��ҳ| �鶹��ýӳ��

Scholars, directors, and actors from around the world will gather in Las Vegas Oct. 30-Nov. 2 to celebrate the birthday of writer David Mamet at a conference titled "David Mamet at 50."

Sponsored by the David Mamet Society, an academic organization based in UNLV's English department, the conference will take place in the convention meeting rooms at the Tropicana Hotel.

Keynote speakers at the conference will be Robert Brustein, director of the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Mass., and former director of the Yale School of Drama, and actor William H. Macy, who perhaps is best known for his Academy Award-nominated performance in "Fargo."

Numerous papers on a wide variety of topics also will be presented by scholars during the conference.

"David Mamet is one of the two or three most important of our contemporary writers for the theater," said Chris Hudgins, a UNLV English professor who is the conference organizer and co-founder of the David Mamet Society. Mamet is most well known for modern classics such as "American Buffalo," "Glengarry Glen Ross," and "Speed-the-Plow." His more recent play, "Oleanna," has emerged as a controversial piece focusing attention on political correctness and sexual harassment on university campuses.

Mamet also is an accomplished screenwriter, with films to his credit such as "The Edge," a movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin that currently is showing in Southern Nevada theaters. Other of his films include "The Verdict," "The Untouchables," "Hoffa," "House of Games," and "Homicide." The latter two also were directed by Mamet.

Mamet's appeal is international, according to Hudgins, who specializes in dramatic literature. "He is extremely popular and respected in England, France, and Germany, perhaps because of his reputation for writing realistic and evocative and very American dialogue."

The keynote address by Brustein, who also is the drama critic for "The New Republic," is scheduled for 8-10 p.m. Oct. 30 in conjunction with an evening banquet.

Macy's keynote address will be delivered during a luncheon scheduled for 12:30-2 p.m. Nov. 1.

Following Macy's talk, a panel discussion featuring Mamet actors and directors Felicity Huffman, Natalija Nogulich, and Lionel Smith will take place from 2:15 p.m. until 4:15 p.m.

The academic sessions scheduled to take place throughout the conference include "Between Men: Male Bonding and Poetic Language in Mamet's Plays," "Gender and Deviance," "Mamet on Film: Tough Guys," and "Influences/Confluences: Mamet and Other Writers."

Other sessions will include "`Oleanna,' Politics, and the Academy," "Theorizing Mamet: Critical Voices," "Gender Trouble: Mamet's Sexual Politics," and "Liar's Poker: Con Games and Psychology."

The David Mamet Society is jointly sponsored by UNLV and Westfield State College in Massachusetts. It was founded four years ago by Hudgins and Leslie Kane of Westfield State.

For additional information on the conference or on how to register for the gathering, call Hudgins at 895-3088.