to be the guy at the top of the mountain with this singular career and body of work behind him, who still seemed actively invested in those of us coming up in his wake, in protecting the sanctity of the craft. I loved the way he spoke about the empowerment of the writer in the room in the face of meddling collaborators. I feel like there was so much I learned from him, not only as an artist but also as an educator and advocate.
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