PAC was founded in 1989 by Terence and Lorena McDonald to revive American plays that were in danger of being “lost.”

Associate Professor Terence McDonald has taught film and theatre for three decades. During that time he has written, directed, acted and produced over 200 plays.

Ms. Lori McDonald began her career as a costume designer for Studio Arena Theater. Since then she has managed some of the top arts organizations in Buffalo and New York City as well as written, produced, directed and designed over 90 plays.

By presenting lost plays in both “Full” productions and “Chamber” theatre productions, Playhouse of American Classics brings new life to plays once widely produced and now left on library shelves. The plays are fully rehearsed and staged. The emphasis is always on the play and the story it has to tell. The size and scope of the play dictates its presentation style.

Mission

Many of the plays of America’s award winning playwrights are rarely produced in today’s theatres because they demand a large number of sets, actors and costumes or because people fear they are dated. If theater is a reflection of life then these fine plays are a “living archive” of how America evolved. Plays by such famous authors as William Saroyan, Garson Kanin, Kaufman and Hart and Elmer Rice often sit on library shelves, unread and unseen because they are not produced.

The mission of Playhouse of American Classics is:

* To get these great American plays produced for a new audience to see,
* Make students aware of our rich legacy of American plays, and,
* Excite them to further explore America’s past in order to better understand its present and point the way to its future.

Playhouse of American Classics
P. O. Box 1486
Amherst, NY 14226
(716) 862-9531
lmcdonald@playhouseofamericanclassics.org