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{{Short description|American playwright}}{{Infobox person |
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{{Short description|American playwright}} |
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{{Infobox person |
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| education = Sarah Lawrence College |
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| education = [[Sarah Lawrence College]] |
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| occupation = Playwright |
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| occupation = Playwright |
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| notable_works = ''An Oxford Man''
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| notable_works = ''An Oxford Man''
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| spouse = Emma Rosa Went |
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| spouse = Emma Rosa Went |
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}} |
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}} |
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'''Else Went''' is an American playwright whose works ''An Oxford Man'' and ''[[Initiative (play)|Initiative]]'' have been nominated for the [[Susan Smith Blackburn Prize]] in 2025 and 2026 respectively. The former is a play based on the life of [[Michael Dillon|Laurence Michael Dillon]], the first transgender man to undergo [[phalloplasty]]. The latter, a five hour long production set in the early 2000s and based on [[Dungeons & Dragons]], was praised for its recreation of [[instant messaging]] and was described by ''[[The Guardian]]'' as "emotionally immersive". |
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'''Else Went''' is an American playwright whose works ''An Oxford Man'' and ''[[Initiative (play)|Initiative]]'' have been nominated for the [[Susan Smith Blackburn Prize]] in 2025 and 2026 respectively. The former is a play based on the life of [[Michael Dillon|Laurence Michael Dillon]], the first transgender man to undergo [[phalloplasty]]. The latter, a five-hour-long production set in the early 2000s and based on ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', was praised for its recreation of [[instant messaging]] and was described by ''[[The Guardian]]'' as "emotionally immersive". |
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== Career == |
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== Career == |
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Went graduated from [[Sarah Lawrence College]] in 2013, later citing a playwrighting class they took there are inspiration for their 2025 play ''Initiative.''[{{Cite web |date=2025-11-20 |title=Else Went ’13 Traces Roots of Off-Broadway Debut “Initiative” to Her Time at Sarah Lawrence {{!}} Sarah Lawrence College |url=https://www.sarahlawrence.edu/news-events/news/2025-11-20-else-went-13-traces-roots-of-off-broadway-debut-initiative-to-her-time-at-sarah-lawrence-itn.html |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=www.sarahlawrence.edu |language=en}}] In 2020 Went was a [[MacDowell residency|MacDowell Fellow]],[{{Cite web |title=Else Went - MacDowell Fellow in Theatre Arts |url=https://www.macdowell.org/artists/else-went |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=MacDowell |language=en}}] during which time they conceived and wrote the play ''An Oxford Man,'' based on the life of [[Michael Dillon|Laurence Michael Dillon]],''[{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2025-02-05 |title=The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize 2025 finalists announced {{!}} West End Theatre |url=https://www.westendtheatre.com/274020/news/awards/the-susan-smith-blackburn-prize-2025-finalists-announced/ |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=www.westendtheatre.com |language=en-GB}}]'' the first transgender man to undergo [[phalloplasty]]''.''[{{Cite web |title=Michael Dillon: Aristocrat, Scholar, Physician, Monk and Man – Humanities & Heritage |url=https://history.lincoln.ac.uk/2021/02/25/michael-dillon-aristocrat-scholar-physician-monk-and-man/ |access-date=2026-04-07 |website=history.lincoln.ac.uk}}] It was a finalist for the Carlo Annoni Playwrighting Prize in 2023,[{{Cite web |title=Carlo Annoni Prize – per testi teatrali a tematica gay e sulle diversità nella sfera ]dell’amore |url=https://premiocarloannoni.eu/?lang=en |access-date=2026-04-06 |language=en-US}} and was also shortlisted in 2025 for the [[Susan Smith Blackburn Prize]].[{{Cite news |last=Wiegand |first=Chris |date=2025-02-04 |title=Plays from RSC, National and Almeida theatres in running for Susan Smith Blackburn prize |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/feb/04/plays-from-rsc-national-and-almeida-theatres-in-running-for-susan-smith-blackburn-prize |access-date=2026-04-07 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}] Although the winner was ''Furlough's Paradise'' by [[a k payne]],[{{Cite web |title=The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize : 2025 |url=https://www.blackburnprize.org/year/2025_/ |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize |language=en-US}}] Went did receive a Special Commendation for the work.[{{Cite web |title=The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize : An Oxford Man |url=https://www.blackburnprize.org/year/2025_/an-oxford-man/ |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize |language=en-US}}] The same year their play ''Degenerates'' was published in ''[[The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays]].''[{{Cite web |title=The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays Volume II Virtual Launch Party |url=https://howlround.com/happenings/methuen-drama-book-trans-plays-volume-ii-virtual-launch-party |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=HowlRound Theatre Commons |language=en}}] This play focuses on the experiences that transgender people may have when they engage with online [[incel]] communities.[{{Cite book |last=Keyes |first=Leanna |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=lSBjEQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA117&dq=%22else+went%22+playwright&ots=KTzCw5hs7H&sig=FeHhP7li0MpiEd-tNKMKGMpn49M&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22else%20went%22%20playwright&f=false |title=The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays Volume 2 |last2=Mantoan |first2=Lindsey |last3=Schiller |first3=Angela Farr |date=2025-08-21 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-45811-6 |language=en}}] |
