Last week, best-selling author Terry McMillan came to the University as part of "A Mosaic of Black Writing" series sponsored by the Afro-American Studies Program. This week, award-winning playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard is on campus.

Best known as the author of "Waiting to Exhale," Ms. McMillan spoke of her role as producer of the movie version. She also treated the audience to a preview of her next book as she read from "How Stella Got Her Groove Back."

Mr. Stoppard is the featured speaker of the Steinberg Symposium, which runs until Thursday. From 4 to 5:30 p.m. today, Mr. Stoppard will be at the Harrison Auditorium. In his lecture, "Stage Directions," he will address how a writer manipulates the events of a play and how directors make their contributions.

English department chair Wendy Steiner joins him tomorrow in a discussion of late modernism and how the experience of modern society related to its art. They will appear at the Annenberg School Auditorium from 4 to 6 p.m.

On Thursday, Mr. Stoppard, other theatre professionals and scholars will discuss the current state of the theatre. Cary Mazer, chair of Penn's theatre arts program, will act as moderator at the discussion, which will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Harrison Auditorium.

During his stay at Penn, Mr. Stoppard will participate in graduate and undergraduate classes, as well as share in lunches and dinners. Mr. Stoppard is no stranger to Penn students. His play "Arcadia" was the text for the 1995-96 Penn Reading Project, and 2,500 first-year students received a copy last summer.

Return to Compass Features for February 6, 1996