Aurand Harris

Aurand Harris (1915–1996) is the most produced playwright for young audiences in the United States. Over six decades he wrote more than 50 plays, many of which became classics in the children's play repertory. His play, "Androcles and the Lion", is said to be the single most-produced play in the field, surpassing even "Peter Pan" and "The Wind in the Willows." First staged Off-Broadway in 1963, the play remains Anchorage Press' top seller and it was estimated at the time of his death in 1996 to have been performed on over 30,000 occasions. The plays of Aurand Harris have been produced and applauded in thousands of productions around the world for nearly a half-century. Harris was a prodigious dramatist, writing a newly published play each season. He was a tireless experimenter of forms, themes, and subjects. This modest man of irrepressible imagination and energy carried a vast array of honors and accolades. He was the first recipient of a National Endowment of the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship in Children's Theatre. He received an honorary doctorate from Indiana University and was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre. He was the first playwright to receive the Medallion of the Children's Theatre Foundation of America. Aurand Harris died on May 6, 1996, in Manhattan, New York. He is buried in the family plot in Jamesport, Missouri. Provided by Wikipedia