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Went graduated from [[Sarah Lawrence College]] in 2013, later citing a playwrighting class they took there as inspiration for their 2025 play ''Initiative''.[{{Cite web |date=2025-11-20 |title=Else Went ’13 Traces Roots of Off-Broadway Debut “Initiative” to Her Time at Sarah Lawrence {{!}} Sarah Lawrence College |url=https://www.sarahlawrence.edu/news-events/news/2025-11-20-else-went-13-traces-roots-of-off-broadway-debut-initiative-to-her-time-at-sarah-lawrence-itn.html |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=www.sarahlawrence.edu |language=en}}] In 2020, Went was a [[MacDowell residency|MacDowell Fellow]],[{{Cite web |title=Else Went - MacDowell Fellow in Theatre Arts |url=https://www.macdowell.org/artists/else-went |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=MacDowell |language=en}}] during which time they conceived and wrote the play ''An Oxford Man'', based on the life of [[Michael Dillon|Laurence Michael Dillon]],[{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2025-02-05 |title=The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize 2025 finalists announced {{!}} West End Theatre |url=https://www.westendtheatre.com/274020/news/awards/the-susan-smith-blackburn-prize-2025-finalists-announced/ |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=www.westendtheatre.com |language=en-GB}}] the first transgender man to undergo [[phalloplasty]].[{{Cite web |title=Michael Dillon: Aristocrat, Scholar, Physician, Monk and Man – Humanities & Heritage |url=https://history.lincoln.ac.uk/2021/02/25/michael-dillon-aristocrat-scholar-physician-monk-and-man/ |access-date=2026-04-07 |website=history.lincoln.ac.uk}}] ''An Oxford Man'' was a finalist for the Carlo Annoni Playwrighting Prize in 2023,[{{Cite web |title=Carlo Annoni Prize – per testi teatrali a tematica gay e sulle diversità nella sfera dell'amore |url=https://premiocarloannoni.eu/?lang=en |access-date=2026-04-06 |language=en-US}}] and was also shortlisted in 2025 for the [[Susan Smith Blackburn Prize]].[{{Cite news |last=Wiegand |first=Chris |date=2025-02-04 |title=Plays from RSC, National and Almeida theatres in running for Susan Smith Blackburn prize |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/feb/04/plays-from-rsc-national-and-almeida-theatres-in-running-for-susan-smith-blackburn-prize |access-date=2026-04-07 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}] Although the winner was ''Furlough's Paradise'' by [[a k payne]],[{{Cite web |title=The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize : 2025 |url=https://www.blackburnprize.org/year/2025_/ |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize |language=en-US}}] Went did receive a Special Commendation for the work.[{{Cite web |title=The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize : An Oxford Man |url=https://www.blackburnprize.org/year/2025_/an-oxford-man/ |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize |language=en-US}}] The same year their play ''Degenerates'' was published in ''[[The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays]]''.[{{Cite web |title=The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays Volume II Virtual Launch Party |url=https://howlround.com/happenings/methuen-drama-book-trans-plays-volume-ii-virtual-launch-party |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=HowlRound Theatre Commons |language=en}}] This play focuses on the experiences that transgender people may have when they engage with online [[incel]] communities.[{{Cite book |last=Keyes |first=Leanna |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=lSBjEQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA117&dq=%22else+went%22+playwright&ots=KTzCw5hs7H&sig=FeHhP7li0MpiEd-tNKMKGMpn49M&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22else%20went%22%20playwright&f=false |title=The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays Volume 2 |last2=Mantoan |first2=Lindsey |last3=Schiller |first3=Angela Farr |date=2025-08-21 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-45811-6 |language=en}}] |
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In November 2025, their play ''[[Initiative (play)|Initiative]]'' premiered [[off-Broadway]] at [[The Public Theater]].2018-19 when Went had a Playwrights Realm fellowship.[{{Cite web |last=Maas |first=Jennifer |date=2025-11-11 |title=Five-Hour ]‘Dungeons & Dragons’-Themed Play ‘Initiative’ Rolls Into NYC’s Public Theater Amid Showbiz’s Growing Embrace of Role-Playing Fandom |url=https://variety.com/2025/scene/news/dungeons-dragons-5-hour-play-initiative-nyc-public-theater-1236572611/ |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} It was reviewed by ''[[The Guardian]]'' as a "coming-of-age epic of sorts" which "flies right by, as emotionally immersive as the Dungeons & Dragons games that enrapture most of its seven teenage characters".[{{Cite news |last=Snook |first=Raven |title=Review: Initiative (★★★★) is an epic look at teenage angst |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/initiative |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260406200058/https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/initiative |archive-date=2026-04-06 |access-date=2026-04-06 |work=Time Out New York |language=en-US}}] ''The New York Stage Review'' was also positive, describing it as "the dramatic equivalent of a group ''[[bildungsroman]]".''