Will Arbery

A double-volume of plays by acclaimed playwright Will Arbery that explore communities of outsiders who strive to help one another persevere in the face of despair.

In this two-play volume, acclaimed playwright Will Arbery explores the dynamics within tight-knit communities of outsiders working together to persevere against despair, whether intimate or cosmic. From wildly different angles, Corsicana and Evanston Salt Costs Climbing both examine the shape-shifting specters of grief, the pull of desire and dreams, and the universal human need for receiving and giving care.

“Flawless… A work of singular distinction, one for which the word ‘remark­able’ is an understatement. Arbery is a greatly talented writer who has given us a drama as exciting and challenging—nay, daring—as any new play I’ve ever reviewed.” —Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal

Finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Night. Wyoming. Four young conservatives have gathered to toast the newly inducted pres­ident of their tiny Catholic college. Their reunion spirals into spiritual chaos and clashing generational politics, becoming less a celebration than a vicious fight to be understood. On a dark night, in the middle of America, Will Arbery’s haunting play speaks to the heart of a country at war with itself.

Each edition of the Occasional invites a guest editor to talk with artists, thinkers and members of our community about questions that we have and topics that move us. For the second issue, we invited playwright Will Arbery to do the asking, and in turn he invited Alex Borinsky, Matty Davis, Masuq Mushtaq Deen, Corinne Donly, David Greenspan, Phillip Howze, Julia Jarcho, Modesto Flako Jimenez, Mia Katigbak, MJ KAufman, Kristine Haruna Lee, Sofya Levitsky-Weitz, Daaimah Mubashshir, Rachel Kauder Nalebuff, Zach Rufa, Caitlin Ryan O'Connell, Ren Dara Santiago, Celine Song, Jordan Tannahill, Kate Tarker, Alice Tuan, Korde Arrington Tuttle, and Madeline Wise to consider the notion of "invitation."