Book 'In Their Company' Features Playwrights' Portraits

In Their Company: Portraits of American Playwrights is a long-awaited compendium of the foremost writers of the American stage, captured through photographs and in their own words.  The book, which was released in August by Umbrage Editions, is now available.

"While a play comes alive, literally, only through the efforts of a community—actors, directors, producers, designers—it begins with a single idea, envisioned and cultivated in seclusion. It begins with the playwright.  Ken Collins photographed and Victor Wishna interviewed dozens of accomplished American playwrights in an attempt to capture that beginning, as well as thecollaborative journey of the playwright's experience. The result is a book celebrating these gifted artists of the contemporary theater," according to press materials.

Among the playwrights whose portraits are featured are Edward Albee, Eric Bogosian, Christopher Durang, Richard Foreman, Maria Irene Fornes, A.R. Gurney, Beth Henley, John Guare, Tina Howe, Henry David Hwang, Adrienne Kennedy, Tony Kushner, Neil LaBute, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Suzan-Lori Parks, David Rabe, John Patrick Shanley, Alfred Uhry, Paula Vogel, August Wilson and George C. Wolfe.

Collins' portraits have appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, New York, Premiere, ARTnews, The (London) Independent on Sunday, American Theatre, Avenue, Orion, and other publications. His subjects have included Samuel L. Jackson, Frances McDormand, Joan Rivers, Vito Acconci, Donald Trump, and Gore Vidal. Currently on the faculty of the International Center for Photography, Collins lives in New York.

Wishna is the senior editor of Quest magazine, and has written for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, The Miami Herald, The Forward, Avenue, and other major magazines and newspapers. He has interviewed public figures from statesman Abba Eban to actor Robert DeNiro to celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck. He lives in New York City.

The book, which is in hardcover and is 280 pages, includes 61 black and white photographs by Collins.

Visit www.umbragebooks.com for more information.