Guide to the Alan Bowne papers, circa 1970s - 1991

Alan Bowne C0319

Biographical note

Alan Bowne was an American playwright and author. Born in 1945, he was best known for a handful of works, including "Beirut," "Forty-Deuce," "Sharon and Billy," as well as a novel, "Wally Wonderstruck." Perhaps his most famous and enduring work, "Beirut" is a one-act play that tells the allegorical story of a heterosexual couple dealing with a mysterious disease that ravages dystopian New York. This fictional disease presumably represented the real HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. "Beirut" was eventually adapted into a 1993 television movie, re-titled "Daybreak." Bowne passed away from AIDS-related complications in 1989 in his Sonoma County home at 44 years old.

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Scope and Content note

The Alan Bowne papers consists of three boxes of materials created over the course of Bowne's career as a playwright and author. These include play scripts and drafts, short story drafts, screenplays, correspondence, notebooks, photographs, and audio cassettes and one reel-to-reel tape. These materials originate from the 1970s - 1991, with the bulk of the collection originating from the 1980s. The collections contains two series.

Series 1: Writings and Correspondence (1971 - 1991) includes multiple drafts and scripts of Bowne's work, including drafts for "Forty-Deuce," "Sharon and Billy," and "Wally Wonderstruck." It also includes correspondence and other materials related to submitting his written work to various publishers. Notable are two notebooks Bowne wrote in, one containing his thoughts on his presumed AIDS diagnosis.

Series 2: Photographs and Audiovisual Materials (circa 1970s - 1989) includes photographs of Bowne himself, with friends, on vacation, and of his Sonoma County, CA home and the surrounding countryside. The two audio cassettes and reel-to-reel tape contain recordings of a 1984 production of his play "Sharon and Billy."

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Arrangement

This collection is arranged by format and then chronologically.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the Alan Bowne papers must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

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Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center holds other collections pertaining to theatre and playwrighting.

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Index Terms

Geographical Names:

Subjects:

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Technical Requirements

The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to play reel-to-reel tapes. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Alan Bowne papers, C0319, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Barbara Hayes in January 2019.

Processing Information

Processing completed by Amanda Brent in March 2019. EAD markup completed by Amanda Brent in March 2019.

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Bibliography

'Alan Bowne, Writer, 44.' The New York Times. December 2, 1989. Accessed March 8, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/02/obituaries/alan-bowne-writer-44.html.

'Alane Bowne.' IMDB. Accessed March 8, 2019. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0101428/.

Myatt, John. 'Beirut Review.' Entertainment Focus. June 20, 2018. Accessed March 8, 2019. https://www.entertainment-focus.com/theatre-section/theatre-reviews/beirut-review/.

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