Preston Jones

"Preston Jones" (April 7, 1936 - September 9, 1979) was an American playwright best known for a set of three plays, A Texas Trilogy.

Infobox Person
name = Preston Jones


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birth_date = April 7, 1936
birth_place = Albuquerque, New Mexico
death_date = September 9, 1979
death_place =
other_names =
known_for =
occupation = Playwright
nationality =

Biography

Jones was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1960, with a degree in education. After briefly working as an educatator, he began studying drama at Baylor University under Paul Baker. Due to a conflict between Baker and Baylor's administration, Baker and Jones both relocated to Trinity University in San Antonio, where Jones received a Master's degree 1966.

Jones spent the majority of his adult life in the employment of the Dallas Theater Center (DTC), performing many different roles including actor, stage manager, and director. He met his wife, actress Mary Sue Jones, in the course of his employment.

In 1972, Jones was given directorship of the Down Center Stage (a workshop within DTC), through which he premiered his best-known works, A Texas Trilogy. The first two shows from the Trilogy were included in the Playmarket 74 showcase, which was attended by Audrey Wood (literary agent) (who became Jones' agent) and Alan Schneider (who would direct the Trilogy in Washington, D.C. and New York).

Following his discovery by Wood and Schneider, Jones became a subject of significant interest to the theatre community, and was compared to Tennessee Williams and Eugene O'Neill by critics. ["TexasTripIe Play". (September 27, 1976) [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918366,00.html "link"] "Time".] Jones continued to write, creating A Place on the Magdalena Flats, Santa Fe Sunshine, Juneteenth before his death in 1979 from complications related to surgery on a bleeding ulcer. [Cannan, Gwynedd (November 1993). [http://alkek.library.txstate.edu/swwc/archives/writers/jones.html "Preston Jones Papers."] Southwestern Writers Collection, Texas State University. Retrieved on 2006-05-27.]

External References