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Harry Kondoleon
Overview
Harry Kondoleon (1955–1994) was an American playwright and visual artist who attended Hamilton College in the mid-1970s (class of 1977). He went on to become a significant Off-Broadway dramatist, known for works including “Christmas on Mars” (1983) and “Zero Positive” (1988), as well as poetry and fiction. His dark, absurdist theatrical style was already evident in the numerous plays he wrote and directed while a student at Hamilton.
Relevance to Research
Kondoleon is extensively documented in the Hamilton Spectator across his student years (1974–1977), making him one of the most frequently mentioned student artists in the corpus. He appears as a Spectator staff member, prize winner in course catalogs, playwright, director, and visual artist during his time at Hamilton. The 1974-75, 1975-76, and 1977-78 catalogs record his academic prizes.
Notes
Role: Student playwright, director, visual artist, and editorial staff member on the Spectator Hamilton connection: Class of 1977 (listed in Flushing, NY in catalogs); student 1973/74–1977 Key events: - Feb. 1974: Listed as co-ordinate editor of the Spectator (spec-1974-02-15) - 1974–75: Tied for second place in the Wallace Bradley Johnson Prize (best one-act play produced at the college) (yhm-arc-pub-cat-1974-75) - March 1975: Play “Selling the House” performed as part of a student theater program; reviewed favorably — “Mr. Kondoleon understands how to write for the stage” (spec-1975-03-14); one-act “A Cannibal’s Lunchbox” also written and directed by Kondoleon performed same month (spec-1975-03-14) - 1975–76: Won first place in the Wallace Bradley Johnson Prize (best one-act play) (yhm-arc-pub-cat-1975-76) - Oct. 1975: Two plays, “Zen Heaven” and “Free All Political Prisoners,” produced by the Charlatans theater group; reviewed as “highly personal statements” by “a Hamilton junior” with “a talent for visual detail and juxtaposition” (spec-1975-10-10; spec-1975-10-24) - Nov. 1975: Short story published in the Spectator (spec-1975-11-07) - March 1976: Play “Everything You’ve Heard Is True” produced; reviewed alongside other student one-acts (spec-1976-03-12) - Oct. 1976: Exhibition of 19 paintings in the List Art Center gallery alongside a theatrical piece, “Profit, Planning and Control”; described as “a new theatrical event by senior Harry Kondoleon” (spec-1976-10-29; spec-1976-11-05) - Feb.–March 1977: Play “Honeymoon” produced and reviewed; critic calls it “the best of his plays, the least cluttered, the most honest” (spec-1977-02-25; spec-1977-03-18); also won first place in the Wallace Bradley Johnson Prize for a second year and honorable mention in the Johnston Prize in English (yhm-arc-pub-cat-1977-78) - May 1977: Listed among Hamilton College graduating seniors, Class of 1977 (spec-1977-04-22; spec-1977-05-27)