[{{Cite web |last=Verini |first=Bob |date=2025-11-21 |title=Initiative: Dungeons & Dragons And Sex, Oh My |url=https://nystagereview.com/2025/11/20/initiative-dungeons-dragons-and-sex-oh-my/ |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=New York Stage Review |language=en-US}}] ''[[The New York Times]]'' review was mixed, also praising its use of instant messaging, but less positive about the use of Dungeons & Dragons; the reviewer [[Elisabeth Vincentelli]] compared the work less favourably to similar use in 2011's ''[[She Kills Monsters]]'' by [[Qui Nguyen]].[{{Cite news |last=Vincentelli |first=Elisabeth |date=2025-11-21 |title=‘Initiative’ Review: High School as an Epic Struggle |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/theater/initiative-review-else-went.html |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=2026-04-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}] ''Initiative'' has been nominated for the 2026 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.[{{Cite web |title=The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize : Initiative |url=https://www.blackburnprize.org/year/2026_/initiative/ |access-date=2026-04-07 |website=The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize |language=en-US}}] |
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In November 2025, Went's play ''[[Initiative (play)|Initiative]]'' premiered [[off-Broadway]] at [[The Public Theater]].[{{Cite web |last=Maas |first=Jennifer |date=2025-11-11 |title=Five-Hour 'Dungeons & Dragons'-Themed Play 'Initiative' Rolls Into NYC's Public Theater Amid Showbiz's Growing Embrace of Role-Playing Fandom |url=https://variety.com/2025/scene/news/dungeons-dragons-5-hour-play-initiative-nyc-public-theater-1236572611/ |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}] It was reviewed by ''[[The Guardian]]'' as a "coming-of-age epic of sorts" which "flies right by, as emotionally immersive as the Dungeons & Dragons games that enrapture most of its seven teenage characters".[{{Cite news |last=Snook |first=Raven |title=Review: Initiative (★★★★) is an epic look at teenage angst |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/initiative |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260406200058/https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/initiative |archive-date=2026-04-06 |access-date=2026-04-06 |work=Time Out New York |language=en-US}}] ''The New York Stage Review'' was also positive, describing it as "the dramatic equivalent of a group ''[[bildungsroman]]''".[{{Cite web |last=Verini |first=Bob |date=2025-11-21 |title=Initiative: Dungeons & Dragons And Sex, Oh My |url=https://nystagereview.com/2025/11/20/initiative-dungeons-dragons-and-sex-oh-my/ |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=New York Stage Review |language=en-US}}] ''[[The New York Times]]'' review was mixed, also praising its use of instant messaging, but less positive about the use of Dungeons & Dragons; the reviewer [[Elisabeth Vincentelli]] compared the work less favourably to similar use in 2011's ''[[She Kills Monsters]]'' by [[Qui Nguyen]].[{{Cite news |last=Vincentelli |first=Elisabeth |date=2025-11-21 |title=‘Initiative’ Review: High School as an Epic Struggle |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/theater/initiative-review-else-went.html |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=2026-04-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}] ''Initiative'' has been nominated for the 2026 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.[{{Cite web |title=The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize : Initiative |url=https://www.blackburnprize.org/year/2026_/initiative/ |access-date=2026-04-07 |website=The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize |language=en-US}}] |
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== Selected plays == |
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== Selected plays == |
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== Personal life == |
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== Personal life == |
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Went is non-binary and uses they/she pronouns.[{{Cite news |last=Hassenger |first=Jesse |date=2025-11-25 |title=]‘A nucleus of a community’: the five-hour stage play about Dungeons & Dragons |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/nov/25/dungeons-and-dragons-play-initiative |access-date=2026-04-06 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} They are married to theatre director Emma Rosa Went. |
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Went is non-binary and uses they/she pronouns.[{{Cite news |last=Hassenger |first=Jesse |date=2025-11-25 |title='A nucleus of a community': the five-hour stage play about Dungeons & Dragons |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/nov/25/dungeons-and-dragons-play-initiative |access-date=2026-04-06 |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}] They are married to theatre director Emma Rosa Went. |
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== References == |
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== References == |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Went, Else}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Went, Else}} |
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⚫ |
[[Category:American dramatists and playwrights]] |
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[[Category:American non-binary writers]] |
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[[Category:American non-binary writers]] |
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[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:Non-binary dramatists and playwrights]] |
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[[Category:Non-binary dramatists and playwrights]] |
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[[Category:American dramatists and playwrights]] |
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[[Category:Sarah Lawrence College alumni]] |
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[[Category:Sarah Lawrence College alumni]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] |
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